Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Just wondering what the conventional wisdom is here. I'd always set it dead flat, but I had a pro refret and set it up and he had the front screws closer to the neck lower than the rear, thus angling it. Gentlemen?

There's nothing wrong with a slight angle, as long as the bridge is stable. De-angling it after the setup will likely (slightly) affect the intonation, as the saddles will move slightly to the rear if the front bridge height adjustment screws are raised.

Not 100% certain what your reporting here?

If your talking about intonation related problems(??) then you need to consider the bridge saddle centre distance with respect to the nut foremost!

Rick set there bridges (AND still do!!) at a distance exactly twice that of the distance from the nut to the 12th fret. All other major makers and Master Luthiers (an industry standard) add 5/32" or approx 4 millimeters to the nut to bridge length for any given string, and thus allowing reasonable adjustment for ALL string gauges and types (I love Thomastick Infeld nickel flat wounds), including 12 strings.

Hope this helps some.

Si.............

Actually, Si, he's talking about the bridge being tilted slightly on its height adjustment screws, not the actual linear position of the bridge mounting plate. And, newer Ricks have a slotted mounting plate to allow for some compensation besides that available in the saddles themselves. So, problem solved for the vast majority of string types and gauges.