Yes, John, you're right and those are good points. The Shaded Blue guitar discussed in this thread (the original, which I tried to replicate) was done in an opaque light blue and therefore doesn't "burst" well, as there is no transparency to the solid color. There is only a very slight gradation where the blue stops and the MG shows through underneath.leftybass wrote: This particular Shaded-Blue Rickenbacker is the only one I've seen finished blue in this particular way---meaning the shading is only slightly transparent, if at all. To my eye, it is a solid color of light blue.
The other Shaded Blue guitars I know of (made around 1969-70) are more of a glow-style, closer to the modern Blue-Burst COY Rickenbacker instruments. IIRC, there were at least 3 of these, and one of them was a 381....John Williams may know for sure. Pics exist.
John Williams has shared with me photos of "shaded trans blue" Ricks that look more like Bluebursts -- dark blue around the edges bursting into a lighter blue (almost green) in the middle, with a translucent finish.
Here are two shots of a really interesting vintage 381 in shaded "trans" blue with bound headstock, Accent TP and inlaid (?) soundhole (look at the wood grain). The other is a 370-12 from 1999 that is also done up like a Blueburst but appears to be more opaque in the middle than the 381.