Upgrades, Devalue Or Improve?

[pesimax]

Hello one and all and happy xmas! I have a slight problem for you all.

As some of you know i've got a old 60's 365 and I've been having some trouble with it recently, It's been going out of tune like mad. Now all the tuners/tremolo etc are original and I'm thinking that this might be the problem, So i'm thinking of buying a new set of tuning heads and maybe a new bridge/tremolo unit.

But I wondered if you guys had any other ideas what it could be, it is quite old but It's not been really abused and the tuning issues were when I was in a recording studio that was abit nippy at times. Should I buy all these new parts for her? and would fitting devalue it any more?

I use it as a workhorse guitar and love the sound.

You can hear the rickenbacker on this track I wrote with my band 'The Systematics.' All the synth style feeback and guitar parts are from the ricky alone plugged into a Fender Deville. Enjoy

http://soundcloud.com/george-wharmby/it-hurts

[scotty]

George im presuming youve changed the strings and its still doing the same?
are the tuners slipping? Is there a certain string thats going out or is it all?
If you did buy a another Accent and tuners you can always replace them back if you were ever to sell,I personally would rather the guitar plays well than worrying about original parts you can always keep the original parts.
great track BTW

[pesimax]

Yeah I've changed the strings, It seems hard to notice it as it's only going out of tune a very slightly. But just enough to sound abit off, I think I might just order the parts and see if that makes a difference, I'm sure at one point the Accent has been split as it looks like someone's welded it back together, not 100% though as it is very solid.

Cheers

[scotty]

hmmn posting a pic of the accent might help George on the area that you think is split.

[pesimax]

Here's a quick pick I took ages ago, you can see that it looks straight but their has been some kind of 'fixing', there isn't any sign of a snap or bending of the neck. Not even a laqer crack. It's telling me the image is too wide to be shown here.
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos- ... 7233_n.jpg
cheers

George

[scotty]

sorry i cant even focus on that pic....Damn is it me or do i need glasses

[ken_j]

Scott, You're not alone.

If it were my guitar I would replace the parts with modern replacements and keep the originals for resale value. In the mean time keep a look out for period correct vintage parts in good condition. These would be best if you are concerned about resale value.

[octagon]

Hello one and all and happy xmas! I have a slight problem for you all.

As some of you know i've got a old 60's 365 and I've been having some trouble with it recently, It's been going out of tune like mad. Now all the tuners/tremolo etc are original and I'm thinking that this might be the problem, So i'm thinking of buying a new set of tuning heads and maybe a new bridge/tremolo unit.

But I wondered if you guys had any other ideas what it could be, it is quite old but It's not been really abused and the tuning issues were when I was in a recording studio that was abit nippy at times. Should I buy all these new parts for her? and would fitting devalue it any more?

I use it as a workhorse guitar and love the sound.

You can hear the rickenbacker on this track I wrote with my band 'The Systematics.' All the synth style feeback and guitar parts are from the ricky alone plugged into a Fender Deville. Enjoy

http://soundcloud.com/george-wharmby/it-hurts

Welcome to the forum George,I like you music.That is a beautiful Rickenbacker you got!

[fabandgear]

What Rick?

[pesimax]

Ha, where did you find that picture? Yeah that's me and the singer. I'm just going to order new tuners first off and save up for the rest. As I've just treated myself to a Martin DRS-1 for xmas.

Happy x-mas everyone.

[wj350]

Scott, You're not alone.

If it were my guitar I would replace the parts with modern replacements and keep the originals for resale value. In the mean time keep a look out for period correct vintage parts in good condition. These would be best if you are concerned about resale value.

Yep, this^^

I think most of us would appreciate a guitar that plays well, stays in tune, etc.. But collectors are probably going to care a lot about the all-original thing...this solution covers both bases.

In general, it seems the level of upgrades and the motivation of a buyer are probably the two biggest factors; based on my admittedly limited observations, Rics tend to fare more poorly in terms of mods affecting their value--seems like most buyers like the way Ric makes them, and don't care much for mods, with some exceptions--a typical example would be the "Lennon-izing" a 325. Based largely on what I read in places like this, some guitar makes actually improve their value with mods--I'm thinking of how many folks upgrade pups, etc. on Fenders. Alternatively, those kinds of mods don't seem to go over as well here in Ric land.

OTOH, I know of one highly-modified/refinished Ric that sold recently for a quite a nice price (although done mostly with Ric parts)--if you find a buyer who really likes what's been done with the guitar and isn't so focused on originality, you can still make an attractive sale.