Group Therapy for Ric Owners-In-Waiting

[beatlefreak]

I'm just coming up on 28 months waiting for my 360/12C63.

[stubby]

I admire your attitude Jim - it's refreshing. I was in a similar position to you a couple of years back waiting for my first Rick, a 360/6 BBR. All I can say is that once it does come, that waiting becomes almost immediately a sweet memory and seems to contribute to your continuing appreciation of the guitar. At least, in my case it did.

I have a buddy of mine who is waiting for his first Rickenbacker, a 370/6 (FG). I helped his wife order it for him as a surprise 40th birthday present. It was ordered about 28 months ago and he is at the stage now where's he's wondering if something has gone wrong (especially since this model has been discontinued)! He was antsy several months ago but is way past that point now. He doesn't subscribe to this forum (or even lurk) so he keeps asking me questions I can't answer - Will Ric do these when they are set up for a run of 360s? Will they do it when they are making 370/12s, etc.? I think he thinks some of you guys have a secret batline to Ric or an implant that transmits directly into Mr. Hall's frontal lobe. I try to tell him that I haven't a clue but I can understand that he's grasping at straws. In any event whenever he hears stuff like "a bunch of 360/6 FGs have shipped," he gets his hopes up, even though he knows it may be irrational.

Any advice on how I can reassure him that his order hasn't been forgotten??!!

[lyric_girl]

I admire your attitude Jim - it's refreshing. I was in a similar position to you a couple of years back waiting for my first Rick, a 360/6 BBR. All I can say is that once it does come, that waiting becomes almost immediately a sweet memory and seems to contribute to your continuing appreciation of the guitar. At least, in my case it did.

I have a buddy of mine who is waiting for his first Rickenbacker, a 370/6 (FG). I helped his wife order it for him as a surprise 40th birthday present. It was ordered about 28 months ago and he is at the stage now where's he's wondering if something has gone wrong (especially since this model has been discontinued)! He was antsy several months ago but is way past that point now. He doesn't subscribe to this forum (or even lurk) so he keeps asking me questions I can't answer - Will Ric do these when they are set up for a run of 360s? Will they do it when they are making 370/12s, etc.? I think he thinks some of you guys have a secret batline to Ric or an implant that transmits directly into Mr. Hall's frontal lobe. I try to tell him that I haven't a clue but I can understand that he's grasping at straws. In any event whenever he hears stuff like "a bunch of 360/6 FGs have shipped," he gets his hopes up, even though he knows it may be irrational.

Any advice on how I can reassure him that his order hasn't been forgotten??!!

Probably a silly question, but have you tried contacting Rickenbacker directly?

[beatlefreak]

RIC has no information as to who (individual) has an order in with them. They are a wholesaler - Their customers are the authorized dealers.

[stringsncords]

Yo Jim Three Sixty Twelve EFF-GEE's are coming out.... I'm lighting a cyber candle for you!

[jimk]

Yo Jim Three Sixty Twelve EFF-GEE's are coming out.... I'm lighting a cyber candle for you!

YEE-HAW!

JimK

[melibreits]

You won't have much longer to wait, now! Hold on tight!

[lyric_girl]

I have a confession to make... I thought, and I still could be right, that those folks waiting for Rics are 1. outside the US 2. ordered a lefty 3. ordered a rarer model. Is this the case, or are all Rics by order only? I apologize if I have been out to lunch on this subject.

[stringsncords]

Hi Lynda There are plenty of us waiting for a certain model/color of guitar that have been waiting for 2+ years so far... With the backorder situation out as far as it is, it's about all we can do - some models and colors haven't been available for THAT LONG! RIC is doing their best, and have been shipping lots of guitars, but many of us who have had guitars on order are still waiting. Example - the 2006 Color of The Year (Amber FireGlo) STILL has not shipped all of the backordered guitars (I'm still waiting for a 660), and in less than three months, it'll be 2009. We're hanging in there, but you will notice that this GROUP THERAPY thread has over 1,000 hits - not saying that all of the "hitters" are owners in waiting, but I'll bet that lots are...! We could certainly acquire other models- new or used - but we carry on our vigils, waiting for our dream Ricks to appear on the shipping list, and eventually arrive at our doors.

[jimk]

I have a confession to make... I thought, and I still could be right, that those folks waiting for Rics are 1. outside the US

Nope, not me.

2. ordered a lefty

I ordered a right handed guitar

3. ordered a rarer model.

Nope. I deliberately ordered one of RIC's so-called "bread and butter" guitars, a 360/12 string Fireglo finish, equipped with standard hi-gain pickups. It don't get any more typical than that.

Is this the case, or are all Rics by order only?

That's my understanding, unless that is you have the cash in hand and find a dealer who happens to have what you want that very day. I was not so fortunate. I found a dealer who made me the best offer, but was out of stock. So I went ahead and placed my order with him, anyway. It was Jim Rhoads of Rhoads Music, by the way.

JimK

[beatlefreak]

Is this the case, or are all Rics by order only?

All Rickenbackers are ordered by distributors or authorized dealers from RIC. However, they can be ordered without a specific person wanting that guitar or bass. That's why when you're looking for a particular model, you can inquire with Rickenbacker dealers to see what they might have on order which is not already spoken for.

Jim - As far as I know, no 12 string guitar is currently part of RIC's 'bread and butter' models, which is why there's a considerable time in between runs of them. RIC is constantly busy making those that are in that category - the 330, 360 and 620 (all 6 strings), and the 4003. On top of that, we've seen (for a while now) that Jetglo and Mapleglo finishes seem to be run more frequently than Fireglo.

[jimk]

Jim - As far as I know, no 12 string guitar is currently part of RIC's 'bread and butter' models, which is why there's a considerable time in between runs of them. RIC is constantly busy making those that are in that category - the 330, 360 and 620 (all 6 strings), and the 4003. On top of that, we've seen (for a while now) that Jetglo and Mapleglo finishes seem to be run more frequently than Fireglo.

Oh, OK. I guess I assumed that since both versions of the 360 were built using the same body, that a 12 string was considered one of the "bread and butter" models, too. Same with 330s. Eh well....live and learn.

JimK

[jimk]

Wow! That shipment list over at corporate sure is getting longer. Anybody else wants a 360/12 string, get 'em while they're hot!

JimK

[nukebass]

Example - the 2006 Color of The Year (Amber FireGlo) STILL has not shipped all of the backordered guitars (I'm still waiting for a 660), and in less than three months, it'll be 2009.

BBRs are still out there, too. I did order a 4004, though.

[lyric_girl]

Thanks everybody for your clarification. I am glad that I have company in my waiting

Lynda