Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi all - long time member, but very infrequent poster (especially the last few years). Right off the bat, I guess I'm just looking for confirmation that the following picture ain't good:

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb25 ... G_1221.jpg

I don't think it's a disaster (I've seen pix of the assembly practically bent in half, etc.), but I will be taking it to my luthier soon. Anyone have suggestions on where to pick up an assembly in black if at all possible? I think I saw one on eBay.uk or similar, but it was approximately $300...

Thanks in advance - I'm sure this is a well worn story for a lot of you.

Hi Chris

I've just taken delivery of a Rick with black hardware, where the tailpiece was lifted, although not quite as seriously as yours by the look of that photo. It's fixable though.

Replacement black Rick tailpieces are in short supply and, as you've found, expensive to buy when they do come up for sale. My best suggestion would be:

1. Remove the tailpiece from the bass and clamp it to a workbench. Gradually increase the pressure on the clamps until you reduce the lift to about half of what it currently is. Apply the clamps over the bracing, rather than at the very end of the unit as doing that can squash the unsupported gap at the very end, between the tailpiece and the body where the strings are anchored, which can cause problems when you need to change strings in getting the old ones out without damaging the body finish (as I found had been done to my black 8 string tailpiece when I bought it).

2. Invert the tailpiece and carefully drill through the two outermost hole markers nearest the butt end. Use a drill bit that's slightly smaller in diameter than the existing five screw holes on the tailpiece.

3. Once drilled out, carefully file the holes to the same diameter as the other tailpiece screw holes. Using a smaller drill bit and then filing should avoid marking the black finish surrounding the holes.

4. Once you've done this, re-fit the tailpiece to your bass, then insert a couple of 1 1/4 inch screws of the same gauge as the existing five screws through the new holes to anchor the end of the tailpiece firmly to the body of the bass. Clamping and compressing it back towards its normal shape first will help ensure that the next step works well, without the new screws deviating too far from the vertical plane. Tighten these screws very gradually, so as not to exert too much pressure on the tailpiece at once. Over a few days, you should be able to gradually screw it down so that it sits flat on the body once again.

5. At that point, re-string your bass, tune up, and you should be OK.

Fortunately, as I say, my problem was not as bad as yours so I didn't need to clamp it, but the rest of the process worked out just fine for me, and saved me having to firstly find and then buy a replacement.

Good luck!

Ash

Forum member Gary C (Doctorwho) made an excellent post, a few years back, with step-by-step pictorial of corrective measures he undertook to fix an acute tail-lift problem on a Ric bass. If I recall there may have also been some sort of heat treatment, in the process, to re-temper some strength back into the blackened metal. Check it out

Thanks for the replies. I suppose I could keep this tailpiece and work on it at my leisure (although I'm a truck driver, which means I don't really have much real leisure time...), and pick up a chrome tailpiece in the meantime. From what I've quickly researched, they're a ton more common and thus a ton cheaper as well. If I were to go that route, I'm guessing Pick of the Ricks or Mike Parks (it's been so long since I've surfed their sites - I'm *assuming* they're still around!).

If I *didn't* drill out the 2 extra holes, I'm guessing that this tailpiece would probably be an ongoing concern due to stress (I mean after it's possibly been straightened back out to proper shape)? The only reason I wouldn't would be due to wanting to keep the thing in original condition, I suppose, but IIRC they went with the 2 extra screw holes shortly after mine was made, I think?

And finally - I also want to make sure I have my terminology correct. It's strictly the tailpiece I'm concerned about, correct? If this one is fixed or if I get a replacement, my bridge, saddles etc. would just drop right in? No need to worry about finding a specific 4003/8 piece?


Lotsa questions.