Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi everybody,
i recently got a 330/12, i am wondering if it is possible with no issues at all to play it fitting 6 strings only like a traditional 6 strings guitar.
If not, what are the major issues?
Is the sound going to be exactly as a 330/6 ?
Cheers
Paolo

My 330/12 has been strung as a six string for ten years now.
It sounds fine, but I'm pretty sure I had to give the truss-rod a tweak at the time I've heard people complain about the strings being offset slightly at the nut due to the double-string spacing, but it's never bothered me.

bails wrote:My 330/12 has been strung as a six string for ten years now.

Why?

Why would one want to only have six strings on a twelve string guitar? Even the most mundane playing sounds brilliant on a twelve string, while on a six string it would still sound obviously mundane.

1965 wrote:Why?

Maybe if you already had a 12-string, but wanted a 6-string, and didn't want/couldn't afford/etc to buy a new guitar or trade your old one for it. Maybe you will want to put it back to being a 12-string one day (maybe soon) and don't want to buy and sell guitars twice?

There's no reason it won't work perfectly well, especially on a Rickenbacker where there is almost no constructional difference between the two models anyway. The only problems you might run into are the offset string spacing, probably needing to adjust the truss rods, and possibly rattle from the unused machineheads - but you can always take those off too, it's very easy.

paologregorio wrote:Why would one want to only have six strings on a twelve string guitar? Even the most mundane playing sounds brilliant on a twelve string, while on a six string it would still sound obviously mundane.

There are some things that are difficult to play or don't sound right on a 12-string... especially bent notes, usually. Some chord voicings don't seem to suit 12 strings either.

That's why I have TWO Ricks, one of each! But I'm lucky enough to have been able to afford it.

Clarification; I didn't mean to imply that anyone's playing was mundane. I should have said, even when playing the simplest of riffs, the notes will sparkle when played on a 12, but, good point; if one already has a 12 and needs a six for one's playing, then it makes complete sense.

Sorry about the muddled previous post; it was late, and I had a few pints in my system.

BlueAngel wrote:Maybe if you already had a 12-string, but wanted a 6-string, and didn't want/couldn't afford/etc to buy a new guitar or trade your old one for it. Maybe you will want to put it back to being a 12-string one day (maybe soon) and don't want to buy and sell guitars twice?

Yes, I get that. But for ten years??? Standard six string models for the most part are cheaper anyways. I don't see the point in having all that extra hardware hanging off the guitar making it balance all wrong if you only need six strings.

You can always take the extra tuners off and then it's actually going to be lighter than an equivalent 6-string headstock since there are the slots and holes.

No, I wouldn't purposely go out and buy a 12-string to convert it into a 6 either, but if you've already got the 12... then getting another guitar is definitely not cheaper!

BlueAngel wrote:No, I wouldn't purposely go out and buy a 12-string to convert it into a 6 either, but if you've already got the 12... then getting another guitar is definitely not cheaper!

Well, if you need a 12 and a 6 it's not like you're gonna be putting on and taking off the second set of 6 strings all the time.

If you really want a 6 string and you have a 330/12, it's likely that you'll be able to sell it for more than you bought it for. 330's are arguably the easiest to find of all RIC guitars, it wouldn't be hard to pick one up reasonably quick for a decent price. I'm all for utility, but using a 12 string as a 6 just seems silly.

Here's the REAL question...which tuners would you keep?? I think the backwards-facing ones only would be interesting.

Then again, I'd use it as a 12...cause they're cooler than 6-strings.

1965 wrote:

BlueAngel wrote:No, I wouldn't purposely go out and buy a 12-string to convert it into a 6 either, but if you've already got the 12... then getting another guitar is definitely not cheaper!

Well, if you need a 12 and a 6 it's not like you're gonna be putting on and taking off the second set of 6 strings all the time.

If you really want a 6 string and you have a 330/12, it's likely that you'll be able to sell it for more than you bought it for. 330's are arguably the easiest to find of all RIC guitars, it wouldn't be hard to pick one up reasonably quick for a decent price. I'm all for utility, but using a 12 string as a 6 just seems silly.

I don't understand your problem with this... if you have a 12, and need a 6 - but not to swap between the two guitars - and don't want to sell or trade the 12-string (for whatever reason) then why NOT use it as a 6?

Sure it's not as ideal as having both, or even changing it for a 6 if you will NEVER want a 12 again... but not all of us want, or can afford, to have more than one guitar or to trade back and forth - which is likely to cost some money even if you're trading a 12 for a 6, and certainly the other way round.

dpowell wrote:Here's the REAL question...which tuners would you keep?? I think the backwards-facing ones only would be interesting.

No, keep the normal upright ones - like a standard 6-string.

The strings make much less of an angle through the nut to reach these tuners than the slot ones, so any binding in the slots (which is most likely to occur when you bend strings, which you're also more likely to do with a 6-string) will be minimized. Also, if it's a modern 12 with the Schaller tuners, the upright ones are fitted much better, with the threaded front collar. The sideways ones are poorly supported with only a single screw and can move about slightly or even work the screw loose - personally I don't think these tuners should be used at all on the 12-strings for this reason, although they're fine on the 6s.

It seems to me the people in question using their 12 strings as 6 strings have explored the obvious trade it for a six solution. Perhaps there is sentimental value attached or some cosmetic issue that drastically reduces the resale value, or may simply live in an area where Ricks are very rare. Whatever it is, I don't think they should be made to feel bad about asking what structural issues may occur due by doing this.
It's your guitar, do what ever you want with it, what's important is that you play it and enjoy it.

whojamfan wrote:I
It's your guitar, do what ever you want with it, what's important is that you play it and enjoy it.

exactly! do with it what you will and enjoy!

In Australia, we don't have the luxury of choice that the US has...
The reason I bought a 330/12 is basically because there was one available to buy at the time. If there were two, perhaps my choice would have been different. As it was, there was no choice, so I bought what I could. Ebay was in its infancy, 'The Trading Post' classified newspaper was king (I used to buy the paper before uni every Thursday to grab the guitar bargains before someone else did!), and Melbourne guitar shops would have been unlikely to have more than a dozen Ricks between them - and even if they did, websites were simply place holders with phone numbers. No such thing as online inventory in those days, so finding a guitar involved making 20 phone calls.

It sounds so nostalgic, but it was only 10 years ago.

Cut to present day...
I don't have any electric 12-string sets, and have been too lazy to buy any in the last 10 years, so I use it as a 6 string. I'm not huge fan of 12-string guitars, though I do own a 12-string Ovation which is strung as a 12-string, and it's fun in small doses. Despite the long story, I am glad a own a 330/12, even though it only gets used as a 6. For those who think it's a waste, I don't believe it's any more wasteful than a warm jacket*. You don't use it everyday, but when it's cold** outside, you're glad you own it...

*Note: The term 'warm jacket' is an analogy for a '1980 Rickenbacker 330/12'
**Note: The term 'cold' used here is an analogy for 'the need of a 12-string guitar'.

bails wrote:In Australia, we don't have the luxury of choice that the US has...
The reason I bought a 330/12 is basically because there was one available to buy at the time. If there were two, perhaps my choice would have been different. As it was, there was no choice, so I bought what I could. Ebay was in its infancy, 'The Trading Post' classified newspaper was king (I used to buy the paper before uni every Thursday to grab the guitar bargains before someone else did!), and Melbourne guitar shops would have been unlikely to have more than a dozen Ricks between them - and even if they did, websites were simply place holders with phone numbers. No such thing as online inventory in those days, so finding a guitar involved making 20 phone calls.

It sounds so nostalgic, but it was only 10 years ago.

Ironically, that was probably the best time to buy a new Rickenbacker here in the States...low backlog, any option you wanted, lots of kooky colors, black trim, acoustics, 6-string 360v64s, 1997s, 5-string basses...goes on and on.