The Changing Of The Guards

lshaia · Post by **lshaia** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 11:53 am

Here are some options:

I like the pearloid look, very '50s.

A bit more organic, it really looks good with the neck color IMO.

Are you kidding?

wmthor · Post by **wmthor** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:34 pm

Tortoise pickguards with Mapleglo finishes sounds very interesting. But then again too, the truss rod covers would have to match the pickguard.

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 2:00 pm

Whew... the Indy 500 pickguards are a bit too much for my taste.

For my Ric 360 (circa 1980 dark ruby fireglo... much darker than the modern ones), I got tired of the white plastic. I ordered some custom gold colored pickguards and then tried to get a gold (with black raised letters) nameplate (truss rod cover) from Ric but they dont make gold for the 360.... (and dont get me started on dealing with Ric when it comes to nameplates - as you know, you might as well be asking them for the keys to fort knox - very frustrating).

Anyways, the gold pickguards didn't look right to me anyways so I wound up painting all the plastic a light gold color. For the nameplate I simply took a black magic marker to the raised lettering.

It aint the Indy 500, but it all looks pretty cool to me.

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 2:12 pm

It's the TRC's that hold the key. My favourite pick guards are white pearloid, but what's the point if you can't get a matching TRC, it would just look odd. White pearloid on JG or MG is nearly impossible to beat IMO!

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 2:23 pm

YUP!.... It's the TRC's that hold the key.

But Ricenbacker treats them like the crown jewels. I understand about Rickenfakers and all, but jeeeezzzz, it's just a wee bit of plastic, and if someone wanted to make a fake Ric, I would think that simply putting "Rickenbacker" on the guitar would violate all sorts of patent laws already.

Ric may be protecting themselves by being so restrictive on the TRC's, but at the same time they sure make life difficult for their legitimate customers.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:08 pm

To Rickenbacker (and to you, too, if it was your company), it IS the crown jewel.

The only people who put "Rickenbacker" on a fake are dishonest owners or sellers. No company would because (usually) they draw the line at outright fakery. They still continue to copy the other Rickenbacker appearance cues like the pickguards or body shape. They hint at Rickenbacker in their ad copy.

Then some Bozo puts a Rickenfaker on eBay, either hinting at it being the real thing or claiming same out of ignorance or treachery.

Rickenbacker states that 10% of all the TRCs they get in for exchange or replacement are counterfeits. If they made no effort at control, there'd be a lot of **** out there being flogged as genuine. There's enough as it is, heaven knows.

"jeez, it's just a wee bit of plastic". So's a credit card, and you can do a lot of damage with one of those, too.

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:33 pm

I guess you are right... but it STILL is frustrating.

phlemmy · Post by **phlemmy** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:33 pm

chrome!

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:12 pm

BLACK ON BLACK! .... (very cool)

jwilli · Post by **jwilli** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:45 pm

Kent, that is nice.

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:59 pm

Chrome sounds (looks?) good to me too, Sean. Peter's suggestion of off-white (cream?) appeals as well.

Snakeskin for the dudes??

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 5:24 pm

yea... that black-on-black needs a snakeskin.

Dang! I hate these expensive ideas!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 5:38 pm

Put it in a snakeskin case. Leave the guitar as-is. Gorgeous 360, Kent!

Phlemmy, gotta watch out--don't want too much chrome in youre diet!

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 5:59 pm

yea, its nice.... I just wish it were mine! That pix came from a recent Ebay sale.

aristeas · Post by **aristeas** » Tue Apr 26, 2005 2:31 am

"Rickenbacker states that 10% of all the TRCs they get in for exchange or replacement are counterfeits."

- and the reason for that is that Rickenbackers policy on TRCs creates an artificial and inflated market for four inches of plastic.

It's also the reason people steal TRCs from Ric guitars/basses, which is why honest owners have to shell out $$ to replace them, driving up the price to ridiculous levels.

I understand the reason for Rickenbacker's policy on TRCs. Their motivation (protecting their brand) makes good business sense. Even so the way they do it is deeply flawed. It annoys and alienates the people who buy their products. Their situation as a high quality/low quantity brand name producer is not unique. There are other ways to go about it.