PurpleBurst 340?

[Ric5150]

So, I ended up winning this the other day

http://www.ebay.com/itm/rickenbacker-34 ... 1105217286

It wasn't clear from the pictures that its actually one of the "about 8" guitars that were mispainted as described in this thread on the corporate forum:

http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum/viewt ... f=1&t=3591

Got it yesterday. I'm not getting too much of a purple tone in any light so far, but it is definitely a different color than my other BlueBursts. I have 350v63, 620, 650, 660, and 660/12 guitars in BlueBurst and they're all pretty consistently colored even though their dates span a couple of years. When you look at the edges of the headstock/neck/body which are more solidly covered, its actually very close to the current midnight blue color. I have a 340MID and they look pretty similar viewed from the side.

In any case, I'm happy with the guitar for the price paid. I do like the darker and more solid coloring on this guitar better than the "normal" BlueBurst on the 330/360 series guitars. (I love my BlueBursts, but for some reason the large-body guitars never looked right to me in that color.) It does (did ) appear to be unplayed and plays and sound great and has some nice figuring/grain, so like I said, happy with the guitar in any case.

Wondering if any forum members have/still have any of the 8 PurpleBursts and whether they think this is one of the "about 8" guitars. Does the comparison to midnight blue ring any bells?

I'll have to try to get some better comparison photos, these are from the eBay listing.

[rickyfricky]

Congrats on your new beauty, Dan.

I hope it turns out to be one of the 8.

[libratune]

I once had a 330 blueburst/purpleburst that was "one of the 8." Photo here is "real" blueburst on right, purpleburst on left.

The purpleburst had a "gray" cast to the center and kind of purple-ish around the edges. The guy I bought it from had ordered it from a dealer as a blueburst and didn't like the finish color. It really wasn't that attractive of a finish. I saw the recent ebay ad for the 330 and the 340 you purchased. Neither looked like "one of the 8" purplebursts, but frankly I think the darker blueburst finish looks better. You got a good deal in any event and sounds like you are pleased with it.

[Ric5150]

Thanks, Matt.

Thanks for responding, Ron. I saw you had one at one point in that RIC Forum thread. It definitely doesn't match my other BBRs, but doesn't quite look like yours. Could be due to spraying heavier in the center, though.

[scotty]

Dan ive a week 27 from 2006 and completely know what your talking about in some lights my BBR is really got a certain amount of red in the blue tint.My serial is 06 27192 here is a few pics.Whilst is not completely purple its definitely got a hue about it more than other BBRS ive seen.

[Ric5150]

The S/N on this one is 06 27211. Not sequential, but in the right ballpark, anyway....

I took some photos in daylight which do show some differences, but didn't really get the color nailed. In direct sunlight, I did get a definite purple cast out of the guitar edges and a bit of a grey cast to the center, but it doesn't really show in the photos.

Flickr link to 12 full resolution photos below, and I'll attach a few to this post. The first 3 photos show the 340BBR next to my 350v63BBR. Lighting still wasn't the best, but you can see a definite difference between the two. The 350v63BBR is Week 20 2007. My other BBRs range from Week 32 2006 to Week 3 2008 and are all consistent with the 350v63. This one is certainly 'odd man out'.

The rest of the pictures show the 340BBR next to my 340MID. In direct sunlight, the colors aren't quite as close as they look indoors, the BBR is definitely closer to MID than "normal" BBR. For IMG-1724 (backs of the guitars at an angle), they really look similar in the photo, but from this angle, the BBR was giving a distinct purple cast to the naked eye which unfortunately didn't pick up on the camera. You can sorta see a difference between the two in that photo.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/95874136@ ... 178923263/

Still kinda hard to say for sure. I did get a definte purple cast outside, so between that, the manufacture date, and the difference from my others BBRs, I'm leaning toward this being on of the 8. Utimately, I guess it only matters if I sell it, and I don't see that happening any time in the near future.

[Ric5150]

Thanks for the info, Scott. The headstock photo from your post looks a lot like this one in most lighting. I may have to try again another day with different lighting to see if my camera can get it.

Note also that the 12k toasters you steered me to a while back went into the 350v63BBR in the photos. Thanks again for that.

[manta]

You're lucky you got that one. It could have been THIS one!!!

[electrofaro]

Whether Purpleburst or not, the shade of blue on this 340 is really great! And the grain's not bad either!

You're lucky you got that one. It could have been THIS one!!!

Hippieburst!

[jps]

I'd rock Hippieburst!

[jdogric12]

You're lucky you got that one. It could have been THIS one!!!

First time I've seen that. I likes it!!!

[sloop_john_b]

You're lucky you got that one. It could have been THIS one!!!

I love it!

[libratune]

It's the "Crash" 360.

I heard Clapton wants it.

[Ric5150]

That poor 360 looks like a unicorn on acid puked on it...oughta be a law.

Sorry to hijack this thread back to my guitar, as I was enjoying the Hippieburst dialog, but I noticed something when viewing this post on my iPad. Colors show up a little differently on it than on my PC monitor and I wanted to point something out.

In the picture that I hoped would show the purple, but didn't, the BBR looks a lot lighter than the MID on my iPad. There's another photo I put on Flickr which shows exactly the opposite, almost the exact same colors as that photo only on different guitars (yes, I'm sure I didn't accidentally switch them )

In this one, the BBR is lighter than the MID

BBR lighter than MID

In this one, the MID is lighter than the BBR

MID lighter than BBR

It's really a very strange paintjob/finish as it's all over the place depending on lighting. I kinda like that. If it's not one of the 8, it certainly has something odd going on with it.

I'll have to see if I can get the purple tones to come through on the camera when I get some direct sunlight again. If you've seen the weather forecast for Chicagoland, it doesn't look like it will be any time this week....

Thanks to those posting guidance/info as well as those just congratulating me on the latest acquisition.

You're now free to continue discussion of the abomination which Manta posted. (I really don't care for sparkle finishes - let alone 6 mismatched ones on one guitar.). But, hey, to each his own. I'm sure there are plenty of "hardcore" purist Ric enthusiasts here who consider BlueBurst an abomination.

[manta]

I noticed when the small number of "purple" RICs first came out in the BBR days that it really seemed the blue was just sprayed lighter letting the natural wood color affect the overall tone. I wasn't sure it was really a different color of paint, although I guess it could be after seeing some of the photos of the side-by-sides. It sure shows the wood grain nicely, that's for sure. If you're using an iPad with Retina display, the color would look different. Heck, most color pops better on an iPad even without Retina display.

(PS, the Hippieburst is for sale on E-Bay if you really want it)