381/12V69 BBR....

[libratune]

John,

Sorry for your disappointment. At least you got your BBR at the price two years ago. The list for those has really jumped recently.

Did you have something like this in mind in terms of figuring and bookmatched back:

http://www.wildwoodguitars.com/electric ... 740483.php

If nothing else, the front woodgrain is unique. On the other hand, some might find it objectionable.

I hope you will grow to love and play your BBR despite your current sentiments.

Peace and Merry Christmas!

[rickenmetal]

The back on that guitar is just the same as John's, and I think that was the problem. His has a very beautiful top though, the flame maple and the blue color makes it look like clouds and is much better than that other one.

[chefothefuture]

Well-
Last night I was visited by three spirits. (Or just 30 year Scotch spirits...).
I awoke this morning with a different view. While my 381/12 was disappointing,
it was easy to forget how fortunate I am to be in a place where one of
these is even obtainable. There are a great many who cannot even imagine
one of these. Having said that , I look at this guitar in a new light and remember
that it's not objects that make life, but how one lives life in gratitude and grace.

Maybe my wife gave me a lobotomy while I was asleep.....

[johneek]

....I look at this guitar in a new light and remember
that it's not objects that make life, but how one lives life in gratitude and grace....

John, Very well put. When we stop to consider it, we really are blessed in overwhelming ways. Having said that, I've returned guitars that showed up at my house and didn't look anything like the pictures I had seen. The most vivid example for me was an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top. There was nothing "plus" about the top. In fact, my RIC 360/6 FG had more flame in it than the LP. It looked a whole lot more like a '58 reissue LP than a '59.

I think your BBR is very pretty. Is it as spectacular as others we've seen? No, but it's still very nice in its own right. I hope you'll keep it and play the dickens out of it.

[jingle_jangle]

Just got out my own '04 MB 381V69 and had a good look at the back, which I hadn't studied in some time. It's figured just about as much as John's, and I remember being pretty impressed with it when I first got it (oh, and I still am!). It looks book-matched at first. Close inspection shows grain-matched wood, probably from the same tree.

[chefothefuture]

In Rickenbacker's defense; to book match the back, they'd need at least 8/4 billets to resaw.
I'm not sure how they do the tops as they now look to be the same piece as the sides. I think the earlier
381s had separate sides but I could be mistaken....
8/4 curly ain't cheap either so with the "build it to a price" mission statement(LOL!)
these would get alot pricier....