800 combo found

rorysgarage · Post by **rorysgarage** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:08 am

HI folks,i need help!I have a 800 that needs parts.i talked to Kenny at rickenbacker, he sent me to DALE FORTUNE who worked for ricky and he lives not 20 mins from me!Nice guy,he said what i have is probably in the best shape he had ever seen.Sadly it was stripped sometime in the 60s all the parts are missing off the body.what i have is a beautiful neck,tuners,nameplate,stripped body,backplate,and one very nice case.The body was nicly striped and is still bare.The neck was possibly refinished very early on and has a beautiful warm buttery checked look,aaaaaaaawesommm!!The nameplate is gold aluminium with one tiny scratch.IT was the rarer bluegreen color.thankfully someone at the factory penciled the last three numbers of the serial on the backplate leaving me to find the rest on my own. not knowing if it was a 600 or 800 until i noticed in velvet case lining the indent from where two switches sat,cool a 800!Upon further exam i saw that the knob indents were tarnished like the rest of the spots where the chrome parts sit,AAHAA!!!It had chrome knobs!So now i have the serial number and some understanding of the parts i need.All this leads me to beleive its a 1954.The body was hollowed out different than ive seen in the books that are out.It was done with a drill bit about 2 in dia.not routed out, leading me to bleive it is very early 54. I have missed a couple of steelguitars on ebay that had parts i needed to my frustration.So i am looking for a horseshoe p.u.Double coil if possibly but Dale says he can rewire a single to a double,the chrome knobs,switches,jackplate,pickguard,bridge,tailpiece,strapknobs and pots.does anyone know the numbers of the pots i need?does anyone have one apart that could look for me?any and all help to bring this guitar back to life would be greatly appreciated.Instant positive guitar karma for those who help me bring my 800 back to life.Thanks

bassduke49 · Post by **bassduke49** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 8:18 am

Hi, and welcome, Rory. You might want to put this posting in the Guitar section, or in Reflections of a Curmudgeon, as this section is about the upcoming and past conventions, etc. I'll bet you'll find people to help there!

8mileshigh · Post by **8mileshigh** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 9:12 am

Hi Rory,

Congrats! I'm not sure how easy those double pole horse shoes are to come by? Mine has the holes drilled in the back as well. I'll post some more detailed pics in a couple of days for reference if that helps............

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 11:56 am

Welcome, Rory! Don't be surprised if Peter moves this thread to another section.

jnbass · Post by **jnbass** » Tue Jun 13, 2006 6:59 pm

horseshoe?

no problem!

8mileshigh · Post by **8mileshigh** » Thu Jun 15, 2006 12:11 am

Here's a shot of the back of mine. Is yours the same?

The pick up is a twin coil. I'm not too sure what else uses this type? But I'm sure others will add their comments.

rorysgarage · Post by **rorysgarage** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 4:01 am

Great shots! thank you, thank you! yes ,mines drilled the same.Say, can you see the numbers on the pots?Graham, youve gone above and beyond to help,Kudos to youdos! Jared, are you saying you can help me with a horseshoe? I would be grateful.Thanks guys!

8mileshigh · Post by **8mileshigh** » Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:21 am

6154081 c624
6154081 c546

jwilli · Post by **jwilli** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 9:40 am

24th week of '56? 46th week of '55? Could be.

myfretless · Post by **myfretless** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:44 pm

Wow, looking at that headstock makes me think that Tacoma's "patented headstock" was not an original idea.