Subject: Rickenbacker String Gauge
Date: 1999/02/11
Question: Out of interest, does anyone know why RIC factory-fit and recommend non-
"standard" gauge 5th and 6th strings, i.e .042 rather than the normal .046
with a .010 set?? Is it to 'lean' the overall sound to the jangly
strings??
Answer: The string gauges were chosen for even string tension. This is based on work
performed over 20 years ago in our lab, so if there's another "standard", I
wonder who set it and what research they performed in doing so?
Subject: Pyramid Strings
Date: 1999/02/04
Question: In using Pyramid Srings (.046) do you have to reslot the nut?
Answer: In order to do any larger gauge string justice, the nut must be reslotted,
otherwise the string will bind during tuning. Chances are the neck and
bridge will also need some adjustment. Going back to a smaller, normal light
string, as our guitars are built for, will require a new nut and new setup.
Subject: 12 String Tuning
Date: 1999/02/09
Question: Can the 370/12s hold a EADGBE tuning for long
periods (i.e several weeks) w/o bowing the neck?
Answer: The guitar is designed to be tuned to standard pitch and tuning all the
time, and in fact, if you tune it low like McGuinn, you may well have to do
some adjustment to assure optimum action.
Subject: Re: Stringing tips for 12 string Ricks?
Date: 1999/01/27
Question: Is there an effective method for changing strings on 12 String Rickenbackers?
Answer: Actually, the guys here can change a twelve-stringer in less than 10
minutes, but unfortunately the technique they use is not recommended in the
field. Nevertheless, I'll share it with you:
1. Detune and remove all strings.
2. Lay out the tailpiece on the bench and mount the ball ends in the
tailpiece slots, stretching out the strings full length. If an -R-
tailpiece, put a piece of masking tape across the back to hold the strings
in.
3. Hook the tailpiece back on the guitar, thread and tune only the lowest
and highest E strings first to hold everything in place, then thread and
tune the rest of the strings. We use the plastic manual tuning cranks you
can find at any music store . . . gave up on electric ones years ago.
4. Remove the tape.
The difference is that the guys here at the factory know how to make quick
and accurate neck adjustments, so if removing the strings throws the neck
off, it's quickly corrected. In the field, it really is better to keep the
neck under some tension, but the new(er) truss rod system is pretty
forgiving.
Subject: Rick Tuners or Machine Heads
Date: 1999/01/05
Comment: I have 4 Rics, a 4003 FG, 360V64 six and 12 string and a 325JL. I have
also
owned (and sold) a 330/12 and a 370/12RM. In general, I havle always felt
that Rics were high quality guitars. However, my two 360V64's are both
1998
models and between the two of them, there are 5 bad tuners. I've played
guitar for 35 years and have had many instruments ranging from cheap to
high
end and these two guitars are the only ones I've had come trhough brand new
with bad tuners. I think that Ric's qulaity control on their reissue
tuners
may be slipping just a bit, probably due to the volume and backlog, but it
is disconerting to run into this on $1000+ intruments.
Answer: OUR quality control??? These are Schaller keys and we only buy their premium
grade. (Did you know that they produce two levels?)
We check the keys as part of an incoming inspection and as part of the final
instrument inspection, but if for some reason they're not holding up in the
field, then I'm afraid that's to Schaller's account, rather than ours.
But if these are on 1998 instruments, they're still under warranty and we'll
certainly take care of the problem, even if we didn't make this part.
However, I must say that I've seen no change in the overall level of key
problems, even though I expected some turmoil within their company due the
recent tragic death of Rene Schaller.
Subject: Round-wound strings on the 4001!?
Date: 1998/12/17
Question: I am still puzzling why I can't use round-wound strings on the 4001. The
reason
is mostly: Because of the truss-rod-system. But what has the string-type to
do
with that?
The following would be more easier for me to understand: the material of
the
frets or the fingerboard is too sensitive for round-wound-strings.
Does anybody know the real reason?
Answer: The string tension of a round wound string, especially a nearly pure iron
string like those in the Roto Sound class, is almost 100 lbs. greater than a
typical flat wound string.
The 4001 neck was designed in 1956 for the only type of strings available
then . . . flat wound . . . and since the design favored a slim neck, the
neck strength was right on the edge of the envelope. Round wound strings
took many of these instruments beyond their rated capability for string
tension, resulting in various problems. But of course there are many types
of strings, not to mention that every piece of wood is different, so plenty
of 4001's have been used with round wound strings for decades with no ill
effect.
The best advice on these older basses is to use the light tension string you
can stand.
The 4003 has a completely different truss rod design and can handle any type
of string you prefer.
Fretwire has nothing to do with any of this, as we've always used the
hardest alloy available. But it is true that a round wound string will tend
to wear down any bass's frets faster.
Subject: Grover Tuners
Date: 1998/08/29
Question: I have a 1987 320 JG with Grover tuners. My 1987 620 FG has Schallers. My
1997
360 also has the "Made in Germany" stamp on the tuners. When did Ric switch
tuners?
Answer: Unfortunately, there's no precise date for the switch as stocks of different
brands and types of keys have existed until differerent points in time. But
more generally speaking, we had some quality issues with Grover and
subsequently found out that major parts of these keys were being produced in
Taiwan or Korea (I forget which . . .). I told Rich Berger, their CEO, that
I would never order an Asian key again, as a result.
In actuality, I wasn't able to keep that promise entirely, as the best
reproduction "Kluson Deluxe" keys were coming from Gotoh in Japan and we
really had no choice but to use them. But as soon as I convinced Helmut
Schaller to make some changes in his version of that key for the sake of
authenticity, we immediately switched our business to Schaller in Germany.
Subject: Re: Truss Rod Tool
Date: 1998/06/10
Question: What type of wrench is need to adjust the truss rods on Rickenbacker guitars?
Answer: Any type of 1/4 inch nut driver or wrench will work fine. However . . . a
nut driver, such as we offer, has the advantage that typically your hand
will slip on the driver before you can do damage by over-tightening the
rods. Socket wrenches, flat wrenches, or T-handle wrenches easily have the
potential to strip the threads off the rod or even snap them: you just have
to know how to use your tools and be careful about this.
The factory supplied wrench will properly fit any RIC truss rod ever made.
If it does not slip on easily, this is a warning that something is wrong and
you should consider some corrective action.
On instruments made before September 1984, it means the guitar was not
adjusted properly at some point: the rod was over-tightened, the nuts
weren't supported during tightening, i.e. use of a flat wrench, or the neck
was pushed into position and the rods snugged up to it. The result is that
the nut portion of the rod bends in one direction or another from normally,
jamming the insertion of the wrench. Such rods need straightening or
replacement.
On instruments made from September 1984 to present, it means only one thing
. . . a 900 pound gorilla using the wrong tool has made a Herculean effort
to break the roods off by twisting them too tight!
Subject: 12 String Precut Nut
Date: 1998/02/26
Question: I ordered a 12 string precut nut after hearing of the new nut from John
Hall
in this newsgroup. I have tried to optimize the distance between and
within
string groups for the past while and I seem to have finally got it close.
I
couldn't resist in getting one of Mr. Hall's new creations to compare my
trial and error method with the new "scientific approach". John would you
please describe how you determined the "best fit" for the 1 and 5/8" neck
and also how the nuts are cut. Are they machine cut or hand cut after
they
are precisely marked? Thanks.
Answer: First we decided how far from each side of the neck we wanted the outside
EDGE of the highest and the lowest E string. Using our standard gauging, we
were therefore able to determine both the centerline of those two string
pairs and the centerline of the gap between strings. We had already decided
to always control the gap between the EDGE of the strings so now it was
easy to divide up the remaining distance and space the rest of the strings.
This was the culmination of a number of CAD layouts and tests to make a
narrow-necked 12-stringer as easy to play as possible.
Generally nuts are cut based on string centers . . . these new ones are
based on uniform string gap centers. To be this precise on a consistent
basis, they are cut by a CNC laser machine.
Subject: Making 12 String Adjustments
Date: 1998/11/05
Comment: I've heard it's a bad idea to adjust 'em perfectly straight in climates
with lots of humidity changes - a rainy spell can cause a back-bow, at
least with the newer style rods. I've also heard that sometimes you can
get an s-shaped kind of rise around the 3rd fret because there's more
tension down there, due to the thinness of the wood. Old-style rods are a whole different story in themselves - doing them
wrong can cause the fingerboard to separate from the neck down by the
nut.
Answer: Within the last 6 months, we reprofiled the truss rod slot slightly to
compensate for this. It also allows for a little more neck relief. While
that makes the truss rod work a little harder under normal circumstances, it
gives room to a wider range of adjustability.
We also began using our humidification equipment much aggressively this last
summer, trying to make our very dry California climate a bit more friendly
to the wood.
The combination of these and some other factors has worked to the point
where we hardly ever see a neck adjustment necessaryunder warranty.
The old style
truss rod requires that the person doing the adjustment pushes the neck into
position and only THEN turns the truss rods to snug up the tension to hold
that setting. The old rods were not designed to actually move the neck . . .
only hold it in place after manually moving it. When tightened without
releasing pressure from moving the neck, most of the energy of the rods is
directed to popping off the fingerboard. It's a good system when you know
how to use it, but unfortunately many people didn't understand it.
I notice that several makers, and even the Stew-Mac catalog are now offering
truss rods very similar in design or principle to our old ones. The caveat
mentioned above would apply to these.
Subject: Re: Rickenbacker Vibratos
Date: 1998/03/27
Comment: I have a 330 with no vibrato. I have the 325 V63 with the Ac'cent
vibrato. No offense to RIC but I'm not impressed with it. It's very
non-robust and it throws my 325 out of tune on th elow strings
easily. I try to avoid it. In fact I may remove it because it gets
in the way.
Does anyone have an opinion on the playability of the vibrato option on
the
300 series Rickenbackers? I've got a guitar on order with a vibrato and
I'm
beginning to wonder if I made a mistake. Looking at the "Accent
Vibrato"
shown on the Rickenbacker parts listing page, I'm thinking it probably
doesn't really work very well.
Answer: I'm not impressed with the Accent vibrato either: it's a total anachronism.
But that's the point . . . it was never intended to be nor has it been
offered as anything but an exact recreation of the 60's vintage unit.
Vibratos have come along way and the Accent isn't even in the same league.
It was a truly elegant design 35 years ago, compared to other units then,
but is today only an oddity.
I cringe when anything but an vintage reissue guitar goes out the door with
this unit and can only hope that the customer did read the literature or
was told by the dealer that this is a vintage recreation unit. If I find
out that this distinction is not generally being made, I will discontinue
the Accent "VB" option from modern guitars in a heartbeat. (Of course it
will always remain in the vintage reissue series.
Subject: Re: Regular strings on a 3/4 neck?
Date: 1998/02/01
Question: I'm considering throwing some round wounds on a 3/4 size 325 V63. I'm
curious to know if any damage can be done to this guitar by using a
set of regular production round wound strings, i.e. not a set of
short scale strings.
Answer: It won't hurt the guitar at all, although it's most likely you'll have to
do some neck and bridge adjustment. But it will be almost impossible to
intonate the guitar as the string tension will be so low that any touch at
all will stretch the strings.
A regular gauge of strings on a short scale is like a extra super slinky
set on a full scale.
Subject: Best Polish for a Rick?
Date: 1997/12/31
Question: Does anyone know if there is a "best" polish to use on a Rick. I have
Martin guitar polish. Is that OK to use on the Rick, or should I buy
another. I've heard about some problems with Rick finishes, and maybe
the type of polish you use has to do with it.
I use a Carnauba wax on my guitars. It seem to work well with no side
effects. I haven't had to use them on any of my newer Ricks yet. I keep
them
pretty clean anyway with their cloth.
Answer: The factory cloth is the best for the finish but at some point, everyone
will need something a little more aggressive. Pure Carnuba wax is the
preferred polishing agent but some liquid auto polish, like Turtle Wax,
diluted a bit with water can be used on a particularly dirty or scratched
instrument. The cloth used should be very soft and should also be dampened
a bit.
You know you're doing it right when as you wipe you see little beads of
moisture and it wipes clean just as the surface dries up. If the polish
gets sticky, leaves a film, or turns powdery, then it's not quite dilute
enough or the cloth is too dry. But done right, the surface will be smooth
as a mirror, with no haze or swirls.
Whatever you do, try to avoid waxes with silicone. Silicone is used to
disperse the wax evenly in a compound or on a cloth and doesn't harm the
finish per se . . . but it goes right through the paint into the wood and
makes it just about impossible to even refinish it.
Subject: Oil Finishes
Date: 1997/12/30
Question: Is there anyone out there who might know what kind of oil i can use to keep my
dakota
looking new and to keep it from drying out and for repair of small
scratches?
Answer: Tung oil or even tung oil with a bit of polyurethane works great. You rub
it in with 0000 steel wool until the scratches are gone and the surface
burnishes, wipe off the excess and let it dry overnight. The result will be
like glass, but with no drag on the neck like a high gloss finish.
It's the most durable finish we make and almost every guitar I have in my
studio these days has this finish.
