Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Upon opening the case,I first noticed slack strings--then reality dawned on me.
My 370-12 RM became a statistic

Bummer...

Please tell us the tailpiece explosion left no gouges, scratches or other damage to your guitar.

Six, or twelve, string?

My 12 string 381 broke in the exact same spot. . . that was six years ago. Still have the broken TP, because this was before the exchange policy.

It was a most unpleasant surprise, I am sure. IT was a WTH?! moment for me when I opened the case on mine and string ends blossomed, sprang, and snaked out of the case, comtemporaneously with a "clang" as the broken TP, and bridge fell out of the case onto the floor. . .

I am considering sending my broken TP in on exchange and buying a new one for a spare.

Sorry to hear about that.
Maybe the warranty will cover it and send you a new 12 string R tailpeice. On the bright side you can now make that into a belt buckle.

IvanMunoz wrote:Sorry to hear about that.
Maybe the warranty will cover it and send you a new 12 string R tailpeice. On the bright side you can now make that into a belt buckle.

Don mentioned in his original post that it's an RM so it surely won't be under the original factory warranty any more...

bosco64 wrote:

IvanMunoz wrote:Sorry to hear about that.
Maybe the warranty will cover it and send you a new 12 string R tailpeice. On the bright side you can now make that into a belt buckle.

Don mentioned in his original post that it's an RM so it surely won't be under the original factory warranty any more...

Yeah. Initially I found the sight amusing, until I realized, as speedy as RIC is with CS, how long I would be without my 381/12. Solution? Buy another Rick 12, I suppose; one good, two better.

I suppose once I trade in my busted TP for a new one, I'll have a spare TP should anything ever go wrong again, which is unlikely given RIC's ongoing commitment to QC.

fatcat wrote:Upon opening the case,I first noticed slack strings--then reality dawned on me.
My 370-12 RM became a statistic

Sorry to hear, Don, and welcome to the club. Both of RMs have replacement tailpieces now, and one has a replacement tailpiece bracket, too.

Oh, that's not a nice surprise. I feel bad picturing that moment. Fortunately it's a simple fix once you find a replacement.

Happy update: replacement part has arrived ,and been installed ,with new strings.Ernie Ball 2230 set.I'll let it settle in, make any adjustments needed and then finish the JangleboxLE comparison project.
Then.back into the vault with it.

Good! Glad you got a new tailpiece. I had that very thing happen on an Eko violin bass that I bought as new-old-stock back around 1989. Apparently a warehouse full of '60's Eko guitars and basses was found in the '80's, long after their US distributor had gone out of business, and I got this bass cheap. I used it on one or two gigs, then didn't play it for a year or so--I'm a passable bass player in a pinch, but I'm really a guitar player, so I don't get many calls to play bass! Anyway, I opened the case up one afternoon, and found the strings laying slack on the top--got it about halfway tuned up, and SPANG! the tailpiece bracket snapped, and the bridge and what was left of the tailpiece went flying across the room--almost took my right hand off! I actually haven't owned a bass since...

jfine wrote:...the bridge and what was left of the tailpiece went flying across the room--almost took my right hand off! I actually haven't owned a bass since...

That traumatic, eh?

Jeffrey, it wasn't the trauma that made me quit playing bass--it was the fact that, like I said, I'm a guitar player. The number of bass gigs I've done in my life could be counted on the thumbs of both hands. At that time, I got a bass out of self-defense because I was sick and tired of having to play guitar with bass players who weren't able to hear changes or play a groove. I know some really good bass players, but they were all playing in four or five bands apiece, so I never got to work with them. I thought I'd get a piece of the bass action, but I discovered that I'd better stick with what I do best, which is guitar. Plus, a decent bass amp weighs more than I can lift...

jfine wrote:Jeffrey, it wasn't the trauma that made me quit playing bass--it was the fact that, like I said, I'm a guitar player. The number of bass gigs I've done in my life could be counted on the thumbs of both hands. At that time, I got a bass out of self-defense because I was sick and tired of having to play guitar with bass players who weren't able to hear changes or play a groove. I know some really good bass players, but they were all playing in four or five bands apiece, so I never got to work with them. I thought I'd get a piece of the bass action, but I discovered that I'd better stick with what I do best, which is guitar. Plus, a decent bass amp weighs more than I can lift...

Even though I am primarily a bassist have usually had at least one guitar in my collection through most of my 41 years playing. At the moment I have one acoustic and one electric guitar; they come in handy for composing and learning things.

As to bass amps, it is amazing what technology has done to lighten our loads!

jfine wrote:Jeffrey, it wasn't the trauma that made me quit playing bass--it was the fact that, like I said, I'm a guitar player. The number of bass gigs I've done in my life could be counted on the thumbs of both hands. At that time, I got a bass out of self-defense because I was sick and tired of having to play guitar with bass players who weren't able to hear changes or play a groove. I know some really good bass players, but they were all playing in four or five bands apiece, so I never got to work with them. I thought I'd get a piece of the bass action, but I discovered that I'd better stick with what I do best, which is guitar. Plus, a decent bass amp weighs more than I can lift...

I hear you, I can play guitar, but I just feel more comfortable on bass. Same thing pretty much. And bass amps are extremely heavy, atleast for me.