Sorry, I've been busy fixing two delay pedals. One was a Boss DD-3, and the other an old MXR Time Delay. Had to retrofit a different delay chip on the MXR, but it actually works now
Anyway, here are my impressions ordered by pro and con:
PROS:
Great player! Balance is good, and the fretboard is very comfortable. It takes a little effort compared to my Dot (current #1) to keep from slipping off the strings on bends. Zero fret buzz and great action. Easy to play without full use of the pickguard. (I've seen a lot of people carelessly bang away on their guard, but personally I prefer to play the strings.) It seems that the Rick demands a bit more precision, but it rewards with great tone on every string. Even though it isn't a 12-string, Turn Turn Turn sounds really nice. I think I would like to change the G string to a lighter gauge. I think it must be a 0.020, because all of my other electrics have 0.017s there.
I made a small box to break out the Ric-O-Sound and did some test recordings. I plan to use this more in the future as needed. Very nice feature for direct in or multi-amp recording. I may not use it that much, but it's great to have it as a factory built option.
The finish is beautiful! You can see the wood features, but mainly on the headstock. I can't say grain since it looks more like joins. So, it isn't smooth all the way. The body is smooth, however. I keep the polishing cloth at it after every session.
CONS:
It is my only completely single-coil guitar, so the hum is significant compared to the Dot. This probably has more to do with 2 computers being in the same room than anything. Also, the output level is pretty low by comparison to my HB guitars. The nut binds, but only on the D string. When it came, the end of the outer box was open, so I kind of wonder if the case and guitar slipped out during shipping (and how far). Not Rick's fault at all.
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I was worried that I might have to sell this to make rent in a couple of months. I'm currently working contract jobs and one-offs doing IT consulting, and December has been slow. But, this definitely won't be the first thing to go. I wish I had bought a couple of them in hindsight considering the price increase. I've seen one on Craigslist for $200 more than MF's old non-discounted price. Their new price is about $900 more than it was 2 weeks ago.
