1965 420

[Very Occasionally]

She's certainly seen some use over the past 54 years. And she still enjoys a night out with the band.

[Very Occasionally]

The neck through is a gorgeous Birdseye - almost a burled Maple. Fabulous tone; so spanky and clear.

[drewg]

i can't believe I'm the only one who thinks this is a beautiful guitar and yet, here I am the first reply, some 5 years later. Beautiful guitar, Very Occasionally!

[jps]

This is the first time I think I've seen this thread and wonderful guitar. Thanks for bring this up from the dead, Andrew.

[doctorwho]

This is the first time I think I've seen this thread and wonderful guitar. Thanks for bring this up from the dead, Andrew.

+1!

[jdogric12]

I just finished somewhat restoring a 65 425. Great little guitars! No wonder GH got him one.

[sangandongo]

Killer.

Never touched a 420, but have a 425 prototype from '57. There's nothing like a single-pickup guitar. They just ring out differently.

[drewg]

Perhaps not coincidentally to perusing 400 series entries (like the one above), I have just today acquired a '65 Electro ES-17, with a "tinfoil" Electro plaque on the headstock, and "425 C" scrawled in the body chamber. It looks a lot like the one in Very Seldomly's pics above, except the name on the headstock. My questions:

Anyone know a competent Ric setup guy or gal in the Eugene/ Springfield Oregon area?

Should any competent setup person be able to set up a Rickenbacker, or is Ric experience advisable?

The action is a little high and I want to make sure the truss-rods work (but am slightly afeard of trying...)

I did see a wire is half-frayed at a solder joint. So, though I haven't even plugged it in yet, I'm assuming the sound is affected and it needs to be soldered.

While I'm immediately in love with the feel of the body and neck, I'm a little concerned about those details...

[perhaps I should have started a new thread? Not sure where...]
Newish member...
Andrew/ drewg

[8mileshigher]

Anyone know a competent Ric setup guy or gal in the Eugene/ Springfield Oregon area?

Should any competent setup person be able to set up a Rickenbacker, or is Ric experience advisable?

Newish member...
Andrew/ drewg

Andrew - - Oregon is the home of one of the West Coast’s well known Rickenbacker repairs & restorations luthiers:
Dale Fortune based in Aloha, Oregon
Dale worked at the Rickenbacker Electro String factory years ago.
I think you can contact Dale through his Facebook page.

[drewg]

Thank you, 8mileshigher8!
I found Dale Fortune's facebook page. I'll keep him in mind for next time, but in the meantime...

[Update]
...I contacted Doug Hayden in Springfield, Oregon, who did some good work for me previously, and who I will now call "my luthier. His specialty is antique, stand-up basses, but he also does a lot of guitar repairs and set-ups—acoustic and electric—and it turns out he owned a 12 string Ric awhile ago, and likes them.

Doug just evaluated the Electro ES-17 (Ric 425) for me that I referenced above. He showed me how it has a pretty pronounced back-bow in the neck (neckthru model) and was initially skeptical about the repairs it would need in relation to the price I paid. He may need to heat the neck to fix the bow. But he was able to adjust the truss rods, and the more he fiddled with it, the more he liked it. (And the seller did agree to a partial refund.) So he's going on a 2-week vacation but he seems pretty excited about doing the work for me. I feel he's the right man for the job. So I'm anxious, but I'll be patient until he gets back...

Doug called me today and asked if I was open to a Tune-o-matic bridge. I prefer to keep it as original as possible, and found this about the original aluminum saddle here on this forum:viewtopic.php?t=42442. So I'll share that with him. He was already contemplating doing a custom shim for the aluminum saddle, (because it's not laying flat, the strings make it lean.)

Any of you have suggestions for the saddle?

I'll keep you all posted on the set-up/repairs, but it will be a few weeks... And I''ll check in your comments. I'm excited about this, my first...

Thanks, 8mileshigher8!
Andrew

(Perhaps I've unintentionally high jacked Very Seldom's thread. But I hope it's in the spirit of his 420...)

[jdogric12]

Winfield Vintage makes a TOM style bridge made for 4xx's.