Aboutpaul wilczynski Expertise Anything concerning building, tuning, theory of construction. Specialist in finishing (40 years' experience); extensive knowledge of Rickenbacker instruments of all vintages. Rckenbacker factory connection on personal level; ONLY licensed Rickenbacker luthier in the world.
Experience Extensive. I build and restore electric and acoustic guitars (steel string and nylon classicals). I build all of Rickenbacker's acoustic instruments in my own shops in San Francisco and Healdsburg, CA.
I write two online columns with a total of over 15,000 posts since January, 2005.
Google my name or my screen name, "jingle_jangle".
Organizations American Guild of Luthiers.
Publications Mostly automotive and hobby (in the past).
Education/Credentials Manage the University Department workshops(Industrial Design) in SF, also have taught and written design and fabrication classes for almost a decade. Have produced online classes, written curricula, syllabi, etc. Run an online forum for my students (500 in number).
Awards and Honors Awards won for product, vehicle, and preschool toy design in the past.
Past/Present Clients Rickenbacker International Corporation, Waterstone Guitars LLC, many Fortune 500 companies before I worked in guitars (I ran a design studio for 22 years). I have hundreds of individual--private party--customers.
Expert: paul wilczynski Date: 6/19/2008 Subject: problem when tuning
Question i just yesterday installed new pickups in my yamaha RGX312. after completeing that task i decided it would be a good idea to replace the strings ( its been a while since i changed them ). since installing the new strings i cant get it to tune because every time i try the spring under the tremelo keep expanding as they are being pulled by the tightening strings. please help this is driving me crazy. this hasnt happened to me since like 1988 and i cant remember how i fixed it before. the last set of strings on the guitar were ernie ball super slinky. the new set are a mixture of ernie ball strings ranging from .48-.11 i think this may have something to do with my problem.
Answer Good guess--the strings are the first place I'd look, Dan. You've undoubtedly changed the balance of the vibrato unit (licensed Floyd Rose). Also, When changing strings on these--especially if you're replacing .009s and lighter with heavier ones like .011s, the issue of string stretch on new strings is something that needs to be paid attention to.
Unlock the locking nut, and detune your strings slightly (a couple of tones is fine). Lay the Yammy on its back on a flat cushioned surface (a table with a towel laid down is good). Beginning with the low "E", grab each string in turn between thumb and forefinger of your right hand, and p-u-l-l very hard in a vertical (off the fretboard) direction to stretch each string. Tune each string to pitch after stretching it. When you're all finished, you'll notice that every string except the last string you stretched, is going to register flat.
Now, go back and re-stretch each string in turn. Repeat the tuning to pitch. Last, tune to pitch a third time without the stretching exercise. Only at this point in time should you re-lock the nut. (Make sure your tailpiece fine-tuning knobs, if you have them, are set so the saddles are roughly in the center of their linear travel).
I've found that these Rose dive-bombers often take a long time to settle in and may require fine-tuning adjustment for a few playing sessions after new string installation. .011s are about the upper limit of heavy that I'd go with Roses personally, but as they say, YMMV.
Now, if the handle on your Rose is too low (it could be, since you've gone to higher-tension strings), you may have to add one spring to the Rose to bring it up. You can also try fine-adjusting this by screwing the claw screws into or out of the body slightly--I'd go about 1/8" at a time.
This should pretty much get you in the right ballpark!
