String Alignment and Fret Wear

[Klipper37]

Hi all,

First of all can I say what a great site this has been for me even in my many years of lurking and learning and I am happy to say that I was let off the leash and purchased my first Rickenbacker a 340 mapleglow and after playing the guitar I have a few questions about string alignment and fret wear.

Is it normal with the thinner rickenbacker necks to have the bass strings this close close to the edge of the fret board? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MEGA-RARE-199 ... 257908fb39(see further down the page in the description for the close up pictures). It might well be my playing technique but at times I am finding the bass string slipping off the side of the fretboard this is resolved by tidying up my fingering but wondered it it was one of the little quirks that should be expected on the Rickenbacker?

Also I have found a little fret wear on the G string second fret and below which appears to be causing a little fret buzz when I play the guitar acoustically. it does not transfer to the amp when plugged in but I was wondering with the frets being so low to begin with what peoples experiences were with dressing the frets due to simliar issues?

Any advice is welcome tbh, I really want to make sure that the guitar is ok before commiting to the famous iiipopes mod!


Thanks in advance,

Paul

[teb]

That does look awfully close to the edge on the low E string, especially for the first few frets. My 340/12 is like that, but only because I replaced the nut and spread the string pairs out as much as possible. I figured extra room to avoid damping strings was more important to me than occasionally getting sloppy and falling off the fingerboard. I don't believe any of the Rickenbacker sixes that I've had were set up with the strings that close to the ends of the frets. In any case, it's not a particularly difficult fix for any competent luthier.