Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

After dragging the G string off the board a few too many times, it seems my saddles are not cut right. Also the strings don't pass directly over the pickup pole-pieces. I realise that isn't critical, but closer is better, right?

The G string is not super close to the edge, my technique is pretty good. Sometimes it happens out of laziness or moving around, there's barely 1mm movement until the string falls off the bevel of the frets. The nut seems ok and I am reluctant to tackle it from that end, seeing as it plays just fine up to the 5th fret.

Here's some pics and questions:
Would this have been factory?
Can I simply reverse the saddles, or will that bring me back in the opposite direction just as bad or worse?
Should I just reverse the D and G strings?
Should I order new saddles and have them cut properly?

I'll need to tackle this tomorrow if I can. Playing at church on Sunday and would like to have a better experience!

Thanks!

How about some photos showing the fingerboard?

I should have taken some this morning but I was in a rush. Will take some pics later.

The G string is about 1mm from bevel of fret. The E string is probably almost 2mm from edge of fret. So they all could come across maybe. These Rics are new to me so I can't really imagine the outcome before making a change.

Reversing the saddles around may help some but keep in mind that they are not symmetrical front to back so you may not get the intonation back where you need them to be, possibly, but it looks like there may be enough travel on the bridge to allow for this. Another thing to keep in mind is that the string spacing will be uneven, then. In the long run getting new saddles and cutting them is the best, and fairly inexpensive, solution.

I would give reversing the G and E saddles a try. As Jeff says, they are not symmetrical, so you'll need to rotate them 180 degrees. Since the E saddle notch is cut a bit off-center closer to the A string, when you rotate it into proper orientation for use as a G saddle, it will bring your G string a bit further from the edge of the fingerboard. Yes, your string spacing will change a bit, but try this and see if it solves your problem. If so, you could do as Jeff says and go ahead and get a new set of saddles and notch them yourself to get the spacing and locations you want.

A possible issue with swapping the E and G saddles is that the slots are not cut to the same depth (and width, therefore) so it will affect the radius of the string height in relation to the fingerboard and the other strings.

to me it looks like someone has turned the treble pickup around the wrong way , take the treble pickup apart and turn it around, see if the poles line up with the strings . seen that before and it looked the same as your picture. i can see the strings are off to one side too, but try that with the pickup , you never know!!!

geofio wrote:to me it looks like someone has turned the treble pickup around the wrong way

That is a very likely possibility as the pickup has been taken apart to install that bezel.

The reversal of the treble pickup could possibly have been me, since I installed the bezel. Ooopsie!

I have to take the pickguard off tomorrow to look at a slight wiring issue too. The push-pull/vintage-cap cuts in and out. Should be an easy fix since I installed that one too. Funny because last night at practice halfway through a song she switched from normal to vintage - instant aggression! Great sound, but not exactly wanted right there and then.

Regarding the saddles, I wasn't planning on switching the whole bridge assembly around, just seeing if I could turn the saddles. I see what you're saying, I may not have the travel to intonate properly. Will take a really good look, possible that turning the treble pickup and a slight nut adjustment may fix. Either way you guys (and Oz Bass Forum) are setting me on the right path.

By the way, she's a 2000 model. Slight tail lift, but nothing major, isn't getting worse.

The saddles are obviously cut off-center. The question is why. Is the bridge off-center as well, requiring the off-center cuts to keep the strings well within the fingerboard, or is it just a bad setup? More pics would help. I don't think, considering what's going on with the saddles, the treble pickup is backwards.

At the end of the day if the setup is good, the saddles should be left alone. However if things could be improved by centering the strings over each saddle new cuts may need to be made or new saddles cut entirely.

...in the first instance I would exchange the E and the G saddle, that would get both in a better position on the pole pieces of the bridge PU. Then the next step would be to even out the string spacing in between all four strings (maybe it works already after the switch?).

the saddles are of slightly , the problem is the pickup is in around the wrong way , i know from experience having set up several rics where the user has mistakenly while taking the pickup cover off has inadvertently turned the pickup around, turn that pickup around and the strings will line up with the poles.

geofio wrote:to me it looks like someone has turned the treble pickup around the wrong way , take the treble pickup apart and turn it around, see if the poles line up with the strings . seen that before and it looked the same as your picture. i can see the strings are off to one side too, but try that with the pickup , you never know!!!

Seeing the poles are asymetrical to the center of the mount and coil, that is a very good observation and suggestion.

While turning the pickup around may solve the string spacing issues, he's still having problems with the G string slipping off the fretboard. Something will still have to be done with the saddle.

I turned the treble pickup around. Better for sure. Here's another conclusion I draw:

The previous owner didn't know you could turn the pickup, so he bought new bridge saddles and cut new slots. Close inspection reveals faint pencil marks on the saddles. Also the saddle adjustment screw springs are missing. Telltale signs?

I turned the D and A saddles around. Intonation is close enough for now but I can't get it perfect, G saddle is maxed out. G string is in a better place, D string is now a smidge too close to the A, but I can deal with that. Can't turn A and E saddles around because intonation would be impossible.

So, do I just buy saddles because the springs are not critical or go for a whole new bridge? Either way I would be cutting all four slots perfectly because they are all out. In any case, is it normal to have some saddles facing in the opposite direction, part of the design?

Beats me as to how someone could stuff up these details, and why? I measured up everything, tailpiece is almost perfectly aligned, so whoever did this was not correcting a fundamental manufacturing flaw.