1997: Perfectly Gorgeous Guitar!

[melibreits]

For the last few days I've had my 1997 out of its case to work on a couple of new songs.... This afternoon I was admiring its beauty as it sat in its stand, and seized the moment to take a few pictures. I just love the way this guitar looks.... it is so sleek and perfect in its jetglo finish. Classic, clean, understated, and beautiful!

Jetglo perfection.... Model 1997

This guitar sounds just as beautiful as it looks.... Not as bright and jangly as one would expect on a Ric with toasters. It has sort of a warm velvety smoothness to its tone that is a bit different from any of my other Rics. It really lends itself well to playing leads, although my pathetic attempts at playing lead are pretty awful! It has exactly the soulful kind of sound I am looking for on my latest song.

When I last had this guitar out a couple of months ago I gave it a rub-down with Scratch-X and Zymol, and it still shines like a mirror. No Photoshop tricks here--this is my reflection in the guitar to prove it!

1997 Reflection

[kiramdear]

Nice pics, Mel! That is one gorgeous finish on one gorgeous guitar. Jetglo is my personal favorite finish of all. I don't know if I've seen your whole collection but all of the many that you've shared with us are stunning. I'm so jealous! (but in a good way! )

[JakeK]

The Rickenbacker 1997/1998...best guitar ever made. Yours is no exception of how awesome they are, Mel.

I loved my 1997 reissue right before it's accident and (hopefully) Friday, I'll be taking in a '89 1998 reissue with "R" tailpiece. Yes, I'll post photos of it as soon as I get it.

[collin]

Gorgeous, Melissa!


You don't see them in JG very often. In fact, yours is of a very very few that I even know of. Nice!

[scotty]

Once youve had JetGlo you aint going back. Just quoting Brian Lovely Specimen Mel.

[admin]

Melissa: Thanks for these photos. I love the 1997 in Jetglo with the Vox. What year is the AC30?

[melibreits]

No idea what year the AC30 is, Peter.... we bought it very lightly used a couple of years ago--I just looked at the back of the amp and realized that it's one of the newer "made in China" ones. Great sounding amp, though. It's got the Celestion blue speakers, and the tone is fabulous. Unfortunately I don't get to play this amp out very much, because it is too heavy for me to move by myself, but when I play it at home it rocks the house!

[sloop_john_b]

Unfortunately I don't get to play this amp out very much, because it is too heavy for me to move by myself

That makes two of us.

[whojamfan]

Very sweet guitar there Melissa
I've got an AC-30 like that, and yes, it's a boat anchor with a great sound.

[admin]

Thanks Melissa. That amp is all about the stand too.

[wmthor]

Melissa, great shots of a great instrument. Needless to say, the 1997 is my favorite.

[melibreits]

Thanks Melissa. That amp is all about the stand too.

Yeah, the stand is pretty cool, too. Ordered that from Gary at North Coast music within a week of getting the amp--it was the only thing that seemed to make sense to get that big beast off of the floor; it's nice and sturdy, and the retro-cool design is perfect.

[Janglyman]

Thanks for the pix of 2 drop dead gorgeous Ricks. They are my 2 fave colors as well. (My 450-12 is MG, 360-12 is FG).
But I have a question. Some manufacturers use a black finish on the "lesser grades" of wood. I have never noticed this on a Rick, but has anyone else?
All the JG finishes I have seen personally were extremely well done.

Janglyman

[jingle_jangle]

JG is often used where the wood, after milling operations, shows a small knot or inclusion. The transparent/translucent finishes go onto the clearer wood pieces.

This is not to say that RIC uses more than one grade of maple--it's all the same as far as I know, but natural variations are par for the course. Extra-extra fine will usually be saved for special runs or the higher end guitars, but these can have less charactered maple, too, it's a combination of what's available wood-wise and what's on order guitar-wise.

[Mark Cook]

That JG looks great. Hopefully if I can find one it will be the next one to add to the collection. I have a FG and MG 1997, but would love to have a JG one as well.
Mark