Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've had it!

Can anyone recommend a guitar tech in the Boston area who is experienced with Rickenbacker short-scales?

This 325 is driving me up the f****** wall. Clearly not worth the $1,200 I spent on it.

Josh:

I'm in Maine. Email mailto:[email protected]. Let's see if we can get this resolved for you.

I replied to you at VOXTALKS but it seem that those postings may have gone away or Nick archieved them .Any way i don't see them .I posted a check list for you .Did you see that ,it was yesterday am.

I here to help ...this can work .

Here is a link to the thread:

http://www.voxtalks.com/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/UltraBoard.pl?Action=ShowPost&Board=voxtalks&Post=4698&Idle=&Sort=&Order=&Page=&Session=

Thanks Nick,

okay Josh ....we are here to help.

Howdy Kids,

Here are the details on my 325V59:

The nut cuts are deep and not "V" shaped.

No problems with the bass strings E, A and D.

The problems start on strings G, B and E. It seems now I can get it to be in tune, not perfect, but good enough. The problem is, the strings seem to slip. There's also some "pinging" when I tune the high E string.

If the problem is stringing, what's the best way to string this guitar and avoid slippage?

Thanks again guys,
Josh

On all the strings ...this works really well.Live ,it is the only way to do it .Studio ...I use the CF Martin method ,but live it is horrible if you break a string so I won't explain it.

Here is what you do ....

When you install the High E string ,leave about a hands width of space between the string and the fretboard ,after you feed the string thru the tuner hole.

Wrap the first loop OVER the top of the post.Then bend the 'tail' of the string up and wind the rest of the wraps DOWN ,and under the string tail .

Do this with ALL the strings .If you have wraps that are overlapping the string will slip.

You should do this with all your guitars .This is the single biggest problem with guitarists and their tuning problems.From pros to beginners.

Now the next thing to check is the nut slots.

Lay your guitar on a table and put a light on the back side of it .

Press the High E string down at the 3rd fret with your right hand.

Now look at the first fret -is there a space/gap between the bottom of the string and the first fret? There should be.

To fix this pinging ,you need to have a gap and you need to understand this .Without this check ,it is a waste of time .

If this makes sense to you let me know ,if not i will try wording it differently.

Then we can proceed with 'How to fix this"

If all else fails ...Go buy my Warner Brothers Video ....GUITAR SETUP And Maintenance.I SHOW how to do this in the 75 minute -plus video .

This is not SPAM ....I made this video for this purpose...I got phone calls from all over with similar troubles and When Warner approached me ,I jumped at the chance to do this .

Thanks Mark,

It may be the strings. I'm a little unclear of the stringing method. I'll try to explain the way I string my guitars. I slip the string through the hole and then wrap the string clock-wise around the post and then make a sharp turn counter clock-wise so when I wind the string, it locks itself into place. Does this make sense?

Could this be the fault of Pyramid strings? Keep in mind that I didn't have this problem with the Rickenbacker strings and they were simply wrapped multiple times on the string posts. I'm hesitant to blame my tech simply because he does fabulous work with my Hofner and Country Gentleman. Absolutely no tuning problems with those guitars. And he uses Peterson Strobe Tuners! (I knew you would like that one.)

By the way, I ordered your video from Elderly Instruments.

Josh:

Is this the method you're using to secure your strings on the post? If so, its a good one. It's the suggested technique by C.F. Martin, and it works well on electrics, too.

The picture didn't work. So here's a link that explains the method I use:

http://www.guitarnotes.com/alan/ah_stringing_your_guitar.shtml

Mark, I think this is what you refer to as the C.F. Martin method. This is the method used by my tech as well.

What's next?

Josh:

Is this the method you're using to secure your strings on the post? If so, its a good one. It's the suggested technique by C.F. Martin, and it works well on electrics, too.

Well, let's try this again:
.

I guess we've got a problem with MacBinary. Maybe next time.

Yes that is the CF Martin method .It is the BEST at keeping the guitar in tune ...if you have at least two wraps under the doubled back loop.

If you go past 5 them all that string wrapped up will slip.

In a live context...I hate this method.Especially if the strings have been played on and their life span is questionable.

I use the method I wrote out before .That works for me .