Mark Arnquist 12 String Fix
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
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shammond
Mark Arnquist 12 String Fix
I'm now a believer. A few months ago I bought a new Ric 360/12 string. I think I got caught up a bit in the rush and romance of the moment (getting a real Ric!) and I overlooked many small technical details. Anyway when I got it home and started working with it - I started noticing how difficult it was to play some chords right and how the intonation up the neck wasn't true. From this site I found out about Mark Arnquist out in Washington, contacted him, and he explained to me what needed to be done to make it right. Why they don't make it right at the factory, is beyond me. Anyway, I sent mine to Mark and in just a couple weeks I had it back and now it plays and sounds awsome. No problem with chords anymore (with a wider nut) and the intonation (with a new 12 saddle bridge) is right on. Plus he made all sorts of other small improvements. This guy is good! Contact him if you find yourself in my position.
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sir_andrew_of_left_coast
- Veteran RRF member
- Posts: 729
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2000 6:38 am
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garrityi
Hey Scott,
Good news on your new life affair with a Ric. And yes, it will be a life affair, both in emotions, enjoyment and $$. Ask John Williams. You will want another one, and then maybe just one more.
As to Mark Arnquist, I too have sent him several Ric's to set up his way, notably an unplayed 360/12 CW. Based on the mostly positive feedback here on the Ric Forum I sent the guitar from Toronto, Canada. It was a good choice, from the new bridge placement (12 Saddle) to the nut and string spacing along with other assorted tweaks. I was so pleased I sent him a 350V63 to set up and tweak his way. I just wish Andrew, John and some others had a better experience with him...
Your comment 'Why they don't make it right at the factory, is beyond me.' is one that many people ask. I too had that thought...briefly.
As a Company Director, I understand and empathise with John Hall's side of the coin regarding manufacturing multiple items and product lines.
Considering standard manufacturing principals, try to imagine the cost of new Ric's if they tried to please everyone and offered the list of build options everyone wanted.
We would then complain of the price of a standard Ric, not understanding that the costs associated with R&D, engineering, tooling, equipment, people, inventory, order processing, etc., has to be satisfied in the overall retail pricing of an item. Not just on the specific options themselves, or the options would be so expensive that customers would not purchase them. Then those costs to make them available would be unrecoverable. Would you take that risk if it was your business?
For us, it is a love affair with the product. For Rickenbacker, it is foremost a business, along with a love affair with the product, a product that is unique. It is not a generic off-the-shelf item that Ric has to compete with offshore manufacturers for market dollars. You want a Rickenbacker? - You want a Rickenbacker! Not a Rickenfaker.
I will get off my soapbox now and go strum a few chords. Let us know when you get another Ric
Good news on your new life affair with a Ric. And yes, it will be a life affair, both in emotions, enjoyment and $$. Ask John Williams. You will want another one, and then maybe just one more.
As to Mark Arnquist, I too have sent him several Ric's to set up his way, notably an unplayed 360/12 CW. Based on the mostly positive feedback here on the Ric Forum I sent the guitar from Toronto, Canada. It was a good choice, from the new bridge placement (12 Saddle) to the nut and string spacing along with other assorted tweaks. I was so pleased I sent him a 350V63 to set up and tweak his way. I just wish Andrew, John and some others had a better experience with him...
Your comment 'Why they don't make it right at the factory, is beyond me.' is one that many people ask. I too had that thought...briefly.
As a Company Director, I understand and empathise with John Hall's side of the coin regarding manufacturing multiple items and product lines.
Considering standard manufacturing principals, try to imagine the cost of new Ric's if they tried to please everyone and offered the list of build options everyone wanted.
We would then complain of the price of a standard Ric, not understanding that the costs associated with R&D, engineering, tooling, equipment, people, inventory, order processing, etc., has to be satisfied in the overall retail pricing of an item. Not just on the specific options themselves, or the options would be so expensive that customers would not purchase them. Then those costs to make them available would be unrecoverable. Would you take that risk if it was your business?
For us, it is a love affair with the product. For Rickenbacker, it is foremost a business, along with a love affair with the product, a product that is unique. It is not a generic off-the-shelf item that Ric has to compete with offshore manufacturers for market dollars. You want a Rickenbacker? - You want a Rickenbacker! Not a Rickenfaker.
I will get off my soapbox now and go strum a few chords. Let us know when you get another Ric
Hi,
Could you forward Mark Arnquist's e-mail addy to me? This sounds interesting and I would like to correspond with him regarding my 381 12 string. Thanks.
Please forward address to:
griplocal80 (at) yahoo (dot) com
(Doing as much as possible to keep web crawlers from scamming this e-mail address, my other one gets over 60 junk e-mails a day.)
Could you forward Mark Arnquist's e-mail addy to me? This sounds interesting and I would like to correspond with him regarding my 381 12 string. Thanks.
Please forward address to:
griplocal80 (at) yahoo (dot) com
(Doing as much as possible to keep web crawlers from scamming this e-mail address, my other one gets over 60 junk e-mails a day.)
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simondohertyuk
- New member
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 2:56 pm