Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Sorry if this sounds remedial.

Did the placement of the bridge and bridge pickup change on the body of the guitar with the changing from 21 to 24 frets to accommodate the displacement of the neck pickup? or did we just loose space between the pickups?

Thanks

Technically both. Since the neck is longer on a 24 fret guitar the neck pick up is closer to the bridge and the bridge and bridge pickup are closer to the neck. Rick dosen't just extend the fretboard over the body on 24 fret guitars they make the neck longer for better access to the upper frets.

The physical placement of the bridge and bridge pickup did not change, just the neck pickup due to the longer neck protruding into the body.

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To get a better idea on this, maybe Paul A. can post "before and after" pictures of the neck on the refinished BlueBoy OS that Dale Fortune shortened from 24 frets to 21 frets and the details of the subsequent pick-up placement after the neck surgery.

8mileshigher wrote:= =
To get a better idea on this, maybe Paul A. can post "before and after" pictures of the neck on the refinished BlueBoy OS that Dale Fortune shortened from 24 frets to 21 frets and the details of the subsequent pick-up placement after the neck surgery.

Here you go. The bridge plate and bridge p/up are in the same place. I'm sorry I don't have better before photos, but I sent the guitar off to be redone as soon as I could after I bought it, and it was a rather "road wear" example of a 330, so I wasn't all that inclined to photograph it in the first place. I'm lazy enough about using a camera as it is!

Paul, it was your blue boy in tandem with thinking about modding my 360 that got me thinking about this in the first place. Wondering what, with regards to pickup and bridge placement had changed, and if those changes had any sonic, real or remarkable effect.

So ultimately the bridge and bridge pickup nerver changed, and the neck being longer moved slightly away from the bridge and the neck pickup moved slightly closer to the bridge, right?

That is one great-looking guitar, Paul.

rickendelic wrote:
So ultimately the bridge and bridge pickup nerver changed, and the neck being longer moved slightly away from the bridge and the neck pickup moved slightly closer to the bridge, right?

On a 24-fret Ric neck, the actual neck isn't longer from the heel-to-headstock, though the fretboard is longer and it is just set further into the body to accomodate the 24 fret spread.

Overall, to convert to a 21 fret, you have to:

1.) cut the neck/fretboard down at the 21st fret
2.) plug the existing neck pickup route with new wood
3.) route the new pickup route
4.) refinish



It's a pretty huge process, as far as guitar repairs go.

dpowell wrote:That is one great-looking guitar, Paul.

+1 But I do like the "before" as well.

jps wrote:The physical placement of the bridge and bridge pickup did not change, just the neck pickup due to the longer neck protruding into the body.

Depends on the series of the guitar. The model was not mentioned in the original post. I did think they were all this way so I do stand corrected. I thought I had a pic of a 330 or 360 24 fret model that the neck was attached at the 24th fret but since I can't find it I must be mistaken.

ken_j wrote: I did think they were all this way so I do stand corrected. I thought I had a pic of a 330 or 360 24 fret model that the neck was attached at the 24th fret but since I can't find it I must be mistaken.

The only one I know of like that is the original 350:

http://www.rickenbacker.dk/350.jpg

dpowell wrote:That is one great-looking guitar, Paul.

Thank you. Dale Fortune did the work. It's pretty sweet. I'd probably shoot some more photos of it, but I've been eyeballs deep in my reading and writing for law school. I'm a first year, and the work's pretty intense!

dpowell wrote:

ken_j wrote: I did think they were all this way so I do stand corrected. I thought I had a pic of a 330 or 360 24 fret model that the neck was attached at the 24th fret but since I can't find it I must be mistaken.

The only one I know of like that is the original 350:

http://www.rickenbacker.dk/350.jpg

I had forgotten about the 350 and most likely was the pic I was thinging of. Of course the 650 aways come to me first since that was the only 24 fret Rick I have ever owned.