Hi Everyone
This is my first post here and I'm hoping that a fellow Ricky lover would be able to help me with my quest to construct a DIY guitar modeled on the beautiful 420-425 "Cresting Wave" body design.
In starting my process I've been able to find all basic 420/6 specifications via internet searches but what would be a real push for my project is some luthier plans that closely model the "Cresting Wave" body design.I have found Luthier plans for the 620 which look very similar but unfortunately not the 420/6 model. I would greatly appreciate some helpful feedback or direction from members on this issue Thanks in advance.
420/6 "Cresting Wave"
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
Re: 420/6 "Cresting Wave"
Welcome Roger.
That's great you can build instruments! I wish I could!
You are right that the 620 and 420 are different. Quite different. While 400 series can have neck thru like the 600 series (some are set), the 600 series (excluding the 650) have a different profile.. meaning the neck sits higher off the body, allowing for the tiered pickguard you've likely seen, and the pickups sit on top of the body. 420's and 450's necks sit down low, hence the flat large pickguard, underneath which the pickups are sunk.
You may not realize it, but the design of Rick instruments is for the most part protected intellectual property. You may feel that your one-off built in the garage is a completely different animal than a Chinese factory making thousands of counterfeit guitars, and to most folks it is, but in the eyes of the law it isn't, so I'll just warn you that you will meet some resistance by posting your query here. Even if you never plan to sell it yourself - maybe leave it to your kids in your will, one day it could end up in the marketplace, and you'd be well advised to do something (like an internal marking) to prevent it from being confused with an original - that's a legal headache your heirs don't need. Just my $0.02, of course, not trying to rain on your first post here.
Have you considered building something original and unique that incorporates the functional aspects of the 420 that you like without infringing on the RIC trade dress? Best of luck!
That's great you can build instruments! I wish I could!
You are right that the 620 and 420 are different. Quite different. While 400 series can have neck thru like the 600 series (some are set), the 600 series (excluding the 650) have a different profile.. meaning the neck sits higher off the body, allowing for the tiered pickguard you've likely seen, and the pickups sit on top of the body. 420's and 450's necks sit down low, hence the flat large pickguard, underneath which the pickups are sunk.
You may not realize it, but the design of Rick instruments is for the most part protected intellectual property. You may feel that your one-off built in the garage is a completely different animal than a Chinese factory making thousands of counterfeit guitars, and to most folks it is, but in the eyes of the law it isn't, so I'll just warn you that you will meet some resistance by posting your query here. Even if you never plan to sell it yourself - maybe leave it to your kids in your will, one day it could end up in the marketplace, and you'd be well advised to do something (like an internal marking) to prevent it from being confused with an original - that's a legal headache your heirs don't need. Just my $0.02, of course, not trying to rain on your first post here.
Have you considered building something original and unique that incorporates the functional aspects of the 420 that you like without infringing on the RIC trade dress? Best of luck!
Re: 420/6 "Cresting Wave"
Thanks for your replay Jason Mendelson, yes I'm aware and respect copyright issues that surround such items. yes I intend to make a different animal as such... so no worries there.thanks again
Re: 420/6 "Cresting Wave"
Apropos of coming up with your own design... from personal experience I can say "it don't come easy".
The (very) few times I have taken to pen and paper or CAD tools on my computer to design my own guitar, it's always wound up looking "just like" something that's already out there. My home-grown designs tend to emulate PRS and Godin, both of which already have their share of the market, so I think it's fair to say that coming up with a unique, functional and original design for a guitar is surely one of the biggest parts of the challenge.
If you tuck in the waist just a little, it looks off, but if you lessen the waist between the bouts it looks clunky. Etcetera, etcetera. To borrow from a well-known Broadway character- "It is a... puzzlement" to try and come up with your own. I bow to the skills of someone who can devise a unique-appearing guitar that isn't a "just like" emulation of something or other.
And so I buy designs I already like, which saves me a bunch of headachey skull work trying to avoid being a copycat.
The (very) few times I have taken to pen and paper or CAD tools on my computer to design my own guitar, it's always wound up looking "just like" something that's already out there. My home-grown designs tend to emulate PRS and Godin, both of which already have their share of the market, so I think it's fair to say that coming up with a unique, functional and original design for a guitar is surely one of the biggest parts of the challenge.
If you tuck in the waist just a little, it looks off, but if you lessen the waist between the bouts it looks clunky. Etcetera, etcetera. To borrow from a well-known Broadway character- "It is a... puzzlement" to try and come up with your own. I bow to the skills of someone who can devise a unique-appearing guitar that isn't a "just like" emulation of something or other.
And so I buy designs I already like, which saves me a bunch of headachey skull work trying to avoid being a copycat.