Dating a 330?

[dustymurphy]

I admit that I don't have much knowledge about dating Ricks, and I found three sites tonight, and they only mention Rickenbackers made before 1991.

A friend of mine works at a storage facility place, and he cleans out the storage units when people default, and he found a Rickenbacker 330 refinished in metallic black with added silver flecks, the serial number says SO at the top, and he wants $500 for it. Can somebody tell me what you it was made and what it's worth in it's refinished state, but otherwise in 9 our of 10 condition?

Thank you so much, I appreciate the heck out of it.

-Dusty

[captsandwich]

Go to the Rickenbacker Corporate site, http://www.rickenbacker.com. Under the Service menu, you will find the Serial Number Decoder.
I used it to date the guitar in question (note: it is s zero, not s oh) as June 1997. The value will be greatly affected by the quality of the refin, probably downwards. It also begs the question why would someone refinish a guitar that is only 10 years old? Was it abused before?

[dustymurphy]

I really don't know what's up with it, honestly. He just found it (in the case) while he was cleaning out the unit. They let him have (or buy very cheaply) things he finds while cleaning if the owner isn't interested. I haven't looked at it at all yet. He said it was 'candy apple black' with silver flecks on top of it, then clear coated, but looked professional. He said the refin looked great, and otherwise it was 9/10. I remember years ago there was a glam/punk/sci-fi band that had a Strat that looked exactly like he's describing, so I wonder if it might be one of their's. I'll know more when I see it in person. I think $500 is kind of high for a refin.

[doctorwho]

A picture or few would go a long way in trying to establish a price on a refin. Recall that some eBayer had posted a 'sparkly orange' refin Rickenbacker on eBay many times at an elevated price and got no bids.

[gibsonlp]

If the guitar is in good shape - $500 is a good price regardless to the refinish...

[captsandwich]

I think the playability is far more important than the finish. If it plays well & the electronics work fine, $500 is probably a good deal. Hell, RIC cases in good shape are worth close to half that.

[gibsonlp]

And the TRC the other half

[dustymurphy]

I'm going to look at it on Sunday. He doesn't play, and he's not too hip to guitars, but it may be a 381. He said that it "looked just like" mine, which is a JetGlo 330/6. But then today when I was talking to him he said 'It's just like yours, beveled edge and all.' Which makes me think it's a 381. He doesn't know enough about guitars to know that it's different from a 330. I think he probably wouldn't know the difference between a 330 and a 360 if he didn't see them side by side. I think I'm going to get it, if it's playable and sounds good.

The only thing that makes me question it being a 381 is that I found it hard enough to believe that somebody would do a refin on a 330, but if whoever owned it had any idea of what it was/what it's value is, I can't imagine that they would refinish it. Even if it was a needed refin, I'd think they would have just gone plain black rather a metallic finish. He says that it looks professionally done, and first told me that he thought it came out of the factory that way. (Again, it goes to his lack of knowledge on guitars.) He said he couldn't tell if it was refinished in metal flake black (he said the flecks are bigger than a Fender style Candy Apple finish) with the silver glitter on top, or of it was finished in the metallic black then somebody added the silver glitter over the refin's clear coat and then clear coated again. I guess I can start a glam rock band with it.

[admin]

Dusty: The plot thickens. What did you say his phone number was again? Just kidding. Time to reel this one in.

[beatlefreak]

$500 is a helluva deal - Even for a beater 330 in need of a refinish.

[dustymurphy]

Well, it was a 360. He's so unknowledgable about guitars that it was hard to know what he was talking about. The finish was what I compare to like a Kustom Hot-Rod type of thing. It looks about ten feet deep. It really is nice looking. It's weird to see it on a Ric, but it looks nice. I'll try to get some pictures posted later. I asked him what else he found in the storage unit, in case there were any amps or pedals or other guitars, and he said "Canned goods. Thousands of cans of veggies." He said that there were also a few clothes, and that was it. The renter started their contract in October 2000, and didn't go to the unit (according to the sign-in sheet) after December 13th, 2000. So it was apparently refinished within just a couple of years, which is even more perplexing. The wood inside the soundhole is still pretty light and clean looking. I saw a little pillow fluff in there, so I assume that's how the soundhole was blocked off during painting. It plays really nicely though. High-gain, obviously. It has the black case with silver latches. (I'm not familiar at all with Rickenbacker cases and how they changed through the eras. I hear SKB and Silver or Silver-Reissue used a lot. It's black plastic and seems amazingly sturdy.)

He said of that era people would rent these units to store food for Y2K and then eventually decide that it wasn't worth it to continue paying the bill on food and just stop paying. He didn't know what happened in this case, other than that they let the payment lapse for over a year and wouldn't respond to any calls or mailers requesting payment or removal of property. I feel bad for whoever lost the guitar, it's a gem.

[paologregorio]

$500 is a great price, refin or not!

I think the refin sounds really cool! Can't wait to see the pics!

[janglerocker]

I used to date a 330, but she was really jealous of my 360 and I had to end the relationship.

[kennyhowes]

I admit that I don't have much knowledge about dating Ricks.

Well, first, buy it some flowers...then dinner, and after a couple of stiff drinks she won't know what hit 'er!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[melibreits]