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Topic: Restoration question for Rickenbacher authorities/historians |
Jerry Wagner
From:
California, USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 8:31 am |
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I just bought a 7 string’34 A-22 FP from Gryphon in Palo Alto, CA for $2,200. It seemed like a fair deal; it hasn’t been played much, ever, and was stored in a good location, so its condition is really quite remarkable. You might be able to see some of Gryphon’s photos at this link:
http://gryphonstrings.com/instpix/44856/index.php
Whoever originally set up the guitar was pretty sloppy. The string spacing on both the nut and the bridge is irregular. The average string spacing at the bridge is .416 and at the nut it’s .302. I’d like to replace the bridge and nut to improve the spacing, and maybe increase the nut spacing to .333, where the neck is 2†wide. What material do you suggest using for the new bridge and nut, and do you have any other ideas about this?
I think Gryphon got it from the original owner’s estate, or maybe a 2nd owner, located in the SF Bay area. It probably belonged to a woman or young person, because the picks would fit only very small fingers. It appears that it was married to a small wood guitar body from the time it was new until Gryphon got it; probably inspired by Alvino Rey, who was born in Oakland and played with Horace Heidt’s band thereabouts in the 1930’s. There’s a promotional photo of Alvino with a 6 string ’34 FP married to a wood guitar body:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/alvino-reys-musical-legacy-73521660/?no-ist
Alvino’s guitar must have had a hole in the wood back to access the strings. The one I have was attached to the wood guitar with 3 small screws and was strung through a tailpiece mounted on the wood body; horrendous! How could anyone think that would work? |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 1:56 pm
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I saw that guitar at Gryphon when it first became available. I see they finally got around to removing the wacky wood body parts from the original guitar.
As I remember, Gryphon also had some letters from the owner to various vintage guitar dealers (George Gruhn and others) in the late 1970s trying to find out more about the guitar's history or provenance. Nobody at the time could offer anything other than guesses as to why this guitar had the extra body attached.
I'm glad you got this guitar at a much better price than they were asking originally. It is a nice sounding guitar.
Have you asked Gryphon how much it would cost to change the nut and bridge to match your needs? I'm guessing some sort of nut adapter would work better than trying to re-slot the existing nut. From the photos, it appears that the original bridge was a metal insert. That should be easier to re-slot to match the bridge. I'd try getting the bridge to match the nut rather than trying to fix both at once.
Good luck with your project!
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Kirk Francis
From:
Laupahoehoe
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 2:12 pm
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i as well have a 7-string A-22 in very good condition. the bridge and nut seem to be original, especially given that i am the second owner. they appear to be made from some form of chrome-plated brass. i reach this conclusion upon comparing the 7-string to my 6-string of similar vintage: the 6-string has more wear than the 7-stringer, and the edges and corners of the nut show brass underneath. otherwise, they appear of identical design and construction.
i hope that helps. i'm glad somebody bought that old thing!
aloha,
k.
Last edited by Kirk Francis on 31 Mar 2015 4:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Kirk Francis
From:
Laupahoehoe
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 4:25 pm
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i think i figured out how to put up photos. i still wonder though, how did they manage to have the renaissance without computers?
k.
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Ralph Czitrom
From:
Ringwood, New Jersey
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 4:31 pm
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| Rick Aiello is the guy you want to talk to.. |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 31 Mar 2015 5:14 pm
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Ralph, I got your frypan ... I'm building a new pickup ( a prototype) ... Once that gets done, I'll fix you up ... Before casting season starts ...
As for the bridge and nut inserts ... As was stated, they were chromed brass ...
I redid John Ely's A22 ... And used Silicon Bronze as the nut and bridge ... I didn't slot the bridge  |
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Jerry Wagner
From:
California, USA
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Posted 1 Apr 2015 2:02 pm
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Thanks to you all for your helpful replies.
Thanks Brad for the tip about those letters. I’ll ask the folks at Gryphon about them. As I told them RE: the steel guitar "DIVORCE:" We know now that this marriage was never really meant to be, at least not for this long!
Kirk: Thanks, your photos & string measurements are a big help
Thanks Ralph, I was hoping that Rick would spot my post.
Rick: Is the chrome plating just cosmetic, so there’s no issue with un-plated brass or silicon bronze in direct contact with the aluminum? I’m not sure what you mean about slotting the bridge or nut. I thought that a new bridge and nut could be machined to fit the existing slots in the guitar.
Jerry |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 1 Apr 2015 2:35 pm
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The chrome plating is just cosmetic ...
The earliest Silver Hawaiians had chromed brass nuts and bridges also ... Before they went with bakelite ...
By slotting ... I'm referring to cutting grooves for the strings to lie in ... IE: luthier files ... The nut needs to be slotted (of course) ... But the bridges don't ...
The nut/ bridge inserts (steel, brass, whatever) need to be machined to fit snugly into the cast "slots" ... Gluing them in isn't necessary, the cast "slots" are deep enough to hold the inserts securely ... |
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Jerry Wagner
From:
California, USA
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Posted 1 Apr 2015 4:33 pm
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Thanks Rick,
The bridge is slotted for each string on mine, and it appears to be original. The overall dimension at the string holes & bridge is 2-17/32". The string spacing in the primary pick zone is about 3/8". That's OK, but the center-to-center spacing is quite irregular coming right off the bridge; it varies from over 7/16" to under 3/8" and that's between the 3 adjacent middle strings. |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 1 Apr 2015 4:48 pm
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Rickys are known for there lack of attention when it comes to slotting / String spacing ...
I've seen bakelites that are terrible ... And home DIYers usually make it worse with a triangular file 
By not slotting the bridge ... Even if the string thru holes are done poor ... You can still pull them so they are over the poles (very important in horshoes) and tighten ... they will "bite into" the brass enough to stay put ... If really bad string through holes were drilled ... A small "Nick" can be filed with a smaller luthier file ... To keep the string over the pole ... But not a full slot job as in a nut job 
I don't like to glue the inserts in either ... That puts a layer of "plastic" between the metals .. And it'll soften the tone a tad ... I like to wipe out any residual lacquer/glue/etc with acetone ... To provide a nice solid convention between the inserts and the body ..
Hope that helps
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Jerry Wagner
From:
California, USA
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Posted 1 Apr 2015 5:01 pm
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| Very thorough Rick. I really appreciate your input. I'm sure we would all agree that this instrument deserves a proper setup. |
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