Tune-o-matic bridge on a Rickenbacker
Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 3:24 am
Last week I got a 330 back that I had sent out for a refinish a very long time ago, from a distant planet known as the Pacific Northwest (that's another story. Photos at 11).
Over the past few months, my main squeeze has become a honey of a Les Paul - a '58 reissue burst. I loved the playability so much that I had the 330 done up with matching fretwire and nothing but a matte finish on the fretboard - no gloss or tiny frets to slow me down while shredding (ha). I also came to the conclusion that I loved Gibson's ABR-1 tune-o-matic bridge. I noticed that in general, I liked guitars more that had this style bridge. Something about the acoustic tone and playability really struck a chord (ha) with me.
So, I had our boy Collin modify a Rick baseplate for me so that it could take a TOM bridge without modification to the guitar. I ordered the ABR-1, and put the guitar through it's paces for a few days with the stock Rick bridge on while I waited for the new one to arrive. I spend most of my time teaching guitar, so I am given ample opportunity to really get familiar with a guitar, while playing and teaching ALL types of music.
I have the guitar strung up with 11's (10 high e) and have an Accent vibrato installed. My first impressions were that I found the guitar to be a little stiffer than I was used to with my Les Paul (my main squeeze), which I found puzzling - I used the same exact string gauge and brand, and the guitars have the same scale length and similar radii. Hmm.
Usually the small Rick frets might be the culprit there, but remember I had this guitar refretted with a slightly larger gauge wire and a matte finish on the fretboard, no typical Rick high gloss.
The guitar also wasn't holding it's tune very well - decently, but not great. In the past I have found this to simply be one of the "quirks" of Ricks.
Today I finally got the TOM installed and notched up the saddles. I've been pounding out power chords, bending, and delivering serious whammy bar abuse - and I have not had to retune it yet, not even a touch. There is a very noticeable improvement in acoustic tone, too - the guitar is a bit more "solid" sounding, which I attribute to the added mass that comes with the new bridge.
So far, I'm sold. I'm back to work tomorrow so after some thorough abuse, I'll check back again in a few days to let you guys know how its held up.
Has anyone else tried such a modification to their Rick? I can't recall ever seeing one, except for maybe a crude butchering of a vintage Rick a few times.
Over the past few months, my main squeeze has become a honey of a Les Paul - a '58 reissue burst. I loved the playability so much that I had the 330 done up with matching fretwire and nothing but a matte finish on the fretboard - no gloss or tiny frets to slow me down while shredding (ha). I also came to the conclusion that I loved Gibson's ABR-1 tune-o-matic bridge. I noticed that in general, I liked guitars more that had this style bridge. Something about the acoustic tone and playability really struck a chord (ha) with me.
So, I had our boy Collin modify a Rick baseplate for me so that it could take a TOM bridge without modification to the guitar. I ordered the ABR-1, and put the guitar through it's paces for a few days with the stock Rick bridge on while I waited for the new one to arrive. I spend most of my time teaching guitar, so I am given ample opportunity to really get familiar with a guitar, while playing and teaching ALL types of music.
I have the guitar strung up with 11's (10 high e) and have an Accent vibrato installed. My first impressions were that I found the guitar to be a little stiffer than I was used to with my Les Paul (my main squeeze), which I found puzzling - I used the same exact string gauge and brand, and the guitars have the same scale length and similar radii. Hmm.
Usually the small Rick frets might be the culprit there, but remember I had this guitar refretted with a slightly larger gauge wire and a matte finish on the fretboard, no typical Rick high gloss.
The guitar also wasn't holding it's tune very well - decently, but not great. In the past I have found this to simply be one of the "quirks" of Ricks.
Today I finally got the TOM installed and notched up the saddles. I've been pounding out power chords, bending, and delivering serious whammy bar abuse - and I have not had to retune it yet, not even a touch. There is a very noticeable improvement in acoustic tone, too - the guitar is a bit more "solid" sounding, which I attribute to the added mass that comes with the new bridge.
So far, I'm sold. I'm back to work tomorrow so after some thorough abuse, I'll check back again in a few days to let you guys know how its held up.
Has anyone else tried such a modification to their Rick? I can't recall ever seeing one, except for maybe a crude butchering of a vintage Rick a few times.
