How much more for a Montezuma Brown 660/12 than a flamey FG?

fendertweed2 · Post by **fendertweed2** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:00 pm

I have a very nice and good playing '02 FG 660/12, like it a lot.

Of course, the next year Ric came out with Montezuma Brown as COY, which is a wonderful Ric color IMO (and into '04), so I was a little sorry I missed it.

Now I have the chance to trade my like-new '02 FG 660/12 for an '04 Montezuma Brown one in excellent condition ... looks good, fairly plain figuring, not much flame esp. compared to my FG, but plays nicely, too.

Without revealing yet how much cash the seller (reputable) wants in addition to the FG '02 for the Monte Brown '04, what kind of a premium do you all think the MB '04 is worth? The asking price for the MB is right in line with the market and I'd be getting a few hundred $$ more in trade credit than I paid for my FG back in '02. I'm not going to make money on the deal since I'll have to lay out some cash but I'd be getting the MB, net, for less than current market cash prices given what I have in the FG...

I'm weighing things like the flamier FG vs. the plainer MB (not that I'm a sucker for flames but some are); the scarcity of the MB vs. the FG (not that I would plan on selling either one any time soon, or for quite a long time; and the fact that they seem to play about equally well (I'm going to do an in-person A/B tomorrow probably).

So, just curious in your thoughts. I'm right in the middle, leaning slightly to keep what i have and like (we're about to do a house renovation so spending less is better, not that we're talking a huge cash outlay here), but the A/B play could tilt things.

Thanks.

Regards,
Jon

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:05 pm

Id take the Monte you dont see them that often.One of my favorite COY models and they look great on the 660.

fendertweed2 · Post by **fendertweed2** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:58 pm

scotty wrote:Id take the Monte you dont see them that often.One of my favorite COY models and they look great on the 660.

Yeah, Scotty .... they're damn sexy!! LOL ...

fendertweed2 · Post by **fendertweed2** » Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:17 pm

fwiw, found a pic of my 660/12 here, forgot I was out of my mind and almost let it go 6 yrs ago:

And the subject Montezuma Brown 660/12:

scotty · Post by **scotty** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 7:34 am

I see your dilemma Still leaning to the MB tho
Its all down to how the MB plays and feels.Choose wisely and use the force

jdogric12 · Post by **jdogric12** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 9:56 am

All depends on the cash outlay. All other questions you've kind of answered for yourself! I'd throw in no more than maybe $200-300, but then again I'm not exactly nuts about Monty Browns. Remember the upcharge list price was only $100 IIRC!!!

8mileshigher · Post by **8mileshigher** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 3:40 pm

The MB is nice --- but I like your flaming FireGlo better myself.

jps · Post by **jps** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:15 pm

Good band name: Flaming FireGlo!

fendertweed2 · Post by **fendertweed2** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 5:36 pm

jdogric12 wrote:All depends on the cash outlay. All other questions you've kind of answered for yourself! I'd throw in no more than maybe $200-300, but then again I'm not exactly nuts about Monty Browns. Remember the upcharge list price was only $100 IIRC!!!

Thanks for the info/reminder on the upcharge, I wasn't sure what it was. The cash differential would be in the range you mention, I agree I wouldn't even consider it if it was more than that.

Of course, my friend/carpool partner, who's worse than me, said if there's not a clear winner (and with the scarcity of the Montes), I should just buy the Monte Brown one and then sort it out because mine's so good, too.

The cash price for the Monte is reasonable current market so I wouldn't have a big downside.

I went through the chore (and it is a chore) of doing a needed truss rod adjustment on my FG today to get an apples to apples comparison (the Monte is very nicely set up; it has Pyramids vs. the Ric strings on the FG) and am going to play the Monte tonight and think about it overnight.

fendertweed2 · Post by **fendertweed2** » Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:21 pm

jps wrote:Good band name: Flaming FireGlo!

Almost as good as The Flaming Groovies [whose "Shake Your Action" I saw covered by the Baseball Project a year or so ago!]

ken_j · Post by **ken_j** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 3:11 pm

I'd keep what you have due to the wood's character. If you truely want the MB I would do an even trade but certainly add no dollars, it's just too plain compared to the FG. Of course everyone has their opinion. I would also be cautious with any guitar that has or has had Pyramids installed. I have seen the damage they can do.

fendertweed2 · Post by **fendertweed2** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 8:19 pm

ken_j wrote:I'd keep what you have due to the wood's character. If you truely want the MB I would do an even trade but certainly add no dollars, it's just too plain compared to the FG. Of course everyone has their opinion. I would also be cautious with any guitar that has or has had Pyramids installed. I have seen the damage they can do.

I'm inclined the same way --- I'm wary of the Pyramids and would change them out for either the Ric set I have at home or the PIck of the Ricks set (10-42) I have on order.

What's odd is so many say that the Pyramids are uncomfortable and like cheese-cutters and have more tension than other strings, yet the MB guit plays at least as easily as the FG which has Ric strings on it. I've set up mine pretty well and as close as I can get to the feel of the MB for an apples to apples playability comparison (the strings being one major difference).

The MB is set up with very nice action so I don't think any damage has been done yet, though I suppose it's possible I might need a new nut if I went from the Pyramids (46 I assume, I haven't checked) back to Ric or other 42 gauge strings. My own FG is fairly sensitive to seasonal changes even with our whole house humidifier, more than my other guits.

I'm going back tomorrow to do an A/B of the 2 guitars. The neck shape on the MB seems a bit more comfy to me but I do like what I have, that wood is pretty special. The MB is actually much better looking in person than in those pix, it has a subtle flame off center as opposed to the more striking tiger stripe flame of the FG (that was a factory order and boy, was I surprised when I opened the case 10+ yrs. ago).

I suspect the cash differential for the MB may be what nudges me to stick with what I've had and liked for 10 yrs.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Jon

Kingbreaker · Post by **Kingbreaker** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 8:30 pm

IMO the Monte crushes the other one like a grape. Of course, I'm biased - I owned a similar Monte Brown 660/12 briefly and had to sell it. It might just be that one

Realistically though, the salmon-ish fireglo is also killer. If you like it and it plays well, I'd probably lean toward keeping what you already have.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:25 pm

I'm biased, too. My first-ever Rick was my MB 660/12. Almost identical to the one on offer. Some flame, but not a lot.

Regarding Pyramids on 660s and 660/12s, if any Rick neck can take the extra stress, a 660 neck can. Compared to a 620, the neck has over 40% more meat.

Как Булл!!!

fendertweed2 · Post by **fendertweed2** » Fri Nov 30, 2012 9:41 pm

Kingbreaker wrote:IMO the Monte crushes the other one like a grape. Of course, I'm biased - I owned a similar Monte Brown 660/12 briefly and had to sell it. It might just be that one

Realistically though, the salmon-ish fireglo is also killer. If you like it and it plays well, I'd probably lean toward keeping what you already have.

... chuckling re "salmon-ish" ... but you're right, it has that Sockeye sort of tone I remember well from my years living in Seattle.

I'm tweaking the FG tonight to get it as closely set up to the MB as I can for the A/B tomorrow (damn, it's playing really great now

). I went in today to try the MB again thinking no way I'm going to go for it but it plays so well (as does mine) that I realized only a head-to-head test will do, and then it'll be a matter of seeing if the cash differential is worth it.

It's kind of an interesting psycho-musical experience/"experiment" --- the cash is there if I want to do this but I don't feel the need to spend it. Yet the part of me that is very partial to a nice 'burst (and they don't have to be flamey, if anything I tend to distrust the flame

) may nudge things one way or the other.

And then there's my friend/carpool partner's compromise (buy the MB and take some time to sort it out and decide) ... but 2 660/12s may be 2 truss rods too many (4 total!) to want to deal with.

I think I may get some funny looks if/when I show up tomorrow with my digital calipers to confirm the string gauge of the Pyramids, I guess I'll leave my fishing scale at home (the MB feels about the same weight as my 7.2 lb. FG).

Cheers,
Jon

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