Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So I'm considering purchasing a mid-60's 12-string 330/12, but an image I received of the side view concerns me, especially considering the issues I've had in the past with the necks on vintage 12's. What concerns me is:

1) neck pickup donut rings are NOT compressed compared with bridge pickup donut rings - yet height above strings is much higher at neck pickup.
2) neck appears to be bowing upwards
3) bridge appears to be bottoming out

Thoughts?

Here's the image:

It does look like it's got a great action, but certainly looks like the neck to body is on a pivot and the bridge pup is almost touching the strings the bridge is so low. What gauge strings are on there, they look quite heavy, trick of the light perhaps.

Some close up shots of the neck join would help, if they would that is.

The neck joint is clean. No cracks or issues there. I consider this action to be high actually, compared to my current 12-string.

I'd shy away from a guitar with this issue.
Resetting the neck could be a costly procedure

The bridge height looks fine to me. If the action is decent and it plays well, I see no problems. Put light gauge strings on it and it should be fine for the time you own it.

danm wrote:The bridge height looks fine to me. If the action is decent and it plays well, I see no problems. Put light gauge strings on it and it should be fine for the time you own it.

+1

Looks good enough to leave alone unless you see it get worse years from now.

But.... Make sure you factor in the shallow neck angle in the price. Don't pay for a bad neck angle.

I do not agree with the two comments above.
You should be able to use any string gauge you wish.
You say the action is rather high, from what I can tell, that bridge pickup almost touches the strings already, leaving no further room to lower the strings.
If you'd be able to lower the bridge that millimeter more, the resulting low string break angle, in combination with light gauge string could result in the strings jumping out of the saddles and dimished sonic performance.

Looks good enough to leave alone unless you see it get worse years from now.

This is actually an advice that could go for anything, from a garden to this guitar

wim wrote:This is actually an advice that could go for anything, from a garden to this guitar

Maybe both together!

Well, I decided to take the plunge. I decided the guitar was too clean to pass up. There aren't that many mid-60's 330/12's around these days, and this one meets all my criteria (3 piece top, long pole pickups, semi-thick top), and doesn't appear to have any cracks around the heel. The neck may just need a tweak of the rods to bring the strings down slightly. Hard to say. Either way, the action isn't that high in the photo.

So I put a downpayment on it today, and will have 48 hours to return it if I'm dissatisfied. It's through a reputable dealer, so hopefully all will go as planned. Won't have it for an entire month though because I won't have the full payment until then. Long wait...