Working on a 1957 Model 900

xcoyle · Post by **xcoyle** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 5:18 pm

Someone was asking about the routing on a 400 series last week, and just a few day earlier than that I had taken apart a 1959 425, without taking photos. So it occured to me, I should take photos while I have them apart.

This guitar definitely went through extreme temperature changes and the paint is peeling. I bought this guitar as a parts guitar, it was only missing the bridge over, but the neck on this guitar is so straight it will be a good player.

One question, the pick guard is thin white plastic (I have three old Rics with this type of pick guard). The Tony Bacon book (pg. 73) says this guitar had an anodized metal pick guard. Tony Blair’s 1957 900 on the Bjorn site, also appears to have the same plastic guard. Is this an error in the Bacon book?

Here's the guts

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 2:05 am

David, I think you're okay with the guard. I am not saying it's impossible, but I haven't seen a 900 or a 950 with a metal pickguard(and between David McL and myself we own 8 of these)...it all looks good, the guts look cool too. Anyway you can shoot a close-up of the writing on the pots??

xcoyle · Post by **xcoyle** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 6:52 am

One interesting thing, you can see that it is missing a piece of wood at the bottom near the pots cavity. The pieces of wood, that make up the body, are not held together with dowel rods or any kind of joint. The pieces are just flat wood glued together.

One problem I find with these guitars is that the fret board has zero radius. Did the early 320/325 have a radius?

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Tue Nov 30, 2004 8:06 am

Yes, the tulip-shaped Rickenbacker solid bodies are made of a laminate construction and it looks as though the bottom wing split at one of the seams and lost some weight, LOL... My 1961 Rickenbacker Tenor Guitar(which has the late 50's Tulip 900/950 shape) is constructed the same way, you can see it through the Fireglo.

The 'zero' radius seems to be the way the tulip guitars were made...I handled a 1957 Combo 400 recently, and the fretboard was FLAT......