Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Ilan: The "amber touch" is also an option that is yet to be dismissed.

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

Love the color, but, frankly, these hippie hobbit basses leave me so cold as far as looks go. Yucky, designed-by-a-committee-of-blind-men body shape (see: earwig: ugh), alien detailing, odd combination of knobs, and too many of them.

Yeah, I know they sound great!

The functional versus the aesthetic. Sometimes mutually exclusive conditions for which there is no satisfactory reconciliation.

Ric O'Sound wrote:
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.

Umm, on ash, oak or mahogany, yes. On maple, nope...it's too closed-grained, and the most consistent finishes are done by first sealing the grain and then applying a tint over the sealer. So a black grain enhancement is nigh-to-impossible.

jingle_jangle wrote: Umm, on ash, oak or mahogany, yes. On maple, nope...it's too closed-grained, and the most consistent finishes are done by first sealing the grain and then applying a tint over the sealer. So a black grain enhancement is nigh-to-impossible.

Doh!

Yup, the Thinline Tele is ash (obviously). Thanks for keepin' me honest.

jingle_jangle wrote:Love the color, but, frankly, these hippie hobbit basses leave me so cold as far as looks go. Yucky, designed-by-a-committee-of-blind-men body shape (see: earwig: ugh), alien detailing, odd combination of knobs, and too many of them.

If I was in your class I'd be absent for final critique, Paul

Hey Daniel, if it's not too much trouble, could you do a mock-up of a red burst with dark edges?

That remains my favorite at this point...I think it strikes a nice chord between traditional and unique. Plus, it's just different enough to complement the Monte Brown 1993 without looking too strange, IMO.

dpowell wrote:Hey Daniel, if it's not too much trouble, could you do a mock-up of a red burst with dark edges?

No trouble at all, Dan. Glad to oblige:

dpowell wrote:That remains my favorite at this point...I think it strikes a nice chord between traditional and unique. Plus, it's just different enough to complement the Monte Brown 1993 without looking too strange, IMO.

It does look pretty nice. I put a white PG and TRC on it so it would match your example. Seems to fit a little better than the black/gold in this case.

EDIT: I just noticed that the JPG compression really plays havoc with the reds in this image. The bursting and gradients look much better in the original uncompressed bitmap. If Peter wants to seriously consider this finish, I can send him the full size uncompressed image for him to look at if he'd like.

jingle_jangle wrote:

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

Love the color, but, frankly, these hippie hobbit basses leave me so cold as far as looks go. Yucky, designed-by-a-committee-of-blind-men body shape (see: earwig: ugh), alien detailing, odd combination of knobs, and too many of them.

Yeah, I know they sound great!

The odd combination of knobs do make sense to those that know Alembic practice. The pointed ones are rotary switches, the round ones are pots.

Daniel: Thanks for the offer to send along a larger image.

I have decided that a Red Burst, is unlikely to be in my future.

There can be no doubt, however, that seeing these finishes on the guitar in question and with the guard and nameplate is a powerful tool.

jingle_jangle wrote:Love the color, but, frankly, these hippie hobbit basses leave me so cold as far as looks go. Yucky, designed-by-a-committee-of-blind-men body shape (see: earwig: ugh), alien detailing, odd combination of knobs, and too many of them.

Yeah, I know they sound great!

That's a brillian description Paul W! Can I quote you on that one? It's a perfect description; when I look a pic of a bass like that, I start to smell patchouli oil...

dpowell wrote:Hey Daniel, if it's not too much trouble, could you do a mock-up of a red burst with dark edges?

That remains my favorite at this point...I think it strikes a nice chord between traditional and unique. Plus, it's just different enough to complement the Monte Brown 1993 without looking too strange, IMO.

What finish is that? Is it Cherry burst? It's not Monte Brown is it? Geez is my colorblindness operating here? I actually find it appealing, and I'm not much of a "burst" lover.

Paul: Perhaps before the end of the day, we will persuade you to take the burst challenge.

jps wrote:

jingle_jangle wrote:

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

Love the color, but, frankly, these hippie hobbit basses leave me so cold as far as looks go. Yucky, designed-by-a-committee-of-blind-men body shape (see: earwig: ugh), alien detailing, odd combination of knobs, and too many of them.

Yeah, I know they sound great!

The odd combination of knobs do make sense to those that know Alembic practice. The pointed ones are rotary switches, the round ones are pots.

Thanks for explaining about those nine, randomly-placed knobs, Jeff. Then there's the tenth, mounted on its own panel with two exposed screws...

jingle_jangle wrote:
Thanks for explaining about those nine, randomly-placed knobs, Jeff. Then there's the tenth, mounted on its own panel with two exposed screws...

Shirley, you jest, everyone who has seen airplane and heard the seahunt guy knows that is a multi-prong XLR panel-mount male connector, for connecting the preamp via an XLR shell to phantom-powered custom wiring...