Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

From Harold and Kumar: I'm gonna Rock out with my RIC out!! So let's Rock!!

Or sumpfink similar!!

PS, this very beloved thread has been quiet for a while. Paul, any new additions???

Fantactic work, Paul is the new wizard of Oz.

manta wrote:PS, this very beloved thread has been quiet for a while. Paul, any new additions???

Good question! +100%

You know if it's quiet here, I'm busy in the shop!

I've got another radical 381 in the works for a new customer...I'll show the back of the guitar, before I started work on it. It's in pieces now, with the top and neck removed. That's all I'll say at this time, except that this latest one will not duplicate Jwilli's 381:



I have just finished a 381 for Christian Wargo of Fleet Foxes. It is a refinish in Monte Brown:





Then there's the bargain-basement SP from the late '40s which had been much-butchered and trashed, now undergoing a complete resto after getting a neck reset. Here's the "before" photo:



'68 Fender Villager 12 string, ex-Kenny Howes. Rossmeisl design with that steel tube brace running down the middle. Top was folded like a potato chip, thanks to 300 pounds plus string tension...top was rebraced with new braces 30% bigger, glued up in a 30" spherical radius go-bar setup, then reassembled with the original binding.





Hanging in the booth waiting for black refinish:


The original neck is highly figured, which spells W-E-A-K, unfortunately. Light gauge strings, tune it down...photos of the finished article soon...



At least 5 basses in the works, a 360WB with super-deluxe features, another '65 360/12 resurrection (this one went through Katrina!!!), the 4005WB in JG has been resprayed following a complete recommissioning of the body...(more pics on these soon, too), a very special bass for Kenny Howes' Las Vegas act, and another half-dozen acoustics in the works, too.

Later this year, I'm looking forward to two specials for Al Cisneros of Sleep/Om...

Gotta get out those old SONY cameras.

Is that one of the 75th Anniversary nameplates?

jingle_jangle wrote:You know if it's quiet here, I'm busy in the shop!

I've got another radical 381 in the works for a new customer...I'll show the back of the guitar, before I started work on it. It's in pieces now, with the top and neck removed. That's all I'll say at this time, except that this latest one will not duplicate Jwilli's 381:

Ahhh, Joey's 381 bass!

RIC_FACTORY wrote:Is that one of the 75th Anniversary nameplates?

Nope. It pre-dates those. It's from my own 381, along with those guards, which I made back in early '05...

jingle_jangle wrote:You know if it's quiet here, I'm busy in the shop!

I've got another radical 381 in the works for a new customer...I'll show the back of the guitar, before I started work on it. It's in pieces now, with the top and neck removed. That's all I'll say at this time, except that this latest one will not duplicate Jwilli's 381:

Dayum! That's a nice piece of maple, I'm loving 381s right now.

Cool that you're doing work for Fleet Foxes, I'm a big fan. Did he contact you or something? Interesting...

I suspect he was referred by Richard at RIC...

Great stuff going on, Paul!

What exact purpose does that metal bar have in the whole of that Fender acoustic?

That was a Leo/Rossmeisl "innovation". It was supposed to provide a mechanical connection between the heel block and the neck block. This theoretically improved sustain and allowed the use of thinner wood for the entire instrument. The top of this Villager is only 1.5 mm thick, which is a full millimeter thinner than is usual on most. The bridge reinforcing plate (under the top) is, however, made of soft mahogany--no doubt cutoffs from the back and sides. Leo's frugality? It's too weak, probably compromises sustain, and had to be replaced with proper rosewood.

I doubt that the tension of 12 strings was considered when building these; it seems that this could've been a "me,too" move on CBS' part, as both Martin and Guild had introduced 12-string models in the same price range. The top, sides, and back are of the same thickness as the 6-string counterpart, as is the bracing, though there is nearly twice the tension on the structure. The result was a badly-warped top and a bridge that was pulling loose. It's straight and strong now.

This one is fun to get set up and stabilized. It's currently fitted with .011 Martin FX strings, and you can see the headstock bending forward, even with the guitar tuned down to "C"! I will be putting a set of .009s on it and keeping it tuned down. At least the truss rod is easy to get to and adjust!

Some photos of the finished article:









BTW, if the body looks small to you, it's because it is small...about 3/4" smaller than a Rick or Martin dreadnought, all around. 25.5" scale, though.

Wow!!!

NIce one, Paul...

Oh yeah! That's Schweeeeet!

Thanks, Aitch!

Here's the JG WB 4005 I'm working on. Stripped, repaired, refretted, rebound.

Removing the paint by hand-sanding:





Refret and rebind neck:



Oversized tuner post holes filled and redrilled:



Arrows point to extra tuner holes in headstock that needed filling:



This is probably why it was finished in JG:



More extra holes:



Re-bound, detailed, ready for sealer and paint:



Fret ends detailed:



Following sealer, color coats, and first group of clear coats, sanded to flatten and ready for second clearcoat group:



Binding ambered, final coats of clear varnish applied:



...which is as it stood last week. Waiting for the clearcoat to harden, then it's wet sand, buff, buff, buff...wax, assemble, etc. Waiting for the plating to come back right now.