Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi

just a brief post to jot down my experiences for the benefit of others.

1. First up, I recently installed an Ac'cent on my 330MG. I play a few hollowbody guitars with Bigsbies (Guild Starfire & Gordon Smith Galaxy) but for financial reasons I'm currently whittling down my guitar collection to probably two. I'm really attached to my Ric so it's not one of the ones to go, but I've always wanted a vibrato for it.

I installed the Ac'cent, but the break angle was so shallow that the guitar lost a lot of its voice and seemed to get kind of scratchy and ghostly in tone. By the way, I'm aware that the strap pin needs to be in a different place to install the accent properly, and i did that mod but it didn't help the break angle at all.

The vibrato itself is crazy - you can bend a lot with it and i wasn't getting tuning difficulties. I was going for some serious detuning which was fun. But i hated the loss in tone and that sharp end to the handle is crazy. So i think I'm going to get rid of it and muse again on whether to fit a Bigsby B5 (which i find a bit ugly) or to find an alternative. I love the look of the R tailpiece as well.

2. The second thing was to put an HB-1 in the neck position. I'd already removed the stock Hi-Gain and put a Toaster in. The Toaster does it's thing and the sound is cool and individual but i wanted a less tinny and more natural sound. To be honest, so far I'm happy with it. I'm liking the HB sound. I've had to screw it right down so it doesn't overwhelm the bridge pickup, but the tone is something close to what i wanted. It's less muddy than the neck Hi Gain was but has some bass unlike the sound i was getting with the toaster.

I'm vaguely thinking about installing the toaster in the middle to make a 340 but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

parker_knoll wrote:.....i think I'm going to get rid of it and muse again on whether to fit a Bigsby B5 (which i find a bit ugly) or to find an alternative.

How does the current trem compare to a Bigsby, action-wise? Bigsbys leave a lot to be desired IMO.

Tony

you mean the Ac'cent?

you can bend and twist it all over, you're just manipulating a piece of rolled metal. I would use it if it wasn't for the change to the sound.

jps wrote:

parker_knoll wrote:.....i think I'm going to get rid of it and muse again on whether to fit a Bigsby B5 (which i find a bit ugly) or to find an alternative.

Hagstrom Vibrato.jpg

I'll see Jeff's Hagstrom and raise a Shade...

This Bob Shade's take on the legendary Mosrite Vibramute/Moseley vibrato - lots of super-smooth travel, nice low anchor point and elegant as a prima ballerina...

Will require a few new holes in your Rick though!

jps wrote:

parker_knoll wrote:.....i think I'm going to get rid of it and muse again on whether to fit a Bigsby B5 (which i find a bit ugly) or to find an alternative.

Hagstrom Vibrato.jpg

there you go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Hagstrom-Gu ... 23104e0855

antipodean wrote:

jps wrote:

parker_knoll wrote:.....i think I'm going to get rid of it and muse again on whether to fit a Bigsby B5 (which i find a bit ugly) or to find an alternative.

Hagstrom Vibrato.jpg

I'll see Jeff's Hagstrom and raise a Shade...

This Bob Shade's take on the legendary Mosrite Vibramute/Moseley vibrato - lots of super-smooth travel, nice low anchor point and elegant as a prima ballerina...

Will require a few new holes in your Rick though!

That is nice. What goes on under the bonnet though? Any routing?

There's also this:

http://phantomguitars.com/store/product ... itar.html#

The Shade is pretty cool looking, with a shape very reminiscent of the Hagstrom, no doubt, deliberate.

no, the shade is a remake of a Mosrite trem.

parker_knoll wrote:no, the shade is a remake of a Mosrite trem.

Similar, anyway.

The Shade's spring is under the screw holding the Vibrato arm in place - very Bigsbyesque. No routing required if the mounting area is flat (relatively speaking - the ramp on a 330 should work).

As to its relationship with the Moseley - it is extraordinarily similar mechanically - to the point that the working parts (arm, retaining screw, spring, bearings and string-anchor) are interchangeable (I've actually used Shade parts to bring my Ventures guitar back to life). The big difference is the shape of the base-plate - the Shade's is very different to the base plate used on Mosrite Ventures models. It's more similar to the base plate used on vibrato-equipped Mosrite Celebrity models, but not quite the same....

the only thing i can say about Bigsbies is they definitely add to the tone, as they are aluminium and very resonant. I'm not sure for other two but i like the look of the phantom vibrato

I have a Hallmark Custom 60, a Mosrite Ventures clone with the Shade tailpiece, and it works fine. On the Hallmark guitars it comes with a roller bridge, and that's pretty essential for keeping it in tune, but your Rickenbacker bridge should be fine if you keep it lubricated. Your only problem might be answering questions as to why your Rickenbacker has an "H" on the tailpiece! By the way, the neck on the Hallmark is not unlike a late-'60's Rickenbacker 330 neck--it's a little wider than the old Mosrite necks, and has bigger frets.

Joe Hall died this past February. RIP.

Toby,

This might sound silly, but if you push the ball ends of the strings in so they sit under the string slots it really locks the strings in and creates more tension on the accent vibrato and more pull across the bridge. It might help with the tone situation. I know it made a difference with my 365.