Strings and action...

[S. Cane]

So, all my guitars needed fresh strings and since I've been playing a lot of blues and blues-based classic rock lately I decided to beef up my strats a little bit.

I kinda got used to 9s because it's the gauge Fender strats come strung with from the factory, I just didn't feel like changing anything. But slightly higher action and thicker strings do feel better when I want to play a lot of bending and sliding. The guitar feels kinda more firm and steady in my hands. I know lots of people prefer their strings as light as possible but I think 10s are the ideal for me... I don't know why I stuck to 9s for so long.

The Rickenbacker, though, will remain with 9s. I don't want any extra tension on that R tailpiece. Urban legends and all...

[OldStrummer]

I put 11's on my Trower Strat (I believe Trowser goes to 12's!), and it's a gorgeous mix! Solid, terrific bending, and no sluggishness. Truth be told, even though I have small hands and fingers, I play with a lot of pressure. Probably comes from me teaching myself on that old Kay "Warpneck" so many years ago.

When I pick up a Tele or Strat running 9's, I almost feel like I'm crushing the strings. Worse yet, I find I'm bending when I don't even mean to be!

[jrgtr42]

|I keep 10's on my Rickenbacker - never a problem for the 15+ years I;ve had it or the 10ish years before that. (there was a empty pack of 10s in the case when I got it; presuming that's what the previous owner used.)

[phantomman]

I keep 10-46's on most of my electrics, specifically the GHS Boomers. The sole exception is my 12-string Strat which is strung with a custom-sized D'Addario set. I favor the consistency of "string feel" regardless if the instrument is a Fender or a Gibson. Had I ever found a Rick that happened to fit my fat fingers, I'd string it similarly.

[S. Cane]

Of course, Ricks will sound great with heavier strings too. I am just a little OCD about not risking the “exploding R piece” lore. I know it’s very unlikely to happen to 6 stringers, but still... I like to keep it as pressure free as possible...

[jaxjaxon]

On strat I use 9. On Tele I use 10. On Arch top I use 11.

[DanTheBluesMan]

i've been running 9s on the bolt necks and 10s on the set necks. I want to use 9s all around but last time I tried to put 9s on a Gibson it objected.

[jrgtr42]

Of course, Ricks will sound great with heavier strings too. I am just a little OCD about not risking the “exploding R piece” lore. I know it’s very unlikely to happen to 6 stringers, but still... I like to keep it as pressure free as possible...

I've never herd of an "exploding R-piece" issue before...
IN a quick search, it appers that is mostly an issue with 12-string guitars, using heavy or high-tension strings.

[S. Cane]

I've never herd of an "exploding R-piece" issue before...
IN a quick search, it appers that is mostly an issue with 12-string guitars, using heavy or high-tension strings.

Indeed, and John Hall once stated in another forum that somewhere between the 90s and the 2000s they started using a more resistant, less brittle alloy.

Nevertheless, when you live in a country where Rickenbackers are rare and expensive, I guess it’s normal to be a little too careful

[phantomman]

Snobbery aside, I guess Rickenbacker is just too fucking CHEAP to make that part from forged steel instead of using cast alloy.

[S. Cane]

Snobbery aside, I guess Rickenbacker is just too fucking CHEAP to make that part from forged steel instead of using cast alloy.

Me, I wouldn't go so far as to call Rickenbacker cheap. Not in a million years. They do precisely what people say Fender, Gibson and other companies should do and have done in the first place, in order not to hear people say "modern ones just aren't like the "real McCoy".

Especially considering that they just don't do the things that people usually accuse other companies of doing to their "standard" series... The phrase I hear the most is "I have little or no interest in modern Fender guitars as they no longer represent what Leo did back then" and so on... Rickenbacker never really changed their standards, never having sold their company, made cheapo 'elsewhere made' budget guitars under other names or lesser series that people will be able to afford and then swear that they're as good as the American ones, nor having sold dreams through "custom" shops that make boutique imitations of old guitars.

A Rickenbacker is what it is, and that is what it has always been, maybe with ACTUAL improvements. Which can't be said about Gibsons or Fenders throughout time.

If having a better - though not stainless steel - R tailpiece is the price I have to pay to keep the RICs being American made, a pretty strict QC, new guitars being just as good as the 60s ones, and no compromise at all in production while keeping prices at a decent range, well... I say keep it that way. I mean, what does Callaham do, again?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not being harsh or responsive here, let alone with you (a friend I'd NEVER contradict just because). I respect your POV a hell of a lot, and I always learn a lot from you! But thing is, I know all guitar companies have had their ups and downs and all that jazz, but the way I see the big picture, if there's just ONE company that doesn't deserve to be called fuckin' cheap, it's Rickenbacker.

YMMV.

[S. Cane]

Man, I just picked up the black strat after the final tweaks.

I never had this guitar so well set up. It's playing exactly as I want it to, and the neck relief is set so precisely that the action ain't too high but it simply doesn't buzz at any fret at all. I should have done this long ago.