Hi,

Just want to make sure I get the right thing... which Boutique part
number do I want if I'm looking for a 12-saddle bridge for my '98
360/12V64? Also, if anyone knows a good Ric tech in New England,
do tell.

thanks,
Doug Aigner
Rutland, Vermont

I think you'd need, Sku: 00821

_________________
Throw that piece of firewood where it belongs and get yourself a Rickenbacker!

Remember the saddles come as completely blank rectangles with just the intonation screw threads, and have to be shaped and notched to the instrument. But that's a good thing so you can tailor it exactly to your particular instrument.

One thing you might consider is getting a spare so you can file an offset low E saddle so the low E string intonates off the back of the bridge and the octave string intonates off the front of the bridge, correcting the one niggle of 12-string 6-saddle intonation. I did that for mine, and it made a world of difference on how solid, but still jangly, it made the low E pair sound.

I'm having a hard time visualizing what you're talking about, and why anything
else would be necessary with a 12-saddle bridge... do you have a pic of what you're referring to?

thanks,
Doug

First of all, I'm talking about a six-saddle bridge, which many people, including Mr. JH himself, also prefer for the reasons given in all the previous threads on the subject. Give me some time, and I'll take pictures and start a thread on it.

Here's the deal: core stretch and vertical "roll" of the string at the witness point. These are the two reasons all steel core guitar strings need compensation, regardless of make, model, whether plain or wound, and irrespective of what kind of wind (flat, round, steel, bronze, etc.): the thicker the string, the more "stretch" as you fret it, and so it will go sharp. That is an inarticulate way of putting it, but I hope it gets the point across.

On most of the strings of a well-designed 12-string set, the E & B plain pairs are the same, so they intonate about the same, if the radius of the bridge notches is kept the same as the fingerboard so that each of the pair of strings is pressed the same distance to fret it. Likewise, for the G, D, & A pairs, the octave plain string is similar in diameter to the core of the wound unison, so they intonate about the same.

However, most low E pairs are wound for both the unison and the octave. That means the core diameters are different, requiring different compensation at the bridge to intonate. The octave E is similar to the unison D, so if you look on most 12-strings, the front edge of the saddle is about where the D string pair intonate when the low E unison string is intonated properly. So I filed an offset on this saddle, and by the luck of the thickness of the saddle that RIC uses, it's almost perfect to bring the low E pair perfectly into tune.