What drew you to Rickenbacker?

[Ontario_RIC_fan]

have been a huge beatles fan ever since my mama bought me the red album when i was 10 and always associated rickenbackers with them, but as i got older and REALLY REALLY into 60s music, that chiming and gleaming ubiquitous sound just seemed absolutely necessary to invoke an era i wasn't lucky enough to live through. i started REALLY listening to the byrds a lot and still, every time i listen to them, feel absolutely moved by what roger mcguinn brought to the songs. i think i've always had a really strong love for baroque/harpsichord sounds and rics seem to scratch that itch.

also, i love the small feel to the company. they do a few things and do them well. considering the quality of the product, i think they are more than fairly priced compared to better known names. i love that you don't see them in guitar center. the world of fenders and gibsons (and hey, there are a couple of gibsons i am lusting after and have been in some of my favorite music of all time) are so damn diluted. you can have a fancy les paul at a crazy cost but you're still part of the crowd. having a rickenbacker really just seems like a WOW. they just say "hi, put me in the hands of someone who loves music" plain and simple.

and now that i own one, i have to say that slim neck is a dream for my girly baby hands!!! open chords sound great on the 12 strings and of course, the individual notes are heaven too. i feel like a cornball, but i really can't remember the last time i felt such an emotional connection to a purchase. dork.

Jessica:

Most of us Guitar player's here started with The Beatles as a primary influence!

The 3/4 scale on John's 325 is an acquired taste! But once you have one there is no going back... Here is my own 1977 320

http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... ine%3Dtrue

Suzi Arden had the first Rickenbacker 12 string BTW...

http://www.rickresource.com/rrp/sarden.html

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2427&hilit=suzi+Arden#p2427

Also a favor - can you add some pics to your RRF register entry?

http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... 6order%3D7

And your Rickenbacker is not a WB - it is a B series..

Here are some pics of a standard WB so you can see the difference.

It has a 24 fret neck and binding on the slash sound hole like yours... But does not have Kluson Tuners, toasters, and a vintage style TRC like yours does...

[freebyrd]

i have always wanted a small scale guitar of any kind! i'm barely 5'4". but most of them look kinda doofy and my pride says do it like the big boys do. the 325s look great.

so we are confirming now mine is a B series? i never got an answer on that! does that affect the value of mine? i dont think i saw that listed on the price list.

actually i'd prefer on "official pictures" to wait as paul w. is going to service her and fully get her cleaned up and ready! no dust on my girl.. EVER...

[jdawe]

[quote]i often see pics of bands i already loved holding them and think "a-ha!" /quote]

And what do you know! The guitarist in a-ha does indeed play a Rickenbacker!
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=401395

[Ontario_RIC_fan]

i have always wanted a small scale guitar of any kind! i'm barely 5'4". but most of them look kinda doofy and my pride says do it like the big boys do. the 325s look great.

so we are confirming now mine is a B series? i never got an answer on that! does that affect the value of mine? i dont think i saw that listed on the price list.

actually i'd prefer on "official pictures" to wait as paul w. is going to service her and fully get her cleaned up and ready! no dust on my girl.. EVER...

I think Paul has a few 3/4 scale RICS if you would like to try one out...

I am 100% positive that it is a B series myself - which was Rickenbacker's very first short lived attempt at a vintage re-issue. The giveaways are the R tail, full scale and bound slash, at the same time as having kluson tuners toasters and a vintage style TRC. I would say that a B series is rare and is worth more then the standard WB circa 1983, Certainly it cost more in 1983!!! There is a 1982 one up on Ebay right now in Illinois for $4995.

Not counting yours there are only 4 of them in the Register!
http://www.rickresource.com/register/in ... celebrity=

And yes, Paul will take some great pictures for you once he has done any work on it... You can always add those to the register!!

Any very glad to hear you are pleased with it!!

[freebyrd]

yes, i read about the b series! got taken to a thread on the official RIC forums where people were saying they didn't like it compared to "better" reissues because they weren't as accurate. well, i LOVE mine. mostly people bitching about the cosmetics of them, nothing affecting the sound of the guitar. $5k seems a tad steep?? ebay can be nuts. i can't even find any listed anywhere on the internet to compare the value. i know i got a good deal but right now mine is priceless

anyway, i edited my entry on the registry to correctly identify the model as B series instead of WB.

another great reason to own a rick- the registry is really cool! i wish i was still in touch with some of my old "celebrity" friends, one in particular who owns some interesting lefty models. oh well.

[beatlefan]

Born in '61, I was a bit too young to appreciate the Beatles , but in the mid 70's in high school, THIS band hooked me and I thought their bassist was incredible ...




...it wasn't until much later that I "discovered" the Beatles

[Santoryu]

Not much of a Beatles fan, so I found my Ric influences from other bands.

The earliest I can remember really noticing Rickenbackers was when Full Moon Fever was released and saw the interesting looking guitar Tom Petty was holding. I was just a casual Petty fan then and soon learned that it was the same maker as the beautiful guitar on the Damn the Torpedoes album cover and I could put together what kind of sounds they make and get a general idea of what they were about.

I was also a CCR fan way back, still am, and later heard that Rics were a key sound on their albums. John Fogerty was playing one at this show that they used clips from to promote their greatest hits LPs back in the early 80's. Must have seen this commercial a thousand times on TV.



So, two of my favorite bands used them, the sound was pretty special, and I came to the conclusion that they are the coolest looking guitars as well. It was also interesting to learn later how many alternative and new wave bands used them.

[admin]

I still am amazed that there wasn't a Fogerty Fireglo Signature model.

[electrofaro]

I still am amazed that there wasn't a Fogerty Fireglo Signature model.

Fogerty had an FG? I thought he had a 325 in Burgundy?

[Santoryu]

Depending on the video or picture, I sometimes think it's fireglo, or autumnglo. But yeah, sometimes it looks like a deeper red. Did he have two? One with the ACME truss rod cover and one with the regular cover? Or was it the same guitar, I wonder.

EDIT:

The Woodstock footage is in HD but it's at night. I Put A Spell On You has a good view of it though.

[electrofaro]

Thanks for that vid, Jeremy - I must admit I never saw the Woodstock footage before. It does look FG indeed.

There used to be a video on youtube of the Ed Sullivan performance of "Down on the Corner" and it looked like a Burgundy there, I just noticed the video's not there anymore, but there is a short advertisement video for a DVD, and it has HQ video, and on Ed Sullivan it was also a FG. The bad footage had me fooled for all those years!

[Santoryu]

That sounds like what they did with The Doors' Sullivan appearance too. They're pretty strict about that, although I think I found it on Dailymotion instead.

Luckily, the CCR Woodstock appearance finally surfaced. Apparently, their set wasn't in the film because Fogerty didn't like their performance. Sounded amazing to me, though! And it's nice to see someone tearin' it up on a Rick, instead of just playing chords.

[Kingbreaker]

1) The looks. Something about the contrasty pickguard +TRC + soundhole that is *heraldic* in its classiness. Totally unique, yet totally elegant.

2) The musicians. Of course, the usual suspects (on both bass & guitar). More lately, Radiohead & Sleater-Kinney (Carrie Brownstein is da Bomb even though her Rick phase was fairly short.) Also, the relatively unsung rick user Dave Gregory, of XTC.

3) The sound. Which, I will admit, took a while for me to bond with once I got my first, a 330. But there's something jolly-rancherish tangy and addicting about the chimes.

4) The quality. I hate going to guitar shops now (that I am back in the market) because nothing gives "that feeling" that my old 330 did. A taylor electric came very close, though. But it just doesn't have the same cache.

[8mileshigher]

And your Rickenbacker is not a WB - it is a B series...

Here are some pics of a standard WB so you can see the difference.
It has a 24 fret neck and binding on the slash sound hole like yours... But does not have Kluson Tuners, toasters, and a vintage style TRC like yours does...

Brian ---- going back to your post of a few weeks back, wondering if a "B" Series is the same as an OS designation ? Or is that something completely different too ?

Seems to me we once had a thread about the similarities and differences on these Double Bound models ....

[paologregorio]

"What drew you to Rickenbacker?"
-They look cool.

Rich, B series double-bound mdels have 24 frets, toaster p/ups, and IIRC, a plexi TRC.