Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello all, I recently compared the string spacing of the stock nut on my 2004 360-12 with the 12-string nut now available from RIC online. Here is the result. I think most 360-12 and 620-12 owners, from recent years, would have been much happier with this nut, from the factory, on all 12-strings. Anyway, I'm glad it has been made available. I suspect it may need to be widdled away a bit more, but it certainly is a good starting point.

The same thing goes for six string nuts. I always wondered why my 330 was easier to play than my 620. Now the nut for the 620 and 360 has been discontinued on the Rickenbacker website.

I need to get one of those bad boys...

NO doubt I am crazy, but I like the way my 360-12(August 2005 model) plays the way it is, right from the factory! Yes, personal preference...and no, I have not tried it with the different nut, so I can't say I prefer one over the other.

But it appears to me that the overwhelming majority of posts pertaining to this subject very much wish for or prefer the wider string spacing.

Does anyone else like the 360-12 spacing the way nature intended???

I feel so alone.

I have big fingers (You can fit a quarter through my wedding ring), so a standard 360-12 is out for me, unless I can find songs that don't include a C chord. Even the 660 feels cramped.

I'd love to try one with roomier spacing, since there really is no substitute for "that sound".

there really is no substitute for "that sound"

Matt: It may be hard to believe, but I know a music store dealer that got a line 6 guitar and amplifier and then sold his 360/12V64 claiming that he could easily model the 12 string sound. I listened to his attempts and recommended that he keep the Rickenbacker. Alas, he sold the Rickenbacker. He is no longer in business as a guitar dealer. I wonder why?

Peter....I empathise with your tale more than you can possibly know....try being a sound engineer for a week!!!!

Hey Mick-
I have no problem with the 360/12 string spacing.
I only like to cut the slots a little deeper so that the open
position feels like a capo'd position action wise....
I don't think I have a issue with "my other guitars necks are bigger...". My main 6 string is a Gibson Tal Farlow and it's neck is a club...
Just letting you know you're not alone.....

Gotcha! Though I must say that after playing my 360-12 for a few days, switching back to my 381 6-string is quite...liberating, in a sense. It feels like there's a ton of room on that guitar.

I sold off four Rickenbacker guitars (two sixes and two twelves) this past year because my fingers wouldn't fit on the fingerboards. I tried a 660-12, but it wasn't my cup of tea and I didn't find the string spacing to be much of an improvement, despite the wider neck. I would actually find myself avoiding songs with C and D chords on my Rics, because I couldn't play them without damping strings (and how can you play a decent Ric-12-string song without that lovely, ringing D chord). Finally, I sent my 360-12 WB out to Mark Arnquist for the full treatment, including full-width frets that go all the way out to the edges of the neck. It's been back for about a week now and it's pure heaven to play. No more damping strings and as a bonus it now actually plays in tune after having the bridge moved. It's pretty drastic surgery, but it's nice to know that if needed, I can now get any Ric modified so that my fingers will fit on the fingerboard. Opens up a whole new world of purchasing opportunities - which will certainly make my wife happy....

Peter - I am shocked that he is no longer in business. Shocked I tell you.

I've heard some decent to good sounds come out of a Variax, but the 12 string is definitely not among them.

Steve, all,

As some (none?) might recall this is an issue dear to my heart, or to my hands. I have small to average size hands but have only been playing guitar for two years and am just an “advanced beginner.”
I love, love, love my 360/12 but don’t like the strings being so close together. I have little trouble with three/four string chords that are close together (D, D7, A, Em etc.) but with any chords that stretch across (infamous C) I always wind up muting something. [So I “cheat” by playing the C as XX2010.]

It is very interesting that the replacement nut would be different. If you look at it closely, it seems that the spacing between the (high) E, the B and G pairs are almost exactly the same as the original nut. (So Todd, this would not seem to help much with your D chord problem.)
And then the spacing seems to begin to widen with the lower strings. And that would be perfect for me.
Just one problem . . .
Now that my 360/12 MG has two autographs on it, can I trust leaving it with my local guitar tech?
(I don’t mean they would steal or sell it, I mean what if something happens to it?)

I've got a a pair here of Rick 12 string nuts, one each from a 360 & the 330 model, I was comparing them as I've shimmed down the 330 to the level of the 360 which was originally on my 12 string.

The 330 nut is not as wide as the 360 but there is a difference in the string spacing.

If you line up the centre string courses the low E side course is more than 1 times the E string width towards the edge of the neck & the treble high E string course is about 1 1/2 times its width nearer the edge.

So judging by the nuts I have there is a difference for the better & I certainly noticed it when I put the new nut on!

BTW Are Rickenbacker still making the blank nuts 'cause I can't find any on their website or anywhere else?

I was thinking of making a nut with wider spacing like the Arnquist ones?.

OK guys. This is a little weird. Many folks here swear there is no issue with narrow Ric necks and that a tiny minority of people actually complain about them. I beg to differ and am still at a loss to understand why something so simple as making a frickin' neck a tiny bit wider is considered a blasphemous sin around here. I'm not trying to start anything but the issue keeps coming up and everyone keeps looking the other way as if people with man sized hands are lepers or something.

News Flash. Narrow Ric necks are a problem for those of us who love Rickenbacker guitars but have difficulty playing them. We're not bad people, just different.

We're offered an abundance of expensive "fixes" that address an all too common concern.

Would the people who play 360's and the like really be that offended by a 1/8" wider neck?

Please, no flame throwing. this is a valid concern and a valid question.