New 660 on the horizon

fading_fast · Post by **fading_fast** » Sun Dec 19, 2004 5:24 pm

Hi All,

This is my first post on your fine forum. I have just put hold on a very nice Mapleglo 660/6. I pick it up on the 31st. I forsee a few sleepless night in my near future.

The store guy tells me they ordered it 6 months ago and it just arrived, so I made the deposit without hesitation. I had a very nice 360 FG back in the early 90's but I found the 1 5/8" fingerboard too narrow for me. I was thrilled to find out the 650 and 660 have the 1 3/4" boards.

The fit and finish is just awesome. I do have one major concern though. There was a 381/V69 hanging next to mine on the rack, so I examined it and found the fret ends were starting to protrude through the binding causing a very bumpy feel along the side of the neck. This was all the way up the neck and in a few spots the finish was starting to crack. This is catastrophic as far as playability and appearance are concerned.

Could this be a humidity issue or a manufacturing defect? I would guess as the wood and/or binding started to dry out, the fret ends just poked through. Could this be treated as a warranty issue? If this starts to happen on my 660 I'd be devastated. I keep all my guitars at a comfotable temparature, and live in a climate that does not have extreme humidity changes. I'm hoping that one was just an abberation.

Nevertheless, I'm looking forward my new Ric.

ken_j · Post by **ken_j** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 3:58 am

Probably a lack of humidity, or the fretboard wood was not dried enough when the instrument was built. I have seen this with many instruments living here in Michigan with the ever changing seasons. More often with other brands than with Rics, maybe because of the finished fret board. If you treat it right it shouldn't be an issue. Congrats on your new 660!

fading_fast · Post by **fading_fast** » Mon Dec 20, 2004 6:13 pm

Thanks for the input guys. I was just sort of wondering out loud how two guitars made in the same factory and presumably shipped to the same store in the same year with one having radically different moisture content issues. Maybe the 381/V69 was sitting in another branch of that store's chain in a much drier climate for some time and was transferred to Vancouver, and my little 660 shipped straight here and avoided any climactic stress. It just seemed strange to me. I just hope RIC is not falling into the quagmire of letting production demands outpace their supply of properly seasoned woods. That sort of thing happens to other manufacturers all too often, most notably Gibson.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 7:24 am

I think it's unfair for you to even suggest that Ric might be not using properly seasoned woods or that there might be a "manufacturing defect". This has nothing whatsoever to do with the same factory and shipping in the same year.

Have you ever heard the term "equilibrium mositure content"? No matter what finish, wood quickly reaches the same moisture content as its surroundings. Unless that 381v69 arrived at that store less than a couple of weeks ago, I can guarantee you that the problem is that the store is too dry and that other guitars there are suffering too -- though the damage is not always external and not the same with every guitar.

Like Ken, I've seen the problem more often with other brands than Rics, particularly with unbound ebony fretboards on Gibsons. Even then I don't blame Gibson for a retailer's abuse.

Be glad that you're picking it up soon. You won't have a problem if you keep your house at a reasonable humidity level.

fading_fast · Post by **fading_fast** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 10:09 am

I don't think that 381 is some kind of "coalmine canary"

Something extraordinary happened to it, and I'm sure it wasn't from merely hanging on a rack next to my 660 for a couple of weeks.

One thing I've learned over the years, especially being a big Gibson fan. There are no sacred cows in the guitar manufacturing industry.

fading_fast · Post by **fading_fast** » Tue Dec 21, 2004 10:11 am

Sorry for the double post.

squid · Post by **squid** » Fri Dec 24, 2004 3:40 am

If the frets do start to push out at the binding of the neck, what's the remedy? Isn't that something that can be fixed fairly easily? I'm interested because this has happened (in a minor way) to my 380L. I've never had a maple fretboard before, and it seems they're much more finicky than the rosewood ones.