SWEET LITTLE SIXTEEN

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:18 am

Electro String ES-16

Solano Drive-In Swap Meet, Concord CA 8/20/05. Exchanging money in the parking lot. The vendor said it came from a garage (band?) in Huntington Beach. Price was right. Looked one-owner, case keys and bridge adjusting wrench still in the plastic bag.

I love short scale guitars. I'm just finishing up my '81 320 re-do (pictures posting soon!), but loved the way it played before I tore it down, and I've got a history with short scale guitars, since my '59 Duo Sonic and '67 Mustang were two of the most playable guitars I've owned, at least for wacko surf lead stuff.

This ES-16 was dirty. The frets and Grovers were actually green with corrosion. Strings had never been changed; E and B broke when I tried to tune it to try it out. Labels on the frets; apparently bought by a beginning student. Two tiny chips in the FG. No rash, no scratches, just grunge.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/RICKENBACKER%20GUITARS/DSC00116.jpg
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Date inside said "June '83". Initials "SWH" and "ML". Guitar had never been taken apart. Pickguard screws very rusty.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/RICKENBACKER%20GUITARS/DSC00137.jpg
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jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:18 am

Three hours' cleaning following a complete disassembly.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/RICKENBACKER%20GUITARS/DSC00147.jpg
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The FG finish, while not color sanded and buffed like a high-line Rick, is stunning. The fretboard is perfect, though it's obvious that this guitar did not receive the attention that the regular RIC line did in finishing.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/RICKENBACKER%20GUITARS/DSC00152.jpg
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I understood that the Electro name was abandoned after around 1969. Shows what I know! I also had never seen an ES-16 with high-gains, but here it is, and it's never been modded. It's perfect and original. Does anyone have any info on this very late Electro student guitar?

By the way, this guitar plays beautifully. I did zero set-up, because I'm waiting for a set of Rick heavy gauge strings. But strung wit a new set of .010 Rickenbacker strings, it has nice action and a really nice sound. The three-position switch is similar in function to Gretsch's "mud" switch, offering a rhythm hi-cut sound in the forward position, brilliant in the mid and a different cut in the rearward.

Now I'm off to clean the case and latches. All I can say is: you can't go wrong with quality components.

Some might ask what I'm planning for this one. I will try a gold pickguard and TRC and vintage knobs, but if I do, it'll be just for fun. This one will probably end up permanently unchanged.

jsm610 · Post by **jsm610** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 9:43 am

Hey Paul,

Would you share your technique for cleaning the chrome parts? Wow...

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:11 am

Wow, it cleaned up nice! That might be the latest one of those I've seen...

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:21 am

Wow again!! Good get, Paul!!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:34 am

John, the tuners alone took 10 minutes each...

I do not use chrome cleaners. They are far too scratchy for this sort of work; made for old car bumpers and that's where they should stay, IMO.

To clean chrome, I use 3M Perfect-It III Rubbing Compound. This is 3M part #05933, available online or at any auto body supply place. I also use cloth diapers (here I go again...) They are soft and very thick. They tear on sharp edges, but who cares? They leave little or no lint. Apply the compound to the diaper, just a small amount is fine, and work it into the cloth before attacking the chrome pieces.

You gotta rub hard, and sometimes you have to go over a spot three or four times, but it breaks down, removes corrosion, and will not scratch.

This stuff and technique worked well on the pickguard and the plexi "ELECTRO" plate, too. To take a couple of scuffs off the FG paint, I used this compound followed by Scratch-X and then Zymol of course. I wish you could see the difference before and after in person.

And now I know why Tony Carey loves FG so much. This finish has mellowed beautifully in storage. I would not change it for the world.

BTW, the case looks like new now, too. I spent an hour with some steel wool (light rust on the latches), Westley's Bleche-White (removes stains and grunge from vinyl and gets the piping perfectly white) and Armor-all. To get the lining looking new, a good blow with compressed air does wonders.

Now the whole setup looks like the day it rolled out of Main Street, Santa Ana, in '83.

Scastles · Post by **Scastles** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 10:43 am

I truly love the older FG's, no matter the Rick model. I just like the richness of it. Nothing against the current FG but I just prefer the deepness of the previous models. Nice buy, Paul.

ken_j · Post by **ken_j** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 11:51 am

I hope you discarded the strings in a bio-hazard container. What was that growing on them? LOL

Nice find Paul.

...and then there were four.....

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 1:28 pm

The unwound strings were black, and could have been used for hacksaw blades. The wound ones were quite green.

Giving new meaning to the term "grunge music".

yettoblaster · Post by **yettoblaster** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 3:34 pm

Great bunch of pics!
Thanks!

Hmmmm. A Sunbeam Tiger!
Way cool.
A room mate had one. VERY interesting steering column!

xcoyle · Post by **xcoyle** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 4:00 pm

Paul, great find. That is the "newest" old Electro I have ever seen. Only the last few batches of Electros would have the Grovers as well. Very cool.

I have a couple mid-70s ES-17s with the high-gains. I think these student guitars sound better with the high-gains. The toasters are too mellow for a one pickup guitar.

The collection is growing nicely.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 5:10 pm

Yes, David, the Grovers were a surprise to me, too. This guitar went local (Huntington Beach) to the Factory, which is less than five miles away...I wonder who the music school could have been in OC at the time.

This guitar shreds! I figured out the switch setup, and it's pretty smart. Forward position cuts the high end. Mid lets everything through; unaffected by the tone pot. Rear position switches to preset tone pot circuit. So you could have three separate tone positions, each accessible by a flick of the switch.

Steve, it ain't a Tiger. It's a '67 Alpine, completely re-engineered over a 13-year period. 3 litre Capri (German) V6, B&M prototype blower, on homebuilt manifold, two radiators, coolant lines through the sill panels to rear radiator, electric fans. Handbuilt dash and console, handmade scoops, 400W stereo. Leather interior. I did the paint, of course, Glasurit urethane. Bodywork took six months and paint three. Engine swap took 18. Narrowed Shelby GT350 rear end. Konis, Ford C6 tranny, nitrous oxide, etc., etc.
Blows the doors off most Tigers and handles a good deal better, too. Former autocross winner.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 5:33 pm

So it goes OK then, Paul?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:26 pm

It goes. Period. Unbreakable, and sounds like a banshee, as the blower turns at twice crank speed!

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Mon Aug 22, 2005 7:56 pm

Wish mine was unbreakable - just picked it up from service today and it cost me $1350!! Rocker cover gasket, water pump, timing belts, hoses, etc.

Bloody cars!!!!