Capri Reissue

[bubbasweet]

Do you think there is any way Rickenbacker would ever consider putting out the Capri model new again? They are really cool guitars and you guys are making me want one with all the photos of late. Maybe this has been asked already.

[jingle_jangle]

Maybe this has been asked already.

Only about a hundred and six times, maybe...

My stock answer:

[longhouse]

I'm willing to sweep up wood chips at the factory for free ...whatever is necessary to bring back the Capri & F-series guitars.

[jingle_jangle]

That, and some glue, and some time, and some luck, and then some sandpaper...

[collin]

Yeah, it has been expressed about a million times here.


All production woes aside, I think it's a real shame that there have been 1000 different versions of the 325 and a number of versions of the double bound 360/12 (basically to please Beatle customers), and never one attempt at reissuing the Capri OR the F-series.

They are both a pretty important part of the brand's history and lineage.........but hey----that would get in the way of Beatle customers.

[jingle_jangle]

Ate yer Wheaties this morning, didn't you, Collin?

Business is business, and RIC wouldn't be around too long if they did any of this sort of limited-appeal product.

Anyway, I lurv 'em, too!

[billydlight]

well the question is then: How many confirmed orders of say an F guitar would it take. 10, 20, 100? With Gretsch for instance a dealer can get a special order if it is 12 guitars. Granted the guitar is made in Japan but it is still built by skilled craftsmen.. Blah Blah... So if they were to get the back log to a reasonable condition, what would it take? I'm definitely in for a 360F either style, (tho I like the earlier ones better)

[ken_j]

...My stock answer:

Looks like you were here in Michigan last winter.

Ate yer Wheaties this morning, didn't you, Collin?

I think he had wine on them.

[Ontario_RIC_fan]

Maybe this has been asked already.

Only about a hundred and six times, maybe...

My stock answer:

Hey it worked for the Eagles!!!!

[collin]

Ate yer Wheaties this morning, didn't you, Collin?

dang! Woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I guess!

[sloop_john_b]

well the question is then: How many confirmed orders of say an F guitar would it take. 10, 20, 100? With Gretsch for instance a dealer can get a special order if it is 12 guitars. Granted the guitar is made in Japan but it is still built by skilled craftsmen.. Blah Blah... So if they were to get the back log to a reasonable condition, what would it take? I'm definitely in for a 360F either style, (tho I like the earlier ones better)

This has been brought up before. I think John Hall gave some ridiculous figure (I want to say 1000?), most likely to deter this sort of thing, which would undoubtedly be a headache at the factory.

It has been done, though; there were some Rose Morris-esque oddities coming out of the factory during the late 80's as a result of special orders by Norm's Rare Guitars, and perhaps others.

[longhouse]

1000? Fair enough. Is that how many Roger McGuinn LE's were made (I was thinking 250 or 1000)?

I'll pre-order one. One Capri and one F. Maybe two Fs.

[collin]

It has been done, though; there were some Rose Morris-esque oddities coming out of the factory during the late 80's as a result of special orders by Norm's Rare Guitars, and perhaps others.

True, and apparently if you're 8,000 miles away and Japanese, you can almost get anything you want!

[casinoman]

What I think is interesting in this whole discussion is the history of the model 381. Whenever it comes to the call for a reissue of the F-series, the 4005 bass or instruments like this, it seems that the factory is arguing that it would incurr massive costs, especially for tooling, that it will not be able to amortize due to the limited demand (in addition to the order backlog of course). We have to keep in mind that those models were not very successful when they were still production items, leading to unsold stock as reported by Scott Jennings in another thread. And I agree that it will be difficult to determine whether these instruments today would be more appealing to the large crowd other than us forumites.

But then, the model 381, at least from what I know, was not very successful or even a regular production item either when it was first issued at the end of the 60s. How many examples of the original issue do you find? They are very rare. But in the 80s, Rickenbacker decided to make a reissue of that model, and obviosly it sells very well, as John Hall pointed out in an interview. So the question is, did Rickenbacker do any market research on the general acceptance of the reissue before reintroducing it? If so, this could be done for other potential reissues mentioned in this thread. I would believe that the tooling and also general production costs for the 381 are comparably high, so there seems to have been a considerble risk associated with the reintroduction.

But whatever will happen, I think here will always be something special about the original instruments from the 50s and 60s, be there a reissue of them or not.

[jingle_jangle]

Awhile back, I was very intrigued by this concept. Why not? I thought, for all the reasons that typically come up in dialogues of this type.

I crunched several sets of numbers and played with the variables in a variety of scenarios, concerning development costs on about 6 different reissues, about three years ago. I plugged in different ranges of figures for fixed and variable costs of items such as tooling, burden, amortization, and then tried out different production numbers spread out over varying time spans.

Even the most agreeable and optimistic of these scenarios (for a '59 330F) yielded a relatively high financial risk (about $600K) spread out over an unacceptably long time span (3 years), and the end result was an instrument whose retail price ($6500.00) was in the "wealthy enthusiast collector" range--a very limited market, for a quantity (200) that, frankly, exceeded that potential market.

I proposed that the only way to get any reissues of some of these rarities onto the market while making it a profitable venture, would be for RIC to license the development and manufacture of these to a very small shop, and produce them in very small limited editions (25-50), using a "skunk works" approach, at very high prices (roughly twice the $6500.00 quoted above). Conclusion: The licensing fees would be a very small return for RIC; they've never taken the risk of using outside licensors (except with the acoustics); nearly all of the instruments produced would then find their way into the hands of well-heeled collectors and most Rick enthusiasts would be shut out of the loop by the pricing.

Parable: When I approached John Hall in 2005 for his approval of the RRF t-shirt and mugs for which I had just completed the artwork, he agreed to a "limited" number of 500 of each item. John thought that we'd be lucky to sell 250 of each item. I thought, my gosh, we've got a potential market of 3000 RRF members, their wives and friends and kids, too! Those will sell out in a couple of months!

I think we passed the 250 mark about mid-2009.

Conclusion: RIC is a sleek, slim, profitable company with excellent cash reserves and zero debt burden. They got this way with honest business practices and a conservative management style. There is little incentive to stretch in this direction, though John Hall keeps his options open in case he someday gets the desire to take up a new hobby.