What info will RIC provide if I have the serial number?

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billfark
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What info will RIC provide if I have the serial number?

Post by billfark »

Hello - I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this, or if it should be in "general." I'm demoing a new lefty 360/12 next week, and I wanted to make sure this really is a new guitar as the shop is claiming. I have used the serial number decoder on the RIC website so I know when it was made, but has anyone ever sent them a serial number to ask for the warranty status of a guitar?

Also, the shop has told me that this is a custom order that was never picked up by the customer. As far as I know, RIC doesn't make custom guitars, but maybe I'm wrong on that. The only thing the shop can tell me is that the "custom" request was to have the fret markers in the correct orientation (wide end at the top) for a lefty, but my understanding is that they now do this for all lefty models anyway. I do remember that my 1998 360/12 had "upside-down" fret markers, but I heard they made this change for lefties some time after that. Does anyone think it's worth it to send the serial number to RIC and ask them about any other custom changes to this particular guitar?

Thanks,
Kevin
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libratune
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Re: What info will RIC provide if I have the serial number?

Post by libratune »

You're free to contact RIC but at the most they will tell you whether they have received the warranty card for this guitar or not. If you are not the owner marked on the card, they may or may not respond.

If I were you, I'd make sure the dealer is an authorized RIC dealer. You can check for that on the RIC website -- http://www.rickenbacker.com -- Dealers (by state).

You are correct, the current production of RIC lefty 360-12s has the fretboard markers reversed.
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billfark
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Re: What info will RIC provide if I have the serial number?

Post by billfark »

Hi Ron - Thanks for the reply. RIC advised that the serial number had not been registered yet, and the dealer is listed on their website, so I think I'm all set. They also confirmed that they do not build custom guitars, so I think the dealer is just mistaken regarding what constitutes a custom build. I assume, to an extent, that ANY lefty Rick is a custom build.

Now, about that upside down "R" tailpiece... :wink:

-Kevin
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jdogric12
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Re: What info will RIC provide if I have the serial number?

Post by jdogric12 »

Some dealers have been known to exaggerate the "customness" of Ricks. The order was technically custom, easy, but the guitar, not so much.
billfark
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Re: What info will RIC provide if I have the serial number?

Post by billfark »

Agreed. They're using the "custom-ness" to jack up the price. I'll consider it a victory if I can at least get them to eat the tax on it, but we'll see. Thanks to the serial number decoder, I'm at least armed with the knowledge that this has been sitting on their rack for almost a year since the original customer flaked on them. Hopefully that gives me some leverage for negotiation.

-Kevin
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wmthor
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Re: What info will RIC provide if I have the serial number?

Post by wmthor »

ballpark wrote:... I do remember that my 1998 360/12 had "upside-down" fret markers, but I heard they made this change for lefties some time after that. ...
If memory serves me right, Rickenbacker changed the orientation of the left-handed fret markers in 2007/2008.
ballpark wrote:... I'm at least armed with the knowledge that this has been sitting on their rack for almost a year since the original customer flaked on them. Hopefully that gives me some leverage for negotiation.
Having that knowledge doesn't hurt. BTW, my 1997 sat on the dealer's wall for three years plus before I bought it. The price that I paid for it back in 1999 was very good.
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squirebass
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Re: What info will RIC provide if I have the serial number?

Post by squirebass »

I once bought a "New" Rickenbacker from a small shop that sold it to me in the summer of 1996. Turned out it was a 1990 model, but the warranty card on it was unused, and it had never been sold, so in my book, it really was "NEW".
I've had a few dealers try to tell me that Midnight Blue or Ruby Rickenbackers were a "special order" or "custom"
I even had one salesman tell me that removing the "Made in USA" sticker on the pickguard would devalue the guitar by 5%. At the time, he was trying to sell me a 620 that was used, but still had a "Made in USA" sticker on it, although it was a bit worse for wear and tear! It never fails to amuse when salespeople try to "educate" me on Rickenbackers.... :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
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