Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

sounds sugggestive , but this is a real question .

Some players have bigger fingers and feel that this "Stock" spacing is TOO narrow.

To get the most out width on a 12 string here is what I do ....see PHOTO

This is it!

Mark, your replacement nut has almost identical spacing to the original nut on my '68 370/12, and I am quite happy with its playability. Is that a Carl Wilson model in the photo??

It seems at some point Rickenbacker changed the string spacing. Why?? One has to wonder what benefit there was in such a change--IMHO I don't see any benefit. My hands are average in size and I find it much harder to play my 360/12CW as it is from the factory. Your nut would definitely be an improvement in playabilty...

This is actually Gerard Lanois nut from his 360-12 a burgundy glo with double bound body from the 1980's ...great looking guitar that played terrible .

I believe he posted on how it is now .

I run the outside E strings (both sides) to the edge of the round over of the first fret .Then I get out a calculator and do a little math .

The low E and A pairs are .090 apart the rest .080 apart.
with that outside dimension , I am able to figure out what the spacing is inbetween the pairs , and then I cut the nut .

Due to different radius fretboards,thickness of fretboard variation, width of fretboards/binding,height of fretwire....I am unable to mass produce these .

I would love to be able to supply anyone with one of these via the mail ...however , thet just is not the case.

However ... if you are in north America , and want some one to do this mod ....I can help you out.

Mark<

If we sent you the old nut, could you work from that?

John

Maybe , you would need to have it fine tuned , but if you scribed the top of the fretboard edge on the nut before removing it and you could send a photo of the neck/nut area and if you could measure how far from the edge of the first fret was the round over section , then yes it could be done .

It might have to be wider so the edges could be trimmed to fit the neck and the dpth would nee a little fine tuning .How much ? Depends on what kind of info I could get .

Cost ? $75.00 +S&H

I just got my 360-12V64 back from Mark. He put the wider nut on and at first feel, I could tell the difference. Just a smidge more room to finger that open "A" chord. I have to go to LA for a week on business, but I will give a full report when I return and get to use it at band practice. Also, I will have this guitar at the International Pop Overthrow. My band "Tiny Volcano" will be performing Saturday, July 27th, at 3:30 PM. Hope to see everyone there!

By the way .... This modification gave Jon an additional .110 in width to the overall string width at the nut .

All I did was cut a new nut , there is NO added real neck width.

Has the nut spacing changed 4001 vs. 4003? My 4003 seems a tad bit wider than my 4001. If so, has it changed from year to year?

Ok boys and girls...I just got back from LA. I went down to Santa Manica Blvd and also to Pico. What a cute charming little city. I felt embraced the second I stepped out of my car. The locals embraced me like a long lost brother. The whole city shines like gold!.......RIIGGHHT! Anyways, when I picked up my RIC 12 from Mark (who was kind enough to entertain my two young sons with cartoons)I noticed a little more room to make chords in the first position.I have small hands and normally was able to finger all chords, but I did have to cram my knuckles together to finger an "A". But after practice last night, I was extremely pleased to find how much room I had to finger all chords. I highly recommend Marks mod. It may seem like a small improvement, but I find it extremely helpful on such a small fretboard. The other benefit is having Mark adjust the neck and setting the intonation. Thanks Mark for a job well done, and thanks for moving to the Seattle area so I can drop off all my guitars for setup.

I wanted to give an update. After playing the guitar for a few weeks, I am convinced the change is miraculous. I absolutely love it. It is enough of a change to allow picking and chording without cramming your fingers together. I restrung my guitar last night and it sounds awesome. I always test it with "Tamberine Man" and each note sounds great. I still can't help playing that intro everytime I pick up the guitar. Mark, a million thanks.

How does one contact Mark about having this type of work done?

Dave:>>>> [email protected] should find him


regards

John

Dave,
Did you have the mod done?

I just sent my 360/12 to Mark last night. If I can believe UPS tracking he will get it tomorrow.

I have also ask him to install a 12 saddle bridge and a lighter gauge set of strings.

I will keep you posted. Dave