Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Speaking of Freedom of Ownership...I hope you've taken a moment out of your busy schedule to copyright "The Zolotones"...or you'll be hatin' yourself every time they come to town...

Dang!.... that 3-toaster jetglo CW 360 is BEAUTIFUL! It aint valdalism, it's an improvement. My take is like what has already been stated. If you bought it, you own it, and you can bloody well do anything you want to it. You just need to be prepared to accept either the slings and arrows (or possibly the compliments) from the guitar purists out there.

Note to John Hall: please manufacture one just like that one pictured at the beginning of this thread. You already have one customer signed up!

Very pertinent discussion for me because I am *seriously* considering having my 360-12CW FG stripped to it's MapleGlo finish. Why? 1) MapleGlo's my favorite finish (duh); 2) the flame on the maple is so beautiful it seems a shame to keep it covered (even though the Fireglo finish in its own way is, of course, beautiful); 3) it's will be as perfect a 360-12MGV65 as you can get, without investing in an actual '65 guitar.

Oh yeah... I also already own a second 360-12CW FG.

Personally, I think the 360-12CW conversion to a 370-12 is a terrific idea if that's the sound you want. For some folks, it might actually make it that much more desireable.

Strangly enough, I wasn't considering doing the third pick up mod on my 12, but I am considering doing it (& an accent) on a CW 6 string (changing the scatterwounds to the older hot toasters, of course!). It would give me a sound that I haven't got & there is no other 21 fret 360, apart from the vintage gtrs.

But the more I look at my mock up 12, the more & more I like it!

So what will you wind up with... 2 toasters? or a combination of toaster and hi-gain?

That topic has been discussed elsewhere on this site I know (although I am still baffled as to the preferred 3 PU setup). Someone (I think it was Paul) even mentioned the use of a Ric humbucker in the mix and that completely discombobulated me.... hell, I wasn't even aware that there WAS a Ric humbucker!... shows what I know.

I think that CW 360 with 3 pickups is a beaut. Or did I just say that?

Paul,

If I were to smoke anything in any sort of pipe, it would probably be something legal, but not a cotton diaper!

Seriously, I agree that we should all take care of our instruments... Trust me, I'm not exactly wealthy and I have to work hard to afford what I choose to buy, I just think some folks get kinda silly with these things... I mean, c'mon, preserving the "made in USA" sticker on the pickguard? And yet you see that from time to time on eBay... And the seller is boasting about it...

These great (and decidedly unique) guitars were meant to be played and enjoyed... If that means modifying an example to maximize your enjoyment, great, more power to you... Within reasonable boundries discussed above.

All that being said... Anyone have a "made in USA" sticker they are willing to part with? I hear the folks at Rick will sell you one, but you have to have one to give them in exchange... (Sorry, the shot was there so I took it).

JKC

I have done some sort of mod to just about every instrument I have ever owned. As nice as they have been there is usually one thing or another that I want to change to make it perfect just for me, as the manufacturer does not know my personal needs in an instrument. This is no different than what many poeple do to cars, personalize them.

>>>>>.... but you have to have one to give them in exchange... (Sorry, the shot was there so I took it)."

I'll second that.

And I'll go even further.... anyone who goes to the trouble of keeping that little sticker on their guitar is a museum curator more than a player. I too have modded every single electric guitar I've ever had to one extent or another. Customizing them is half the fun... and that is why I find Ric's trussrod cover policy frustrating (personally speaking... not trying to start a nameplate war here).

Hell, even taking off the useless "bridge cover" (discussed on another thread) is a "mod" if anyone wants to get technical about it.

I like to personalize my guitars too so all of my guitars get modded at some point too. So understand where you are coming from. We who are already proved Ric owners don't wanna sell fake parts we just wanna make our guitars look better to us. This is like the warning that you see a film when you buy one. Its for your personal home use only.

Well, this is obviously not a black-and-white issue (pun intended--Jetglo CW, etc.?)

Bottom line, it's yours. My stickers stayed on for a couple of months, and when I made new guards for my Ricks, I put 'em on the new guards. Then I got tired of taking them off and putting them on as I remade the guards again (trying to get the shape, color, etc., to my taste). So I peeled 'em off and stuck them on a piece of acrylic for safekeeping.

To some of us, these guitars are museum pieces. I can understand that. The other end of the scale (pun again) are those who see them as "just another guitar and do nothing special to care for them or keep them up. I can understand that, too. Despite thousands upon thousands having been made over the years, we still post "sightings" on this very Forum. They are rare.

Most of us are in the middle ground of owner/collector and fanatic/practicalist, but by and large, Rick owners are a lot like Porsche or Ferrari owners--proud that they have bought the best and interested in keeping their assets in excellent condition.

I play mine daily, as I said, but don't gig 'em out (my gigging days are pretty much over, although, darn, it would be fun to pull out my 381 on stage!). So they are not really "case queens" but still are in mint condition.

I imagine that if I did play for money again, I would enjoy having an older workhorse Rick that sounded great and played well but obviously looked well-used, though not trashed. Or maybe a dozen even.

The "R" tailpieces are on an exchange basis, too, by the way. To keep the spaghetti tailpieces where they belong--on the copies.

Dan, you're missing the point--Rick's policy is not there to make life hard for the faithful like us. It's to protect the line from the inevitable con artists like THEM.

THEM: the fakers we manage to unearth on a weekly basis on eBay. Spaghetti tailpieces, misshapen bodies, bad Fireglo paintjobs, ugly TRCs, horrible sound, mediocre playability, and still the seller will make claims like, "fools everybody!" or "sounds just like the real thing".

Well, we are fortunate enough to actually play the real thing and this is one small way to keep it like that.

So, mod away. And if you don't know how, learn how.

BTW, Jim, thanks for taking my jibe in the same lighthearted vein in which it was intended!

Modifications are tough 'cuz you expose both your taste and ability (or complete lack thereof) to the hoi polloi of Ric fans. You either come off as the scourge of the earth, or brilliant. There never seems to be much middle ground.

Modded or not, he who wrings the most enjoyment from his Rick wins.

Paul,

No sweat. Thanks for returning the favor. Next new Rick I buy, I'll carefully preserve the "made in USA" sticker for you and send it over.

Regards,

JKC

I am a player ... I mod to make the instrument more playable ... a purist may cringe at what I do ...

www.3dentourage.com/425

I pretty much leave them alone as I find them good for what I want right out of the box, the only mod I would do at this point is if I ever get a 4004 I will take out the switch and add another volume control ala Jeff. (I might take a string off too)