Rickenbacker 12-String

GUITAR REPAIR TIPS ‪@StringTechWorkstations‬
Rickenbacker 12-String‪@StringTechWorkstations‬
12 String Compensated Nut‪@StringTechWorkstations‬
#12stringricky
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[@markcooper8561]

Great job and tutorial bits! Ricki 12's have always sounded glorious to me, but to hear one perfectly in tune is a true joy. Thanks once again for your contributions to guitar techs/luthiers and enthusiasts.

[@StringTechWorkstations]

Thanks Mark. I was bound and determined micro-sync this puppy. Insane amount of time spent lining it all up. The other thing is the proximity of the outside chorus's of strings to the edge of the fingerboard. This guitar neck is slimmer than most 6 string necks ! You can see by the comments that many opt to go with 6 strings instead of the "full monty" jangling 12 ! But when you hear all of those shimmering overtones ... wow ! the stars align. Lol !

[@markcooper8561]

@@StringTechWorkstations 100 percent agree. I love the sound of the 'reverse' octave pairs that i re-engineered my own 12 string that way years ago and never looked back.

[@StringTechWorkstations]

Interesting ....

[@Pudentame]

Rickenbacker used to offer a replacement 12-saddle bridge for their 12-string guitars. Same as the regular bridge, except the octave strings had their own individually adjustable saddles.

[@StringTechWorkstations]

Yes. That was my original intention. But as I started working on this ... I was able to split the difference on each saddle ... getting it to line right up !

[@Riverdeepnwide]

Beautiful job on a very tricky instrument! A Rick 360 came through the shop last week here, luckily with only six strings. That tailpiece 11:11 is still quite demanding as you show. A very odd occurrence on this 360-6 was the way that the ball end of the A string had settled into its position in the tailpiece, kind of diagonally, the uneven pull across the ball end actually split the ball in half. One half trapped in the tailpiece and the other half dropped into the case. Never seen that happen before but it made me look twice at the string end orientation in the slots at the restringing as well as vacuuming out the whole case before any stray bits scratched that guitar. Then the bridge with four height adjustment screws was wobbly and settled in much better adjusting final height with less string tension to be able to feel its front/rear-left/right balance. Great videos Mike many thanks for all the teaching.

[@StringTechWorkstations]

They definitely thought of everything, as far as "adjustability". I was delighted to eventually line it all up. Now it is the customer's job to stick religiously to those exact strings and that exact tuning .. for ever and ever amen.

[@aluminati9918]

Excellent as always! I changed to bigger (Jescar Evo) frets on mine. Improved playability big time. Impressed by your string change. Have to admit I have resorted to play mine as a six.. Keep the vids coming.

[@StringTechWorkstations]

Interesting .... did you have to refinish the fingerboard on the refret ?

[@aluminati9918]

@@StringTechWorkstations I stripped off the lacquer when leveling the board and did not refinish after installing the new frets. Although I loved the gloss look, I never liked the playability of the gloss board. Original frets were low in the first place, and after 30ys of playing they were barely clearing the lacquer. Now it has more of a Gibson feel. Bought it factory new at Mannys, NYC in ‘88. Sounds like a million $$. 😎

[@jwmacca1]

I think the high octave strings wind towards the center of headstock as opposed to the lower octave strings that wind under. and use a peice of toilet paper in the string winder that works! Rics atre a pain well 12 string anyway. great job!

[@StringTechWorkstations]

Thanks for chiming in ... I am sure there are many more " variations on a theme " with this job. Lol !

[@ol.grumpy.bastard]

Out there doin' th' lord's work... Good onya! As the arthritis in my fingers got worse a bunch of years ago, I decided it's much simpler to call a friend who does guitar repairs/lutherie and have him change the strings on my 360/12 for me. While he's got it, he checks/adjusts the neck and intonation and gives everything else a good once over.

[@gregs2466]

I used to have a 12 string but not a Rickenbacker! I do have a 6 string Ric and not certain if I want to try changing the strings on one of these! I did not have too much of a problem doing the string change on my old Takamine 12 string (if my memory serves me right) but doing the intonation on this is maybe something I might not want to do.

[@StringTechWorkstations]

A few extra things to consider when calibrating a 12-string.

[@davidwood351]

Changing strings alone is a nightmare, much less the other work.

[@StringTechWorkstations]

Amen !

[@grahamratcliffe1945]

had 360 12 for 45years , found it best to do slot strings first working from nut to end of headstock so no strings in the way as you move up then just repeat the exercise as if doing a six string from nut to end of headstock you will not get the strings all tangeled up either doing it this way .hope this helps someone ,ive done a string change ,in 20 mins removing old ones and fitting a new set using this method , p.s RICKENBACKER strings are the only ones for a good sound no buzzing, unique compressed roundwound design, string set number ending 404 .good luck .

[@Relayer6a]

Two engineers were having a drink. The first one says, "I love the sound of my 12 string but you just couldn't possibly make stringing a guitar any more difficult." The second engineer says, "Hold my beer."

[@StringTechWorkstations]

Totally ! That second engineer worked for Rickenbacker. Lol ! ...... and the first guy is STILL holding that beer .... waiting for the other guy to change out the strings ... Lol !

[@BeesWaxMinder]

How did you work out how to stagger the top-nut please?

[@StringTechWorkstations]

It would have added another 6 hours to the job to record and document that procedure. I do cover the comp nut technique in greater detail for my Patreon Tier 3 subs though ....

[@BeesWaxMinder]

@@StringTechWorkstations fair enough

[@richardslater677]

Why does Rickenbacker go low/high with the pairs of strings and all other 12 string makes go high/low?

[@StringTechWorkstations]

It's good question Richard. It's always been that way with the Ricky 12's.

[@madalineszabo7457]

I was expecting an honest share.. not how to take off the tape an polish...

[@StringTechWorkstations]

I am sorry to have offended you. If you are looking for an honest share on any type of fret work, you can enter into the search bar " frets " "fretjob" "fret dress". They are a few 100 videos on these subjects for your browsing pleasure. If there is something specific that you are looking for regarding fret work; let me know ... I'll send you a link. MMcC