Rutles Ric?

Artists Who Use Rickenbackers

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octagon
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Rutles Ric?

Post by octagon »

What kind of Ric did Ron Nasty(Neil Innes)play?Was it a Fireglow 615?
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octagon
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Post by octagon »

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iamthebassman
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Post by iamthebassman »

I think 615 is correct but I bow to bandmate Mike DeLeon's expert knowledge. Here's Neil signing Mike's Rutlebacker.
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leftybass
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Post by leftybass »

It's actually a Rose-Morris 1995, the export version of the 615...
dougp
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Post by dougp »

Heh heh ... "Rutlebacker" ... don't forget that Barry Wom played "Earwig" drums ...
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mike_d
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Post by mike_d »

Heh, yeah I think it's safe to say that it was most likely a Rose Morris, but it's still a 615 in my eyes. After all, there's no F-hole , it's a solid body.

Neil said that they didn't use the instruments from the film on the Rutles recordings. He got a big kick out of the whole Rutlebacker thing. And he was kind enough to sign the upper pickguard. I took it off so it wouldn't get smeared. I need to order a replacement one soon.
325c64 JG,325c58 JG, 325/12v63 JG, 350v63 JG, 1996 AFG, 360/12c63 FG, 360/6 Carl Wilson FG, 1993Plus FG, 660/12 FG, 425 FG (1965), 360/12 FG (1965/67), 335 FG (1966), 4003S FG (with v63 mods), 1997 RM Reissue FG
patrickkelly
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Post by patrickkelly »

Hey Mike!
After wasting time and money on a couple of false starts when looking for an upper pickguard for a vintage Rick, here's what I did: Make a careful tracing of your upper pickguard, including the screw holes (very important) on stiff paper/thin cardboard and send it to Mike Parkes. He'll custom cut one for you. The pre-cut ones that you can get are no good for vintage Ricks, which seem to have slight but significant variations from one guitar to the next.
beatcomber
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Post by beatcomber »

Ron Nasty's guitar is indeed a 615, which is identical to the export 1995 (although post-1964 615s have the silver top knobs).

I am the proud owner of a March 1964 615/1995 that is identical to Ron Nasty's. It sounds very much like a '60s 300-series Rick, but with a bit more bite and slightly less sparkle.

615s seem to be somewhat rare; you almost NEVER see them for sale or on eBay. Too bad, because they're cool guitars.

My guitar: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v480/ ... 9279d6.jpg
beatcomber
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Post by beatcomber »

My March 1964 Rickenbacker 615:
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jwilli
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Post by jwilli »

Glenn, I like the way your 615 has aged. It has character.
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squirebass
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Post by squirebass »

Man, that guitar oozes character, it should run for President! I just can't get enough of Fireglo, especially the RMs.... Quite a beauty, Glenn..
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beatcomber
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Post by beatcomber »

Thanks for the compliments on my 615!

The guitar has been through the ringer over the past 41 years to be sure. As you can see, the finish is flaking off the lower edge of the body, as well as a few other areas, so I have to be careful when handling it. I considered doing a refinish, but since I also dig the guitar's "world weary" character, I've decided to leave it alone. The nice thing about having a beat up vintage guitar is you don't have to worry about gigging with it!

You know what they say about well-worn vintage guitars... there's a reason they got to be that way - BECAUSE THEY'RE GREAT PLAYERS! My 615 is probably the best-playing Rick I've ever had the pleasure of strumming.

One nice thing about the solid body models is they typically don't suffer from neck angle problems like vintage 300-series models often do.
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mike_d
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Post by mike_d »

Glen that axe is a beaut! That's the real deal Rutlebacker 615. Thanks again for that Rutleg CD.

The guitar Neil signed for me is a reatively modern 1990 610 that I "Rutle-lized" meself. I think a standard Ric upper pickguard would fit it pretty well.
325c64 JG,325c58 JG, 325/12v63 JG, 350v63 JG, 1996 AFG, 360/12c63 FG, 360/6 Carl Wilson FG, 1993Plus FG, 660/12 FG, 425 FG (1965), 360/12 FG (1965/67), 335 FG (1966), 4003S FG (with v63 mods), 1997 RM Reissue FG
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jwilli
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Post by jwilli »

Well, maybe the '64s don't but be careful with a '61-'63. I own two '61 450 with the worlds worst neck angles. The pickup cavities were too deep. I'm thinking about having Maple blocks glued in the neck pickup route and using flat magnet pickups. You can move the neck back and forth just by thinking about it, ha ha.
beatcomber
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Post by beatcomber »

Mike - Glad you're enjoying the CD!

If I'm not mistaken, John, the late '50s-early '60s solid body Ricks also had thicker bodies. My '64 has a remarkably thin one - even thinner than a Strat or Tele. It's a very lightweight guitar, although heavier than the '69 Electro ES-17 (420-style) I used to own.

The neck is perfect on my 615 - the action is super low with no buzzing at all.

A previous owner had had it refretted, and they did a good job. Unfortunately, the gloss on the fretboard was sanded off. Shortly after I acquired it, I had the fretboard refinished. (My tech thought that was crazy, but to me it doesn't feel like a Rick without a glossy fretboard!)

Considering how beat up the guitar is, I'm very surprised by how well it performs. The only issue I've ever had with it is severely rattling bridge saddles, which caused the E and B strings to go dead. I had a thin piece of brass foil placed beneath the saddles to secure them, and that was enough to stabilize them.
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