Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

melibreits wrote:John, that is BEEEEEAAAAUUUUUUTIFUL! Congratulations!

What's the story?

Well at least Melissa wanted to know the story behind it, so here's the Reader's Digest Version. "My name is John and I'm a Ric 'O-holic..." Well not according to this forum (I'm still a weenie), but try telling that to my family.

I have always really loved double bound RICs and tried on several occasions to get a hold of a 360 WB or a 360V64, but either I just missed out or they were a little more than I wanted to pay. I've also been enraptured with the Hudson Purple-Burst since the very first time I saw a picture of it. In the back of my mind, I've always thought that something like that guitar would have been my dream RIC, but the closest thing I ever saw was Gary's SH at the 75th (and those were even further out of reach). I thought about getting a 350V63 for a long time and tried hard to convince myself that I liked them, but they just never quite felt the way I wanted them to. I did discover however, that the 24 fret 350's fit perfectly. Months of unfulfilled longing......

Fast forward to MARF 2007. I had not taken 5 steps inside the door when I saw across the room an absolutely stunning 350. Visions of the Hudson Purple-burst danced in my head. Rich Snyder, who owned the guitar, was very gracious with his time (I felt like I had a million questions) and was a great help. All of a sudden, I thought perhaps my "Dream RIC" was not as far away as I had thought. "Boy," I thought to myself, "It's a good thing I left my checkbook at home or I'd be trying to buy a guitar right now." Enter stage left, Mr. Kevin Kuney, who "just happened" to have a MG 24 fret 350 with him that he was willing to offer (I remember a old story about a serpent who "just happened" to show up with an apple.... ).

To keep it short, Kevin was kind enough to sell me his MG 350, and let me take it home with me without giving him anything but my promise that I'd send him a check as soon as I got home. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to have done to the guitar, and after a good deal of searching I finally decided to have the work done by Larry Davis in Atlanta (primarily because of scheduling a start date). In the same way that so many of us have found Paul and Dale to be great to deal with (not to mention the unsurpassed quality of their work), I found Larry to also be a real delight. The pictures speak for themselves about the workmanship. I sent it off at the beginning of May and got it back near the end of last month. Plenty of other details to tell, but I'll save those for people who ask.

It is a vision of beauty, John. What a marvellous transition from mapleglo. Thanks for the photos.

Great looking guitar!! Can I have another sir

"...Can I have another sir?"

OK, one more...then off to bed with you.

Wow, John.... That last pic looks absolutely stunning--a dream come true, for sure!

Good night.... Sweet dreams, indeed!

I thought it was another "Mink"...but it is another animal altogether. What a stunner.

May as well locate your headphones...you know you won't want to sleep tonight. It will call to you.

Fantastic looking!

The color looks likes Paul Boyer's Mink.

Larry Davis, eh? Now THAT is a name to remember, judging by the looks of your guitar, John!

Too cool John! That is one great-looking guitar!

Wow! What a transformation. I did have an opportunity to play and actully do a little work on that 350 when Kevin still had it. It was a great looking MG with a nice patina. Now it is just stunning. Great vision John.

John said:

" Enter stage left, Mr. Kevin Kuney, who "just happened" to have a MG 24 fret 350 with him that he was willing to offer (I remember a old story about a serpent who "just happened" to show up with an apple.... ).

Here is a link to a pic of the three of us, John, the Mapleglo "apple", and the "serpent" in the red shirt at MARF II.

http://www.pickofthericks.com/IMG_1216.jpg

The serpent looks more like a Red Wing than a Devil. LOL

Is that an ebony fingerboard? Looks like it in the photos.

byu wrote:Is that an ebony fingerboard? Looks like it in the photos.

Yes it is an unfinished ebony board, which is one of the things that are not quite "standard" on this guitar. Some of them are obvious at the first glance, others more subtle. Larry and I spent a bunch of time playing with the style, placement and orientation of the f-Hole. Most of you probably know that there are at least two different "styles" of f-holes on RICs, as well as two classic orientations. I finally decided on the 1997 style as opposed to the 1996 style, but mine has a unique orientation. While I think the 1 "O'clock" orientation looks great on the 1997, I really wanted this one to be oriented in a way that mirrored the sweep of the body lines. As a result, its somewhere between the 1 and 2 O'clock positions. I actually got carried away one day and measured a bunch of photos just to see how it differed from the classic RIC positions. Turns out its a 1:30 f-hole....or to be more precise, a 1:28 (am or pm I don't know).

The Vintage TRC was not on it when I got it, but a screw hole seemed to indicate that it had one at some point. Larry suggested taking the paint off of the side edges, which allows light to enter at several different locations and gives a pretty neat effect. Unless I had gone with an opaque color, the Bigsby had to stay, and I found a screw whose head had been torqued off underneath it. that screw shaft had actually prevented the Bigsby from being flush with the body on the high E side...all better now.

The pickguard was modified to match the curves of the body and is the exact distance from the binding as the binding is wide. It was also modified on the opposite side to more closely follow the sweep of the tail carve. Lastly, I don't know if the Pickups are exactly "Wolves in sheep's clothing", but don't let the toaster covers fool you. Those are modified High Gains under the hood.

Anyway, those are the basics. I'm happy to answer any specific questions anyone has.

Here is a relatively short sequence of photos (most of which are from a similar angle) that show something of the transformation.