Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

This is a topic that needs addressing .

Many players have troubles with this and just install strings any old way .That does not work .

Brian Carman showed me a way , and I have refined it a bit over the years .

With a 12 string with an 'R' tailpiece ...here is how I restring it.

1- remove all of the strings ...the guitar (new or old ) will not 'flip out/go into shock because of this .If you think it does....get over it.

2- I use a piece of tape (we did this in assembly at the factory ...it works great) to hold each string in the hooks before they get wound onto their tuner.

3-Start with the low E standard string .And this is ONLY for guitars made AFTER 1984 because of the end of the original made in USA Kluson tuners.

Insert the tail of the string into the tuner, and wrap one layer OVER the top of the tail of the string, then wrap every layer after that UNDER the tail .Do this until you have some tension on that string ...it need not be tuned.

4- Install the High E outside string .Wrap it also the same way as the low E string .
Once above the tail , and the rest under the tail.
Put some tension on this string.

5- Get out your wire cutters and if you have not ...go get your peg winder (I hope you don't do this manually!!!)

6- Take the High E slot string , and pull it taut ...cut the string to the G slot tunner.
Then bend the end of the string 1/8" from the end at a right angle.You may want to make this bend BEFORE you cut the string.

This length of two slot tuners past the one you are winding onto is very important.

When you are winding tthe string ...here is what you need to do....

Insert that bend into the tuner hole, wind one lap toward the center of the headstock , then as the tail comes around ,wind toward the outside of the headstock .Make each wrap nice and neat.This will help you to stay in tune!If they overlap , they will slip .

Put some tension on that string.

7- Shift to the low E slot tuner string.

Again pull that string taut ...and cut it to the D slot octave tuner .This is TWO tuners length past the tuner the string goes to.

Wind this string , once to the center of the headstock , then the rest to the outside of the headstock.

8- Now go to the B string ...then the B slot tuner string.
That string , needs to be cut the distance of the two tuners past ...what ?
If you hold the string taut ...then visualize the B tuner location , hold it there , then move it back to the E slot tuner , you can then cut it at the G slot tuner .
This is easier seen than read ...sorry.
Wind and cut the string as the other slot tuner string.

9- All the stringing should be done ...side to side , pair by pair.

10 when they are all on the tuners , then I use a 440hz Tuning fork to get started.This is a referance point that is audible .
I tune (and not perfectly ) the Six standard strings. Then I tune the second high E and the B strings.
Next , I tune the Octaves starting with the low E ....I do NOT tune the G octave until the very end.

Once these are all rough tuned, I grab each pair and stretch them ... this is scary for some of you ... get over it .Just do not try to rip the string off the guitar ...simple enough.

Tune all over again .
The Standards, the the pairs and then the octaves.
NOW ........use a tuner.
Fine tune the whole guitar , side to side .

That 'R' tailpiece loves to rock side to side as the tension is brought up to pitch .
That is why ... side to side tuning is important.

With the Vintage tailpiece... this side to side movement is NON-existant.

That is it .

The slot tuners get wound to the outside of the headstock ... this is important .The whole discription is important ... try it and let me know .

I realize that this is a way that many of you have not done and iot seems foreign to you .
But ... if you do it , every time , you will find your Rick 12 string staying intune and restringing easier .

Rather than using the tape to hold the strings in place on the tail piece, I shove a guitar polishing cloth between tailpiece and body. This is sufficient to keep the ball end of the string in place, protects the finish, and allows me to do a string at a time.

I have done that when I snap a string or just need to deal with one or two strings at a time .

However , when changing all of them at once ... the tape sure helps .

I was leery of doing the restring following my twelve saddle bridge work, but I followed Mark's recipe and the whole restring was done in 45 minutes.

Mark,

You, and Pete, and Don, and the other Doc's are performing a service that we all appreciate! Not just answering queries, but actually posting mini-tutorials which are so valuable!!

Anyway, thanks Mark, and Pete, and Don for providing access to such incredible information!

(I still drool over the 12 string hanging at the guitar store... I got a 4003, someday, I'll have a 660/12 or 370/12 ...)

"Mark,

You, and Pete, and Don, and the other Doc's are performing a service that we all appreciate! Not just answering queries, but actually posting mini-tutorials which are so valuable!!

Anyway, thanks Mark, and Pete, and Don for providing access to such incredible information!"
To quote Roger McGuinn,"When it comes to information, I believe that more is better".

Glad to share the info, tips, personal experience.A finely tweaked Rick is a thing to behold!

I've strung my 12 string both ways....taking all the strings off at once and holding them onto the bridge w/ tape - as opposed to changing them 1 string at a time.

Personally I find changing them one at a time easier and faster for me. The hardest part about this method is not always being able to insert the ball end of the string properly into the hidden slot. Also sometimes a ball end of string you want to take off gets stuck as well - making it difficult to get off.

But aside from this, it's much faster for me. I use a capo also to hold the loose end of a string at about the 5th fret. This keeps some tension on the string so it doesn't fall out of the slot while in the process of winding it onto it's tuning peg.

The other thing to watch out for is to strategically remove/replace strings (order) so it's easiest to re-string the strings in submerged posts in the headstock.