Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi

Would a 335 to 330 conversion simply be a matter of unbolting the vibrato unit and installing an R tailpiece in its place ?

Thanks

Peter

I would suggest the Vintage style tailpiece.Peter McCormick has one on his 350 .

Why?

1- you will never have a ball end get stuck in the hook area
2-ease of stringing
3-tailpiece does not rock side to side when you change strings
4-it was the original tailpiece and instantly gives you the older 'cooler' look
5-you already have a belt buckle and don't need the 'R' for that job
6-you also have a bottle opener ,but prefer cans so you never use one and the 'R' would just stay on the guitar ....what a waste

I thought for a long time before I replaced my "R" tailpiece with the trapeze. Why. To begin, I liked the "R" as it is one of the more distinguishing features of Rickenbackers and I thought it was stylish and attractive. Moreover, as I had a six string the restringing was not as challenging as it would be with the 12 string models. In the end, I found that adjustments to one string using the "R" particularly with replacing a string did cause retuning of some of the other strings. Finally after doing research into Rickenbacker guitars I came to prefer the early trapeze which gave my 350 an "older" look. I could have kept the R tailpiece and been quite happy, however, I am happier with my decision to switch. I can certainly see how others would not part with their "R" tailpiece.

I'd love to get my hands on the Accent vibrato, if that is what is on your 335. My '66 Rose, Morris 1998 has already been coverted to a 340 (with an 'R', not a trapeze), but would love the have the option of changing back!