Sister Customized 350s - JK's and mine

[rich_s]

For Leftybase....here's pics of the "Sisters" - JK's and my 350s, customized by Larry Davis

[rich_s]

[rich_s]

First off....I'd like to say HI to you all, and introduce myself. Name's Rich...I've been lurking here off and on for YEARS...but I don't post much. I actually started lurking earlier than the 2002 date...and a picture of some of my Rics have been in Peter's gallery for a LONG time: called "The Family". In that shot, the 325JL is no longer mine, as I sold her a few years ago. I LOVE Rics, and have 6 in my collection presently: '96 360/6 FG, '93 650 Excalibur, '84 350 (customized), '98 360/12V64, '02 350V63, '73 4001 FG.

So...for a LONG time, I'd been dreaming about what MY signiture Rickenbacker would be like. And late last year, I took a BIG leap and jumped in with both feet to make my dream come true. John has inspired me to share my story with you all here on the Ric Resource Forum. So here's the story behind my DREAM RICKENBACKER...

The dream had gone through some minor changes over the years, but the basics were always the same:

325/350 body shape
full scale neck
birdseye maple
a very cool color
B5
Deluxe style 'winged' headstock
Vintage style TRC
Hi-Gains ... modded to look like toasters
Checkerboard binding on body, neck, and headstock
2 o-clock F-Hole
...and some other items.

My color choice had vasilated many time...but I knew it would be a burst of some type...to really show the wood.

So one day, I was tired of dreaming. I figured nothing ventured, nothing gained. And I'm SO glad I did it ....'cause today I OWN my dream Rickenbacker.
And I Love Her. (whoops, sounds like a song!)

She started life in Santa Ana California in 1984 as a Jetglo 350 Liverpool...
Eventually she was owned by "Beatcomber" Glenn. Glenn sold her to me. I found Larry Davis of Davis Custom Guitars near HotLanta Georgia, and I picked him to do the work based on his availability, recomendations, and other Ric's I had seen Larry work on. And several months later, Larry perfectly finished turning her into everything I ever dreamed of.

This was my first time having a guitar customized...and Larry was great to work with. He was patient as I changed my mind on a few items...and he was patient as I stretched the limits on some other items. He was really good about working through color samples until we got JUST what I wanted...and the color ended up to what I call "Gretsch Glo".

I just LOVE my guitar. I was so proud to be able to show her at MARF in April. Made me feel good to have her sitting with so many other beautiful customized and vintage Rics. AND it was so cool to meet many of you all here for the first time!

I'm really psyched that she helped get JK off the mark and get his dream Ric fullfilled as well!

For a 56 picture, step by step summary of the process, go here:
http://s11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/ ... %20350%20/

The full list of everything that changed on the guitar goes something like this:

1. Headstock - maple wings removed and replaced with dark walnut.
2. Original Grover tuners changed to new vintage style Grover open back bean tuners.
3. Genuine Ric Vintage TRC, but the paint was removed from the sides to allow the light to enter the TRC and make it almost glow.
4. Bound neck.
5. New bone nut.
6. New bubinga fingerboard.
7. New scale - 22 frets not 24.
8. Custom sharkfin vintage 60's style sparkle inlays.
9. Frets - Gibson Medium Jumbo, set on top of the neck binding.
10. Body top and back fitted with a VERY thin veneer (1/36") of birdseye maple. (This was a TOUGH job, especially on the front ramp - bravo Larry!).
11. Checkerboard binding added on headstock front, body front and rear.
12. Hi Gain PUPS cosmetically converted to Toaster Tops.
13. One new Hi-Gain PUP needed to replace bad original middle PUP.
14. New bridge installed - old bridge was just to rough to clean up
and make new.
15. Pick up placement changed to 60's 325 spacing.
80's 350 PUP spacing seems to be all over the map from pictures and guitars
I've seen. This one was really a bit strange, as all the pickups were jammed up
to the neck, almost as tight as they could be. I used sample pictures from Glen
Lambert's 325 site, compared these to my '84 350, a modern 350V63, and
others...and gave these to Larry. What I wanted was PUP spacing like Lennon's,
and other '60s 325s.
16. Gromets installed under PUPS instead of foam.
17. New bridge position was calculated for new scale.
18. 2 O'clock F-hole added.
19. New pickguards cut.
20. New selector switch installed - original switch was bad.
21. Vintage black knobs installed, removed silver top knobs.
22. 5th knob wired to be middle PUP volume control.
23. Bigsby B5 installed, replacing R tailpiece.
24. Modern Shaller straplock strapbolts installed (I use the straplocks...)
25. Custom color paint job - calling her "Gretsch-Glo".

Started with Gretsch Orange stain and amber clear, then burst body top, back, and neck with a medium brown. No burst on Headstock - wanted wings and orange color to match the body burst...and I didn't want to hide the headstock wings and orange under the burst color. Ric's standard burst coloring hides the beauty of the Ric deluxe headstock, IMO.

So...that's pretty much the story. Hope you all like her as much as I do.

It's great fun to see it aside of JK's! Can't wait until we can do it in person....

[melibreits]

Cool! They sure make a pretty pair--I especially love the checker-bound headstocks.

[johneek]

....It's great fun to see it aside of JK's! Can't wait until we can do it in person....

Rich,

Getting them together in person will definitely be more fun that doing it in photoshop! I'm all for it....

[leftybass]

Man, those are cool Rickenbackers!!!

The ultimate pic would be to get them together with Mike Parks's purpleburst 350, the Mark Hudson guitar.....

[ozover50]

Great story, Rich.

It must be a huge buzz having your dream guitar become a physical thing. You and John have both shown excellent taste in what you've had done...... nothing gaudy and showy - just a cool combination of stunning good looks and functionality.

Congratulations to you both!

[johneek]

...The ultimate pic would be to get them together with Mike Parks's purpleburst 350, the Mark Hudson guitar.....

Aw John, you and your great ideas....I was going to be perfectly content with just getting together with Rich, but now you've put a bee in my bonnet that I know won't go away until we get all three of them together...(it is a GREAT idea)

[dswp]

Great guitars guys.

Rich, thanks for taking the time to share with us......

[rich_s]

...The ultimate pic would be to get them together with Mike Parks's purpleburst 350, the Mark Hudson guitar.....

Aw John, you and your great ideas....I was going to be perfectly content with just getting together with Rich, but now you've put a bee in my bonnet that I know won't go away until we get all three of them together...(it is a GREAT idea)

GREAT GREAT Idea!!!! Now how can we make this happen....

[wj350]

You are two very lucky guys! I'm looking forward to playing John's at our next get-together--congrats!!

Bill

[raider]

Rich what does something like that cost? With my 350V63 in Jetglow
could and F hole be added and could the color be changed. I would
want it to look like a Deluxe 360.
Lou D

[shamustwin]

I SO have to get a 350!

[rich_s]

Hey Lou...

My advice is that you should contact Dale, Paul, Larry, or your favorite Luthier..and get a quote for your specific job.
Each job is different, and from my limited experience, each Luthier's fees are different for different jobs.

As I'm sure you know, Dale and Paul can be reached here at the Forum.
Larry can be found at http://www.davisguitarworks.com

[elysrand]

Hey Lou...

My advice is that you should contact Dale, Paul, Larry, or your favorite Luthier..and get a quote for your specific job.
Each job is different, and from my limited experience, each Luthier's fees are different for different jobs.

As I'm sure you know, Dale and Paul can be reached here at the Forum.
Larry can be found at http://www.davisguitarworks.com

Now THAT is so very cool - Larry Davis is a luthier with a REAL WEB SITE for a change! As someone who is In The Business, this is Greatly Appreciated

(good grief, those A. A. Milne genes are manifesting themselves again)(and the parentheses are back too)(where's Shaun Eliot when you need him) (Shaun?)