Maxwell, there's the confirmation you needs, straight from the top! OK give those heavier strings a go it has to be worth a shot. Sure your spring looks high but the one in the drawing must be a just a representation. So far everything on this Ric has been original ,,,good! You even recycle the truss rods and managed to get them back in. Now with some more good advice you will have this axe up and running.

How's that neck looking? You only have to go up one string gauge from these 11's to 12's and this may solve the problem. I'm really hoping when it come to the final setup all is OK for you! It will be the string tension that will pull on the vibrato and neck and rods ,,,it's now down to seeing what happens to the neck and vibrato when the extra string tension is applied. If all goes well the neck will remain straight ( maybe some adjusment needed after) but the vibrato will come down and create the correct action height

I appreciate the feedback and interest. Thanks!

So, I guess the next move is to put those heavier strings back on. The thing that I'm sort of concerned about is that when I received the guitar with those heavy strings, it seemed pretty well set up. I just didn't like those heavy strings. I'm hoping that I won't end up exactly back where I started. I'll put the srings on soon, probably this weekend, because....

I'm still (sort of) working on the neck. I had begun to tighten the adjustment nuts very little at a time, as I described in the truss rods thread. However, I decided to back off both adjustment nuts entirely and see if that rather mild pressure from the flexed truss rods would exert enough bowing force on their own to change the neck profile. Hmm... just checked with a straight edge; seems the same. So I'll start tightening those nuts.

If I hadn't bought this guitar used, especially being the third owner (as far as I know) I probably wouldn't have been so suspect of possible modifications. I'll let you know how it goes.

Maxwell. What strings and what gauge do you have to put back on??

Hopefully you've already seen the many posts which point out that a set of 12's or 13's on a short scale perform and feel like a set of 10's on a full scale instrument.

Of course if you use 8 or 9's on your full scale guitars, then I understand, but it's very difficult to keep a short scale in tune and intonated as the strings get lighter.

Thanks! Yes, I knew that I would need heavier strings on a short scale guitar, especially the 325 scale, but what I did not like was the "more difficult to play" tension of those strings that were on the guitar when I bought it. I initially tried those D'Addario Chromes (flatwound) Jazz Lights, 11-50 because of my reading from various people on the Internet (and my preference for lighter strings). I have a Guitar Center in town that carries this line, so it's convenient to buy there. (You have to ask for their Internet price....) I now have the same string in 12-52 that I will put on: http://store.daddario.com/category/145777/XL_Chromes_Flat_Wound, and these are characterized as "light." The next step up in this line of strings are the "medium," 13-56. (I don't think I would have named/described these strings this way....)

In the spirit of John Lennon, I really wanted to put on flatwounds. I have absolutely no experience with them. Of course you can't read anything about 325s and not get overwhelming recommendations for Polyhedron 13s. They would seem to be a little too heavy. However, I'm not really inclined to spend $26 for a set of strings.

Hi Maxwell... I'm sorry to read of all the 1996 drama you had. Now I'm wishing for your sake you would have bought mine--I had my luthier do a bit of work on it after I bought it (e.g., lowered the vibrato pads, did some work on the "vintage" bridge, all to get the action nice and low) and it played wonderfully with 12's. Guess we missed each other by just a few weeks... BTW: have you sorted out your guitar's problems yet?

This is what I intend to do to mine -- I will take off the vibrato pads and adhere a strip of adhesive felt to the spring, and if that does not lower it enough (to be able to lower the action/strings on the fretboard), then I'll probably flatten the spring slightly.

"So, what are you waiting for?" you might ask. I don't know. I've been undecided about my next move. I have nothing (other than a set of strings) to lose by stringing the guitar up to see just what I have, and it may be just fine, twisted neck and all. Or not. That twisted neck irks me. I've done a considerable amount of Googling about straightening twisted necks. One or two techniques seem to be relatively safe and inexpensive to do; just need patience/time (in lieu of much heat) for success.

I came across this old post via Google, as I have been searching for a solution to the exact same problem on my "touring" Rick 325 V63.

Similar to the photos posted here, the gap between the tailpiece and the vibrato unit was so tight that it required painfully threading the strings through the side. I eventually bought a trapeze tailpiece which I began putting on when I took this guitar out on tour.

For my upcoming tour, I decided to try swapping the "spring" with another Rick 325 in my collection and the problem is now solved. (Although, now the other 325 has this affliction).

So I don't think that using lighter gauge strings is necessarily the problem (I use GHS Nickel Rocker 10's). I believe this is an issue with the vibrato assembly. I am going to keep an eye out for a new spring or perhaps try bending the current one.

_________________
Muck
http://www.muckandthemires.com

Just like any spring steel part, these age over time and lose some tension. New ones are tight for awhile (especially with under-sized strings) but eventually flatten out and reach some equilibrium. If they started out at the factory looser, you'd be quite unhappy down the road when the vibrato had little flex left.

There may be slight variation between individual springs due to the imprecise heat treating process but over the years they've been fairly consistent.

I had a repro Accent vibrato on my Model 1997 reissue, I found that it tended to creak and the creaking sound was being picked up by the bridge pickup. I had a Bigsby B5 installed and that took care of the problem. Of course, if you're going for the look of John's second 325, you'll want to stick with the Accent-style vibrato.