A 2000 360 Carl Wilson Jetglo! #419/500
I have been RASing for a vintage N.S. 360 for far too long, and this one came up at POTR, which I took a ride down to today.
I had tried a few reasonably priced vintage 360's at other stores over the past few weeks, none of which sat well with me. When this one came up at POTR, I immediatley put it on hold. I loved the idea of a 21 fret 360 w/ toasters and full-width inlays and the kicker - modern construction. After heading down there and trying it today, it was love at first strum.
A word about POTR: Go there before you die.
Chris' new showroom is incredible, with tons of new Ricks, a few Gretschs, Guild acoustics, and a whole Beatles setup when you walk in - Cavern bass, Country gent, 355JL, complete with Vox amps and Oyster Pearl Ludwig set with Beatles bass drum logo! Very cool. Also, lots of Vox amps and pedals, and a nice selection of strings, including Pyramids.
I had never been in a room with so many Ricks before (Then again, i've never been to a confluence either!). I got to try out a 4004 for the first time, which felt awesome but I didn't get to plug in, unfortunatley. Got to see and play lots of new 350's and 650's, and saw Blueburst for the first time (I was thoroughly unimpressed
). It was also interesting to see the color difference between Blue Boys (Chris had about 7 different Blue Boy's in stock - 350's, 360's, 370's, and a 650). He had one VERY unattractive Green Boy 360. Made me feel lucky, both my Blue Boy's thus far have been true blue.
I also played a new Gretsch 12 String, which Chris had only just opened and hadn't even plugged in yet. The neck felt GREAT - like a 660 - and it sounded really nice unplugged. Didn't get to plug it in though.
I asked Chris if he had any 325's in stock, as i've been DYING to feel what they felt like for months and months. He didn't, but he let me briefly strum a customer's 325 which he was currently repairing. Downside: It felt great. I want one.
POTR was also nice in that I finally got to chat with someone knowledgeable about Ricks in person! We chewed the fat for a bit, talking about some of the guitars he had in the store, other's he'd owned, ones I owned, etc. Good times were had by all, including my non-guitar playing girlfriend, who incredibly agreed to take the hour and a half trip both ways up and down the New Jersey Turnpike to listen to me yammer on about Ricks with some guy she didn't know. She's the best, BTW.
A great Rick filled day, indeed. Unfortuntaley, i'm now without a Gretsch. Gotta find me a Country Gent.
