Rick 11 string in the skip

Teyeplayer

Flippant fret title aside, I’ve spent the last 3 hours messing with my 360 12 string (by which I mean, new strings and a new tailpiece. Attempt at a new nut, but decided to leave to the experts). 

Now I love this guitar, but man do I hate it too. 

Anyone fancy a new rockery or something (Ric based)? 

ICBM

Send it to me - I will dispose of it responsibly for you, free of charge.

Teyeplayer

ICBM said:

Send it to me - I will dispose of it responsibly for you, free of charge.

I bloody bet you will, if only you were nearer! You’re a tech I need on my doorstep.

usedtobe

My mates got a Ric 12 string. He was showing me the bridge, and how fiddly restringing was. Life’s too short for that nonsense..

Kent747

I’ll gladly trade you a Squier Mini Stratocaster in pink. No worries about the strings - it won’t stay in tune anyway. 

Teyeplayer

Well it’s done now. Just need to set it up later on and then I can sit back and enjoy the glory of its jangle for 6months. 

Edit: keep an eye out for a FS thread next restring.

impmann

A tip... Elixrs. 

Rick 12s are horrible to restring, so to minimise the number times you need to do it, use Elixrs.

Or sell it and buy a Shergold 12... much easier to string, tune and play. Does it sound the same? Not identical but it’s a great sound. That’s what I did!! 

ICBM

impmann said:

A tip... Elixrs. 

Rick 12s are horrible to restring, so to minimise the number times you need to do it, use Elixrs.

Or sell it and buy a Shergold 12... much easier to string, tune and play. Does it sound the same? Not identical but it’s a great sound. That’s what I did!! 

You and Mike Rutherford .

I have to admit that Rick 12s aren’t the easiest to restring, even for me having plenty of practice - I think owners often pay for them to be set up purely to avoid it... they’re not that hard really, but there is a method to it which you need to learn to make things easier, and you do need a proper work space where you can lay the guitar down flat.

I would never use Elixirs though... they might last a long time but it would take away any desire to play it . You need the proper Rickenbacker rolled-wound strings - they really do sound better than anything else on them, and they’re also quite long-lasting.

impmann

Mr Rutherford was right!! 

I quite like Elixrs. But each to their own.

Teyeplayer

Thanks gents, I’ll try both at some point although won’t be any time soon.

GavRichList

Let’s be honest, even restringing a Ric 6 sucks a dick. A 12 looks horrific. 

NervousJohn

Restringing a Ric isn’t really that hard, I’m puzzled as why it’s seen as a thing - My technique - put a gentle 30 degree or so bend at the ball end of the string just where the winds on the ball end finish up. 

Slide the string under the R far enough to clear it, then pull it forward so the ball catches in the wee hooks. Pull the string straight and clamp in place with a capo. 

If you have a 12 and the right angled tuners, chop the string somewhere close beyond the next tuner, put a 90 degree bend in the string and feed it where it needs to go. Wind until tuned. Then repeat upto 11 more times. 

Easy. 

From another thread.... this is what I do. 

Teyeplayer

NervousJohn said:

Restringing a Ric isn’t really that hard, I’m puzzled as why it’s seen as a thing - My technique - put a gentle 30 degree or so bend at the ball end of the string just where the winds on the ball end finish up. 

Slide the string under the R far enough to clear it, then pull it forward so the ball catches in the wee hooks. Pull the string straight and clamp in place with a capo. 

If you have a 12 and the right angled tuners, chop the string somewhere close beyond the next tuner, put a 90 degree bend in the string and feed it where it needs to go. Wind until tuned. Then repeat upto 11 more times. 

Easy. 

From another thread.... this is what I do. 

I don’t find it particularly hard to be honest, just fiddly and slow going. Admittedly, Friday night beers don’t help accelerate the process. 

Teyeplayer

GavRichList said:

Let’s be honest, even restringing a Ric 6 sucks a dick. A 12 looks horrific. 

I’ve gone over to trapeze tailpieces on both the 6 and 12, makes life much easier. 

GavRichList

Teyeplayer said:

GavRichList said:

Let’s be honest, even restringing a Ric 6 sucks a dick. A 12 looks horrific. 

I’ve gone over to trapeze tailpieces on both the 6 and 12, makes life much easier. 

The way they look bothers me. Restrung my 330 last week and got away with it, relatively speaking... but it’s a task less appealing than guiding ones father into ones mother as a general rule. 

Seziertisch

Teyeplayer said:

GavRichList said:

Let’s be honest, even restringing a Ric 6 sucks a dick. A 12 looks horrific. 

I’ve gone over to trapeze tailpieces on both the 6 and 12, makes life much easier. 

Winfield Vintage trapeze for the win. 

The R tailpiece is generally pretty shoddy, I had one literally tear apart, went through a load of faff to get a replacement (I had to send in my broken one and a friend in the US had to buy it for me and post it over) and the finishing on the underside was so rough, like if it was on a sub-200 quid instrument you would accept but not on a tailpiece that cost half that.

I moved over to trapeze and never looked back

Teyeplayer

I quite like the trapeze look tbh:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/157224850@N02/62b3aS

NervousJohn

Just to be different, I actually like the “R” tailpiece - I know the older ones can be weak (mine broke), the quality is indifferent at best and they are a little fiddly. 

But to me it finishes the guitar. If you like the trapeze though go for it.

Funkfingers

ICBM said:
You need the proper Rickenbacker rolled-wound strings - they really do sound better than anything else on them

This.

You and Pete Townshend! He was emphatic about the importance of the proper strings when his signature model was issued.

The other essential ingredient is two Teletronix LA-2A compressors, connected in series.

MikeS

I also cannot be faffed with changing my "R" Tailpiece 12 string, and have it strung as a 6 string using the stock 12 string Nut. Although this means the top E string sits a bit away from the edge of the fingerboard, I quite enjoy playing like this (and I've got tree trunk fingers).

I enjoy playing it as a 12-string with 8 gauge, but find 10's too much tension. Haven't tried 9's.

I currently have one of those Winfield 12-string Harp Tailpieces on the way from the States, which should make changing strings a breeze, but I can see myself still stringing it with only 6 strings. I just seem to prefer playing my Ricky 12 string with 6 strings.

ICBM

I do prefer the look of the R tailpiece, and I don't like the sharp 'claws' on the trapeze, but I have to admit the R is more of a faff to re-string - and I've come across a few broken ones.