Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

admin wrote:Ryan: What you say is true enough. I would worry, however, that I might feel that it is a bit too much of a novelty piece with the rainbow.

true enough, you are right. with a rick, you would not want to be too avante garde. so, maybe a blend of amber grain in the dead center, moving to walnut richness in the near-center with a bit of a burst shading to bronze as you move to the edges, perhaps something of a blend from one side of the burst to a slightly metallic transparent coppery-bronze on the other side. a bit of (understated of course) metallic particles around the edge would not violate the traditional RIC colorspace, since ric did use metallic in its historic ruby finishes, and it would be amazingly unique as well.....

Here's an interesting program to play around with burst finishes:

http://www.nymphusa.com/kisekae/tele721/base.asp

Forgive the rush job. It turns out the one color is almost dead on mapleglo already, so I squirted a catalog pic with the other two real quick.

Whoo, stand back from your screen for best effect

This '77 AutumnGlo is probably too close to your monty: This '78 Walnut is quite a bit lighter and just stunning, showing off the wood too: Lastly, this '79 AutumnGlo is just a bit lighter, again very nice: You have an enviable position, Peter, picking a custom color for a favorite Rick.

Metallics and kandies are fine as solid colors (Turquoise, Ruby are prime examples), but let's keep 'em out of bursts. They have no business there, fighting with the wood grain for superiority in the eye candy competition. There should be no competition--everything should be harmonious and put your eyes and mind at rest just in the act of contemplation...

jingle_jangle wrote:Metallics and kandies are fine as solid colors (Turquoise, Ruby are prime examples), but let's keep 'em out of bursts. They have no business there, fighting with the wood grain for superiority in the eye candy competition. There should be no competition--everything should be harmonious and put your eyes and mind at rest just in the act of contemplation...

you are the expert

ryan.jones wrote:you are the expert

+1

dpowell wrote: Color-changing 'flip-flop' - 1 'vote'

Well, if you're attributing the 1 vote for colorchange to me (since I brought it up), I'd like to clarify. I think it might be interesting and could look good, but I'm a total wood freak. Of all the Ricks I've owned only one isn't MapleGlo, and that one, so far, was free (although I keep trying to give the guy money).I've even got another 4003MG on order! I'm partial to bursts too, but only if they accentuate the wood grain...

Dan: Thanks for the link. It would seem that a few others have traveled the same path before me.

CJ: I did not think that you were going against the grain.

Paul: You are singing to the choir at this point. Burst, no metallics.

Kira: I appreciate the workup as it is beginning to take shape. I confess that trying to imagine the transparent colours is difficult but we are getting in the right ballpark.

John: Thanks for the reminder of the subtle difference between brown tones that have worked successfully in the past. They are close to the Monty and so I would like to be a bit different. Your offerings are, nonetheless, compelling.

Hmm... Well, I plugged the colors from Kira's maxi-skirt photo into my handy-dandy template and it basically came out looking just like the Autumnglo in photos of the bass that John posted above. You could take those colors down a couple notches, but then you've basically got Rick Walnut. As John said, if you've already got a guitar in Monty Brown, these finishes are probably not far enough away to be interesting for you.

Now, this is just me talking, but if I were going to invest the money in a refin, I would want something that stands out in a crowd. Now "standing out" doesn't necessarily mean flamboyant or garish, I mean it in the sense of "unique". Something where someone who looks at the guitar will say "Wow, that looks stunning, I've never seen that finish on a Rick before!" instead of "Oh Autumnglo. That's...umm...nice."

If your other guitars already have earth tone finishes (browns, ambers, reds, black), you might want to consider going in another direction.

Charles suggested a transparent Emerald green earlier in the thread. I agree with him that it would look elegant and unique combined with your present hardware and pickguard. It could also be done as a burst. I was curious, so I spent a couple minutes to throw this together (sorry, couldn't help myself). I think it looks classy: Another transparent burst that I personally like is a black cherry burst. It's a bit reminiscent of Burgundyglo (but a bit darker) and also complements your existing hardware quite well: The decision is ultimately yours of course. I mean, It's your guitar, not mine. I just thought I'd toss these out there for you to mull over and perhaps coax you into breaking with the conventional "traditional-burst" school of thought.

+1 for Black Cherry.

Daniel the two of us should probably not be in one another's company too long. Not only do your words pull at the horns of my dilemma, but your photos attach themselves to my limbic system in a manner makes these temptations difficult to ignore.

I am not sure I have the quote exactly right but I do pull from the recesses of my temporal region that Mark Twain once said of temptation

"I deal with temptation by yielding to it"

I confess that Dark Cherry (sans metallic) and Emerald Green (perhaps reminiscent of the solid color Cloverdale green) have a uniqueness that is difficult to ignore. What has me stepping back from the darker colours is my perception (perhaps ill founded) that the distinctness of the grain will be minimized.

I would seem that I am destined to remain within the confines of ambiguity and complexity a tad longer.

How about this - think we can call it high-gloss amber Autumnglo:

admin wrote:Daniel the two of us should probably not be in one another's company too long.

Gee...my friends think I'm a pretty nice guy, actually.

admin wrote: Not only do your words pull at the horns of my dilemma, but your photos attach themselves to my limbic system in a manner makes these temptations difficult to ignore.

I confess that Dark Cherry (sans metallic) and Emerald Green (perhaps reminiscent of the solid color Cloverdale green) have a uniqueness that is difficult to ignore. What has me stepping back from the darker colours is my perception (perhaps ill founded) that the distinctness of the grain will be minimized.

Well, it doesn't have to be that way. There are ways to enhance the grain beforehand with black dye and a little sanding (I'm pretty sure Paul W. can back me up on this) before shooting the transparent colors. This would give you more contrast and the grain wouldn't get "lost". Here's a shot of my Tele Thinline on which (I believe) this method was used. Of course the outer edges will be a bit darker on a burst, but the grain will most definitely still be visible for all to admire.

admin wrote:I would seem that I am destined to remain within the confines of ambiguity and complexity a tad longer.

And so I say in my best Darth Vader voice: "Peter! *breath* Peter! Come over to the "dark side"!

Thanks for the encouragement Daniel. I appreciate the comments from the "dark side" as they provide for another point of view that seems equally valid in this decision-making process.

With your examples and well-chosen comments I may end up with a memorable finish yet.