A 380/12 Laguna

[xpitt]

Hello to you all from a happy man !
This afternoon I got the converted Laguna back from Stefan Zirnbauer , a great luthier here in Munich (http://www.guitars.de). I ( ..and my clumsy fingers..) always wanted a semihollow 12 string with the wide neck - here it is.
From here a big thanx to PW, who always said : it can be done ! ... a great encouragement for me. There was always the possibility to build a new neck from scratch and set it into a 300 series model whatever, but then there would have been the neccessitiy to refinish and all that sort of work , getting the price up to the moon.
When I found the Laguna without the PZ option in Amsterdam ( thanks for your hint here, casinoman!) for a reasonable price I pulled the trigger.
The headstock was just cut through, Stefan took away some wood from the sides of the headstock too so the additional 6 keywinds fitted in perfectly; he left the old wholes from the 6 strings before, to use them afterwards as well.
As the headstock is quite narrow now there is not enough space for the correct TRC left. It has to be a rather smaller one to fit in the middle - maybe I have to design one by myself and give it to pickguardian.
The 12 saddle bridge comes from ABM. We couldn't use the RIC bridge as the Laguna neck is not as high set in as the 330/360 models. But the new bridge works fine with the R tailpiece. Two 7,4 scatterwound toasters replaced the HB1's. Original RIC strings. A golden lower guard gives it a little touch of a 360.
It plays and sounds so great !! As I said above : I'm a happy man !

http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee27 ... 0_3546.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee27 ... 0_3550.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee27 ... 0_3548.jpg
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee27 ... 0_3549.jpg
Two beautiful sisters:
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee27 ... 0_3552.jpg

[casinoman]

you are welcome for the hint

Viel Spaß mit der Gitarre, ist schon was Spezielles im Rickenbacker-Universum...

[BuddyDog]

Wow! That is stunning!

Enjoy!

[jingle_jangle]

Looks great, Alex!

The TRC will be a sticking point, however, if you follow the letter of the law...

[xpitt]

Looks great, Alex!

The TRC will be a sticking point, however, if you follow the letter of the law...

Thanks Paul ! Yeah, I know, the letter... ..maybe JH gives me a letter of his o.k. to 60th birthday on April 15 2010 ...

[webhead]

I'll take two!!!

[doctorwho]

Very cool!

Now you have me wondering what a 480/12 or 481/12 would sound like ...

[jdogric12]

Just get a 5002 TRC. They're extremely common.

Seriously, looks great! Reminds me of Bill's RCA!

[ken_j]

I think that you could get the TRC to fit. It may require cuttind a wedge shaped piece off the end at the nut. I would try making a carboard template of the original and see if you can make it fit, then transfer it to your TRC. Of course you would need to shave the edges as all other TRC are to fit a 12 string. When completed just spray it gold (Duplicolor Gold Dust Metalic, a Mopar color) and then blacken the letters with a Sharpie.

[longhouse]

Straight banging! Looks great.

I think it's crying out for oven knobs though... would they fit?

And like Gary, I want to hear it!

[8mileshigher]

Very cool!

+1 on that. It's a beauty. Hope the TRC issues resolves itself.
You must be one of the few people in the world with two Lagunas in your collection !!

[rickenbrother]

And like Gary, I want to hear it!

Me too!

[gretsch929]

Wow!

[firstbassman]

WOW is right! That is one stunning looking guitar.

And, as some here might remember, a wide-neck RIC 12, to me, is the holy grail.

Congrats and enjoy.

[xpitt]

Thanks everybody for the compliments ! I appreciate , especially that one from Mark
Stefan Zirnbauer from the Munich Repair Shop did an excellent job.
This one really rocks! The tone is very loud and midranged -can I say "firm" in english" ? - but with the whole range of tone frequencies, different from the 360/12 where espespially the neck PU is a little warmer. Maybe it's because the pickups are inside the body, maybe the experts here might be able to explain. As I was quite busy the last weeks I managed to get ready the handmade TRC for the smaller headstock center only yesterday. Will post pics soon.