Mark--
I know this is a TALL order, but could you please offer a few comments on the craftsmanship of recent Rickenbackers? I'm specifically curious about woodworking and electrical component quality of guitars produced in the last 20 years.
With other major manufacturers, there are generally time periods during which instruments didn't quite live up to everyone's expectations. Is that the case with Rickenbacker?
Aside from obvious improvements such as scatterwound vintage pickups, is there any reason that a 1980s or 1990s Rick would be substantially different from a current-issue Rick? For example, if the binding of 1980s guitars is notoriously bad, or the wood quality of 1990s instruments is considered exceptional, I'd love to know.
Thanks in advance,
Spencer Brown
Rickenbacker Quality Through the Years?
Moderator: jingle_jangle
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byrdwatcher
- Veteran RRF member
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2002 11:06 am
This is a personal opinion .
This is in NO way, anything but that .
Here is my viewpoint.
THe original guitars made in the Rossmiesel era are "production/proto-types" .
Many of the bugs of guitar making were being worked out at that time .There was NO Rick standard and attempting to come up with a line that was great and marketable was the task.These guitars also have some funky tooling and are QUIRKY in every aspect .But extremely functional.
By 1963/1964 things have come to a design head and things are fairly standardized.The look is nailed and the sound is there in CAPITAL letters!!!
By 1969 the ground is shaking and Rick is in a transition to stay afloat ...this continues until the Yes LP Fragile is released ...things errupt.
The pots and switchs and jacks all come from the same sources ...that has been constant.
The goofy split shaft And solid shaft pots on early guitars is odd , and makes for wobble knob syndrome , but that is workable.
The 1970's were a decade of large production for Rick ...things were consistant .
With the retiring of W.C. Deaton and the death of Bill Meyers (the man that just does not get any press and should be THE guy getting the press) things went into the next transition phase.
Brian Carman returned and brought calm and order only to be attacked with medical problems ...I believe he was back for about ten years. When he "left" , that really began the John Hall years and grover Jackson came on board with new insight ...This combination of Carman and Jackson gave new life to the guitars and the tooling has made for a far better instruments line.
Most of the quirks are now gone , and the guitar is (and this is not from a collecting standpoint but as a tool ) the best it has ever been.
WHY?
The bridge is workable ...the old ones looked sort of the same , but the adjustments are not very good.
The pickups , they had some moments of "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ????" thelate 1960's were the weirdest .
The fretwork and neck radiusing was inconsistant until 1984 ...that is lightyears better and makes for the best playing guitars ever .
Tuners are now better than ever since 1984 ...Klusons are now reproduced without the troubles of the USA made Kluson tuners and the bass tuners are light and do a splendid job.
Scatterwound CNC pickups are more like the old "handwound" pickups and the lower output gives a more 'traditional' sound to the guitars.
Wood quality has remained consistant ...and in some cases improved!
We were told to set asidde any interesting grained woods as curly /flamed/ quilted maple was not the norm and if we made one ...we would have to make more .Where do you get this grade of wood ? How do you keep up with the demand?
Now the age of CNC tooling is here and reproducing guitars is more consistant than ever.
improvements ...that is personal preferance in the area of scatterwound pickups .
I am more interested in the guitar as a functional piece.Will it work , will it adjust,will it hold up and be a tool to take to the gig and do the task it was meant to do.
The answer .....YES!
I wish that I had made the quality of guitars that are made now .We just did not have the tooling.And politics ...that has changed .There is a new King on the throne.
This is in NO way, anything but that .
Here is my viewpoint.
THe original guitars made in the Rossmiesel era are "production/proto-types" .
Many of the bugs of guitar making were being worked out at that time .There was NO Rick standard and attempting to come up with a line that was great and marketable was the task.These guitars also have some funky tooling and are QUIRKY in every aspect .But extremely functional.
By 1963/1964 things have come to a design head and things are fairly standardized.The look is nailed and the sound is there in CAPITAL letters!!!
By 1969 the ground is shaking and Rick is in a transition to stay afloat ...this continues until the Yes LP Fragile is released ...things errupt.
The pots and switchs and jacks all come from the same sources ...that has been constant.
The goofy split shaft And solid shaft pots on early guitars is odd , and makes for wobble knob syndrome , but that is workable.
The 1970's were a decade of large production for Rick ...things were consistant .
With the retiring of W.C. Deaton and the death of Bill Meyers (the man that just does not get any press and should be THE guy getting the press) things went into the next transition phase.
Brian Carman returned and brought calm and order only to be attacked with medical problems ...I believe he was back for about ten years. When he "left" , that really began the John Hall years and grover Jackson came on board with new insight ...This combination of Carman and Jackson gave new life to the guitars and the tooling has made for a far better instruments line.
Most of the quirks are now gone , and the guitar is (and this is not from a collecting standpoint but as a tool ) the best it has ever been.
WHY?
The bridge is workable ...the old ones looked sort of the same , but the adjustments are not very good.
The pickups , they had some moments of "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ????" thelate 1960's were the weirdest .
The fretwork and neck radiusing was inconsistant until 1984 ...that is lightyears better and makes for the best playing guitars ever .
Tuners are now better than ever since 1984 ...Klusons are now reproduced without the troubles of the USA made Kluson tuners and the bass tuners are light and do a splendid job.
Scatterwound CNC pickups are more like the old "handwound" pickups and the lower output gives a more 'traditional' sound to the guitars.
Wood quality has remained consistant ...and in some cases improved!
We were told to set asidde any interesting grained woods as curly /flamed/ quilted maple was not the norm and if we made one ...we would have to make more .Where do you get this grade of wood ? How do you keep up with the demand?
Now the age of CNC tooling is here and reproducing guitars is more consistant than ever.
improvements ...that is personal preferance in the area of scatterwound pickups .
I am more interested in the guitar as a functional piece.Will it work , will it adjust,will it hold up and be a tool to take to the gig and do the task it was meant to do.
The answer .....YES!
I wish that I had made the quality of guitars that are made now .We just did not have the tooling.And politics ...that has changed .There is a new King on the throne.
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!
Mark: I have a few questions about the wood that is used. In general, is there a need to dry it further when it is received from the supplier? Was there an onsite kiln when you worked there? What is the standard that is used in the industry to determine the humidity in the wood and at what point is it safe to begin construction?
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm
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Things have changed a lot since I worked there.
I am sure the humidity rate at which it is stored is superior to what we had on kilson Drive.
The wood came to use already cut to a specific dimension in width and thickness and clarrity.It is also kiln dries outside of the factory .Always was this way.
This was not by any means the final size.
Dick would check the humidity levels all the time and the moisture content of the wood .
I never saw this , generally speaking ...he and I worked in two different areas .
The weather of Southern Calif is warm and dry ...the dryness is some times a problem (Santa ana winds can crack wood ) But as everything is in a controled environment now ...things are vastly different.
Brian Carman took my wife and I on a tour in the early 1990's ...what a difference from the Kilson factory .
I am sure the humidity rate at which it is stored is superior to what we had on kilson Drive.
The wood came to use already cut to a specific dimension in width and thickness and clarrity.It is also kiln dries outside of the factory .Always was this way.
This was not by any means the final size.
Dick would check the humidity levels all the time and the moisture content of the wood .
I never saw this , generally speaking ...he and I worked in two different areas .
The weather of Southern Calif is warm and dry ...the dryness is some times a problem (Santa ana winds can crack wood ) But as everything is in a controled environment now ...things are vastly different.
Brian Carman took my wife and I on a tour in the early 1990's ...what a difference from the Kilson factory .
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!
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byrdwatcher
- Veteran RRF member
- Posts: 11
- Joined: Sun Mar 03, 2002 11:06 am
Rickenbacker guitars kick freekin arse. As careful as I am with mine, I am very hard on it. When I'm playing, I'm really beating the thing up pretty good. Is there any other way to play rock and roll? The guitar is 35 years old (older than me) and it looks it. It's not pretty. It's scratched, dented, cracked, etc... It wouldn't even fetch a good dollar if I sold it (never happening!).
I can honestly say that it sounds better now than it ever has, thanks to a good set up. I also fixed my switch problem (it was a wiring problem). There are few guitar companies that can match this type of quality. Just look at the vintage guitars for sale in VG.
I can honestly say that it sounds better now than it ever has, thanks to a good set up. I also fixed my switch problem (it was a wiring problem). There are few guitar companies that can match this type of quality. Just look at the vintage guitars for sale in VG.
I wonder about the quality issue as well ... I just received my new, 360 in Desert Gold with black trim option ... Rickenbacker Page had one ... made in Feb of this year, apparently ... well it's great mechanically ... quite beautiful and I understand it's rare, or will be, owing to the finish/trim combination. But ... always a "but" ... a few seconds after opening the case for the first time I noticed a finish problem on the front (of course the FRONT!) which is hardly subtle! Just to the left of the tailpiece, on that ridge formed by the body making it's downward contour toward the tailpiece area ... an apparent lousy attempt at a patch-up. About one-inch long and 1/16 inch wide ... right along top of the ridge. Great! Looking through a magnifying glass suggests it was not a scratch of some variety after it left the factory ... my bet is on a lousy patch job. Well ... it's the same color and all .... but still very noticeable as a discolored (from the right angle) rough spot!
Gee ... this IS a Ric!
Oh well I'm starting to vent now ....
Gee ... this IS a Ric!
Oh well I'm starting to vent now ....
Jeff Phelps .. yeah ... has a nice ring to it ... ha ha ... swap names for a while?
About my 360:
1) Funny ... or not so funny ... I just talked with someone who had almost exactly the same experience with a Desert Gold ... this ain't nice!
2) And I should say that Mike at Ric Page is ace about the whole thing. I can return it if I choose. I already knew he was a good guy anyway.
About my 360:
1) Funny ... or not so funny ... I just talked with someone who had almost exactly the same experience with a Desert Gold ... this ain't nice!
2) And I should say that Mike at Ric Page is ace about the whole thing. I can return it if I choose. I already knew he was a good guy anyway.