Best COY

[jingle_jangle]

I've got an '88 Ruby 360/12 WB and a BG '99 425V63...

[Scastles]

Hijacking my own thread, but does anyone have a side-by-side example pic of a Ruby and a Red?

That's a bit of a difficult compare, because Red often came with black hardware and trim, whereas Ruby usually came with white.

Here's a Red and Ruby photographed in the same location, same day:

Red 620-12 9-fullsize.jpg

360-12 Ruby9-fullsize.jpg

Ruby has a slight metallic sheen to it. The best way to tell Ruby in person is if you can spot a ding; there will be a silver undercoat showing under the red finish coat. Also, Ruby was a finish option from 1980 to 1984; Red from 1985 to 1999.

Thanks, Ron. You can tell a difference in the sheen. The red comes across deeper, but they're both very close, IMO.

[bassduke49]

Yeah, Red is just good ol' fire-engine red. Just red paint. Very red. It came standard with black trim and hardware, but I've seen examples with white/chrome which would have cost extra for the "reverse trim."

Ruby is a candy-apple red which is clear red over silver base. If you hold it in bright light, the color will shift slightly as you turn it, the metallic undercoat refocusing the reflections as you turn. It came standard with white/chrome, but I've seen a few examples of "reverse trim" - black plastic and hardware. Other RIC metallics include Midnight Blue, Turquoise, and Dark Cherry Metallic.

And, of course, Burgundy is a clear dark red overall, and you should be able to see the wood grain underneath.

[bassduke49]

Oh! And Desert Gold is a metallic, too. Duh.

[paologregorio]

I've given this a lot of thought, and I guess I'll go with Sea Green!
Hey Paul - you could always go this route with your 381:

Ooh, Yums!! Tempting! It would be a shame to cover up the BE MG though. Thanks for posting the photo!

[nukebass]

I had to say blue burst since I waited three and a half years for one. I like Montezuma Brown, but it's almost as if it is too similar to a more common sunburst color.

[libratune]

I think Blueburst is the most revolutionary and distinctive of the experimental COY finishes that RIC has tried. Monte Brown is very attractive, but it's been done -- there's some great examples in the Walnut and Autumnglo finishes of the late '70s to early '80s. There's good MB back in the '50s, too. Burgundyglo? It's a great finish color that was done very well in the late '60s and intermittently since then. The finishes on the 2002-04 era BGs are not especially different from their predecessors.

The solid colors are interesting trip to Custom Color-land but not challenging and, of course, don't reveal the quality of the wood. I'm talking SG, DG, BB. And I'd include the old standbys TUR and MID in that category as well. Each has its own aesthetic quality, but I am looking for something more.

A trans blue burst on natural wood -- that's a challenge. That was pretty daring to do on a large scale, over a variety of instrument models, but RIC pulled it off. IMO there are some extremely attractive BBR instruments out there that will never be duplicated. Further, because of the combination of wood grain and trans blue burst, each (well, almost each) instrument is unique in character.

Amber FG -- cool, but basically a tint job that doesn't make those large fretboard inlays look very appealing. That's the price paid for a uniform tinting of the entire instrument (except for the TRC and 'guards) to amber out those pink Fireglo centers on the body. The later AFGs also benefitted from the new, improved, darker FG bursting that became the norm two years ago.

So I'd go with Blueburst, thank you. To my way of thinking, BBR is the best RIC has done in the COY series.

[fireglo67]

My top 3 would be....

1. BlueBoy
2. BurgundyGlo
3. Montezuma Brown.

The next COY (which everyone knows is going to be white ) will no doubt be my new number one!

[RutleDirk]

BBR, and Monty Brown in very close second place.

[Scastles]

With the polls closed we have a winner...DESERT GOLD

[ricardo_vicente]

I have to say, Desert Gold would be bottom of my own personal list too. Not a great fan.

[ozover50]

In the words of a famous Australian politician, Stan............. "please explain??"

I've taken both my Monty Brown Ricks (330 and 350v63) to one of my band's regular 'public' rehearsals and the number of 'oohs' and 'aahs' they draw is more than remarkable. Fireglo and Jetglo (in fact Ricks in general) still draw comment but not those of the the 'weak-kneed and dribbling' variety.

[jps]

It's your legs that are looking at, Aitch!

[hallewa]

Montezuma Brown then AFG--I have one of each.

[myfretless]

Blueburst for me. However, the pale opaques have grown on me and I would get a Seagreen, Desert Gold or Blueboy if I found one. Especially the Seagreen. I'm really liking that now.