Survived my first 12-string set-up

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I just did my first set-up on my Ric 360/12 and thought I’d post about the experience and some of my lessons learned. A little backstory first. I picked up a 1986 Jetglo 360/12 last year. I have a 1986 Jetglo 360/6 and the 360/12 was born the same month, so I had to have it. They are fraternal twins! The guitar arrived with an awful dealer set-up; too much relief and the action was way too high. No fun. The neck pickup also sounded muddy. Blending in the treble pickup helped, but it didn’t sound anything like I expected. I thought maybe that’s the issue people talk about, the hi-gains just don’t handle 12 strings as well. It also had the unwound G which sounded unbalanced with the rest of the guitar and really annoyed me.

Fortunately, the excellent wisdom on this forum helped me keep my 360/6 set-up easily over the years, so I felt comfortable working on a Ric. Initially, I adjusted the relief and action into a much better range and played it that way for a year, until I decided last month to re-string and adjust everything. So here are my notes:

1. Bill Baker’s video on the 3 finger method for stringing in the slots is a life saver. Works like a charm.
2. I should have used some abrasive tape to smooth the slotted tuner posts, one of the octave strings snapped when winding (haven’t broken a string in 30 years?!). I’m thinking there is a spur/wear on the old post.
3. Speaking of the posts in the slotted channel, I hear horror stories about tuning instability due to how loose they are. Actually seeing it is unsettling. It feels like something isn’t right. But so far they really seem to stay in tune. IDK. I don’t have perfect pitch, far from it, so I’m probably less sensitive, but my tuner says all is good.
4. String type can make a huge difference. I went with the Mangan round wound set often recommended. To my amazement the muddiness in the neck pick up was gone and it sounded just like I expected through 80’s hi-gains. But having snapped a string, I needed to order some singles. Got extra 10s and 13s just in case.
5. I mistakenly put the G string octave in the channel and not the wound string…rookie mistake and quickly remedied.
6. I actually use a different stringing method to deal with the R tailpiece than others. I like to start at the tuner post, get that started and then string the ball end under the tailpiece (I use a small hex key to lift it into the tailpiece slot), then apply tension and start winding. Works for me.
7. My string winder was mostly useless on the 12. The posts are too just close. This one has the Grovers. Really a pain.
8. I had set truss rods to .006/.004 when I first got it, but wanted to try setting to .004/.004. This just led to buzzing on the low E so back up to .006 on the low side truss it must go.
9. Action is down to 5/64ths - 4/64ths, right where I like it.

All and all it was a smooth (and therapeutic) process. With a good set-up the 12-string is a joy to play and sounds fantastic. Thanks again for all the years of expertise shared on the forum.