[img]http://tinypic.com/kwacn[/img]
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That's right. Someone (I have no idea who, but if I ever get my hands on'em...) sawed down the horns, (sloppily) routed out a new pickup hole, covered this thing in two colors of house paint, and then removed ALL the hardware. What you see here, I got for $25, and took the majority of the paint off to see what was underneath. Here's another view:
[img]http://tinypic.com/kwaio[/img]
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I have no idea what year/model this thing is, as the jackplate and any markings are long gone. It appears to be maple throughout, one-piece neck, dual truss rods, and what finish is left where the neck pickup was seems to suggest that it was, at one point, mapleglo. The wood isn't all that spectacularly figured though, from what I can tell, so it could have been an opaque finish. The fingerboard inlays are mother-of-pearl-ish triangles, and the binding (what's left) is a single thin strip of black, plastic-ish material. Twin output jacks. That's about all I can think of to descibe this thing, if anyone has any questions that could help identify the year or model, fire away. I can take detail pics, if it would help.
Here's the back:
[img]http://tinypic.com/kwal0[/img]
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So, here's my thoughts: The actual wood is fairly intact, I could probably just slap hardware on this bass and play it, looking like hell. Not gonna do it. Even with a re-finish, I just can't bear the pointy horns - it just doesn't look... Ricky. As far as I can figure, my options are:
a) Remove the body wings entirely (along the neck blank) and cut new ones, from maple or something more exotic.
b) Cut lengthwise from the points where the horns (and the binding) got cut, attach new wings from there. This would need a new binding strip, and I would probably want to make a veneer cover for the front, ala the dumpster bass. (The maple isn't that amazing, anyway, and I definitely want a wood finish.)
c) Simply fashion new horns, and cut the existing ones square to attach them. (Definitely would need a veneer to hide this.)
This is probably my only chance to own a Rick, at least in this half-century.
I want to make it beautiful, but moreso I want to make it playable. No matter what I do, it won't be exactly an original Rick, but it could be a great piece, with enough TLC. I'm a pretty experienced wooodworker, and I feel confident enough to attempt this, especially after seeing some of the miracles pulled off on this board. I would greatly appreciate any advice and feedback as to how to go forward with this, especially as far as techniques, woods, and finishes. I have some aspirations towards being a practicing luthier at some point, so this will be my jumping-off point, hopefully. Thanks in advance, Steve
