Rick Acoustic Story

jkl56 · Post by **jkl56** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 8:12 am

Thanks for all the information concerning rick acoustic guitars.I have been looking for years
for one with no luck. Finally i got one,730s in mont. brown] from Mike
Parks at the Rickenbacker Page,[A+++], built by Paul,[A+++]. Again Thanks!
JKL

wmthor · Post by **wmthor** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:09 am

Congratulations John!

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:54 am

Hey Paul - do you have a website/online catalogue type thing?

jkl56 · Post by **jkl56** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:57 am

Paul
Would like to get in touch with you concerning the guitar.
Thanks
JKL

sloop_john_b · Post by **sloop_john_b** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:41 pm

Mitch, how about an Azureglo acoustic to match your 330?

blue330 · Post by **blue330** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:15 pm

John, that's a great idea! You just go ahead and make *all* the arrangements! I'll let you know how I like it.

I do wonder if poor Azureglo has been lost in the shuffle a bit in the wake of other (admittedly nice) blues. There's really nothing like it- it's really...heavy. So I don't suppose you could actually put this on an acoustic, could you?

elysrand · Post by **elysrand** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:27 pm

Mitch, Paul can paint any guitar any color. But it would be such a shame to cover up all that amazingly-figured flame or quilted fine maple with an opaque finish instead of a transparent finish or a burst

That being said, I have this great 1969 365 OS AZ with all that maple covered up by an opaque finish....

sloop_john_b · Post by **sloop_john_b** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:37 pm

Do it Mitch! I wouldn't say Azureglo has been lost in the shuffle either, lots of us love it. I know i'm not alone in saying I like it more than Midnight Blue, RIC's current blue finish.

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 1:39 pm

Paul, how many acoustics have you built in the last year? How long does it take to build each one?

leesh · Post by **leesh** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 2:27 pm

Mitch, I asked Paul the same thing but he replied that an AZ acoustic would not look good at all (it would look cheap-looking with the solid color, etc). Bursts are the way to go...and the more I think about it, the more I agree.

wmthor · Post by **wmthor** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:08 pm

Paul did mine with a shading of the back and sides. Maybe that's something to consider.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:39 pm

I think an AZ acoustic would tend to look like one of those $20.00 solid-color mini-acoustic kid's guitars that are all over the Ebay pages... At least at first glance. Those who know guitars, however, would look closer and hold, play it, etc., and know what they were experiencing.

Same is true of shaded solid colors. Richard's has a plain spruce top with very subtly-shaded rosewood sides and, due to its being left-handed, will be a one-of-a-kind, perhaps forever...

It is true that, except for classic old JG and a few other carefully-chosen solids, its tricky to paint an acoustic a solid color. Oddly, though I am not a fan of Desert Gold on most Ricks, I think it could work on an acoustic. Maybe a natural spruce top with Desert Gold sides and back...very Western in concept.

I think any sort of bright candy or pearlescent secondary color (tangerine, aqua, lime green) has a chance, depending upon the shade. A guitar like this would really work well visually, depending upon details like the gold guard and TRC.

I'm doing a couple with checkerboard-bound headstocks, and this looks super regardless of color.

I'm a big, big fan of shaded translucent finishes. The possibilities are endless, and with a nice grain underneath, these are elegant and timeless.

The AZ '69 OS Elys is going on about was restored by me, originally for Bill Yantz. There's something about it in either this Forum or the Rick factory Forum. It came to me all hacked about for humbucker pickups, and the Dremel hacks had really been in attack mode. I machined out the Dremel junk nice and square on my vertical mill, made some precise patches of identically-grained maple, and filled the routs. Then I proceeded to re-rout the top back to factory specs.

Bill wanted JG, but I talked him into a slightly ambered AZ. The expression on his face when I delivered it to him in Tahoe, in a slot machine casino, in a snowstorm (we were vacationing at opposite sides of the Lake), I will never forget!

I do not have a website (no time and little need to put one up right now), but I can be reached at the email address in my profile on this site.

John, congratulations! I think that Mike had that guitar in stock for only a few days when you bought it. I'm glad it went to a good home.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:40 pm

"Mitch, Paul can paint any guitar any color."

Elys, does that make me sort of like Earl Schieb?

blue330 · Post by **blue330** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:42 pm

Oh yeah, I was kidding! I like looking at wood too much, especially on an acoustic. Although Purpleburst... now that's another matter.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 3:49 pm

Mitch, the Purpleburst has to be seen. Still, it's not everybody's cuppa.