Midnight blue - unpopular?

voltage · Post by **voltage** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 2:44 am

Sorry if this has been brought up. To me, it is one of the most exciting colors on a Ric. I have both a 4003 and 620 in this color. Utilizing ebay as a guage, it seems that this color does not do well for resale. Opinions?

beatlefan · Post by **beatlefan** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 3:23 am

For some reason, it doesn't appeal to me either...
I prefer fireglo, mapleglo, SEAFOAM GREEN..none of the blue's do it for me.....maybe if it had block binding....

admin · Post by **admin** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 5:01 am

Chris: Welcome to The Rickenbacker Forum. You have raised an interesting issue. I would agree that Midnight Blue has not been a highly sought after finish for Rickenbackers. I would think, however, that should the Midnight Blue finish be adopted by a famous artist that this would change over night.

It is a unique color, however, and I give John Hall full marks for continuing to produce instruments in this finish and other newer finishes as the factory is able to introduce them.

It is hard to beat the Rickenbacker finish trilogy of Fireglo, Jetglo and Mapleglo. These harken back to Rickenbackers roots in the 1960s and the finishes seem to be a popular today as they were forty years ago.

Ask the question, what was popular when you were fifteen years of age and that is often what people harken back to later in life. Once reinforced during adolescence, favourite things are hard to change.

Thanks for raising this issue. Now will I play my
Silver 4003 or my Fireglo 450/12?

squid · Post by **squid** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 5:42 am

I like the idea of midnight blue. I'm in the market for a 330 or another 381 and it's one of the finishes that I'm considering. The difficulty for me is that I've never seen midnight blue in person, so it's a bit of a gamble. How dark is it? How metallic is it? I just don't know, and pictures never seem to do it justice. Sometimes seeing famous musicians at a gig with a certain guitar inspires you because you've never seen a guitar like that in person, so you've never been able to fully appreciate it up to that point.

Of course, there's one exception to every rule. I remember a 1997 reissue that was for sale at Pick of the Ricks not so long ago. It was midnight blue, and it looked superb, even in the digitized photos. The trapeze tailpiece and the vintage pick-ups really set the finish off. It was too pricey for me and it came on the market at the wrong time, but that's definitely what got me thinking about a 330 or 381 MID.

Geez, I can feel the gear acquisition syndrome kicking in already. Better get out while I still can.

voltage · Post by **voltage** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 5:47 am

Thanks for the replies. Peter.. I fully agree with your assessment. I have a couple of 50's and 60's reissue stlye guitars. The 2 Rics that I own deviate from the norm. I was so intrigued by the color, that I had to own them. Since the prices on these seems to be a bit depressed, perhaps it is a good time to stock away as many as I can find. Then, when Ric stops producing the color, we'll see how in demand it becomes. I have also been known to show no interest in something until I realized it was no longer available. Then , of course, I just had to have it.

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:08 am

I had a 450MB about 20 years ago, looked like the blue 950(?) in the Smith book color pages. It was nice.

ken_j · Post by **ken_j** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:49 am

The new midnight blue is much different than the original. It is lighter. The old MB has a purplish hue to it, especially when in low level lighting. I prefer the old blue better. I do agree that there is not a big market for this color. Buy it right so you don't take a hit or buy it to keep it. Well I was going post a pic here (of the old MB) but I can't seem to reduce the pixels enough. I will try some different photos when I get home.

loendmaestro · Post by **loendmaestro** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 6:59 am

I like the Midnight Blue myself. It was between that & the other MB (Montezuma Brown) for my last 4003 purchase. I went for the Monty Brown for obvious reasons, but I think the Midnight Blue is a great color.
I for one don't like the Seafoam Green or Blue Boy at all.

Boy, all of this color talk brings up the burning question of what the 2005 color of the year will be!

bull30 · Post by **bull30** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 7:16 am

For some reason i can't warm up to the Midnight Blue... I really liked the Azureglo but they discontinued it - go figure... Of course i can't get used to the Blue Boy either... What's next - Flamingo Pink?

squid · Post by **squid** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 8:42 am

Can we get a bunch of photos posted of MID guitars/basses of different eras in different types of light so we can get a sense of what the colour looks like now and how it compares to MID guitars of the past? Hey, throw in an Azureglo while you're at it. I'd especially like to see some models with the metallic silver basecoat.

I'm intrigued by Ken's description of a "purple" effect in the old midnight blue. I always hoped that midnight blue would be a really, really dark colour that would appear black or purple in certain lights. I guess that would be more like a "royal blue".

Chris: we could guess at a 2005 colour until the cows come home! We'd still get it completely wrong! Speaking in really broad terms, I'm betting that it will be some kind of a burst this year, or at least a transparent finish of some kind. It wouldn't surprise me to see one of the 4004 transparent colours offered on all models. Seems more cost effective than developing a whole new colour.

Transparent blue on a 381 ... drool ...

loendmaestro · Post by **loendmaestro** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 9:20 am

I may be wrong, but I believe that John Hall dropped some hint about the '05 color...something to the effect of "it's right under your noses".
Maybe a fellow forumite can clarify it for me as it was posted in these pages a few months ago.

beatlefan · Post by **beatlefan** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 9:55 am

I think the "it's right under your noses" quote was about the BlueBoy finish of this year....

beatlefan · Post by **beatlefan** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 9:56 am

....unless I missed something....

loendmaestro · Post by **loendmaestro** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:02 am

Like I said, i may have been wrong...

beatlefan · Post by **beatlefan** » Fri Oct 15, 2004 11:22 am

I hope it's not seafoam green....