Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

jingle_jangle wrote: Are you aware that the Surfcaster six-stringers have been "re-issued" (there's a company that's having them made in the Far East...) and they're going for around $600.00. Not quite exactly the same, but you have to admire the style--it's brilliant, IMO.

Do you mean these? http://www.grbguitars.com/index.html

blueflamerick wrote:

jingle_jangle wrote: Are you aware that the Surfcaster six-stringers have been "re-issued" (there's a company that's having them made in the Far East...) and they're going for around $600.00. Not quite exactly the same, but you have to admire the style--it's brilliant, IMO.

Do you mean these? http://www.grbguitars.com/index.html

Erik beats me to the punch! Yes I've seen these - they look great (I like the tones on the sunburst) and who doesn't like a Bigsby? Maybe for my next foray when I'm out of the doghouse...

blueflamerick wrote:

jingle_jangle wrote: Are you aware that the Surfcaster six-stringers have been "re-issued" (there's a company that's having them made in the Far East...) and they're going for around $600.00. Not quite exactly the same, but you have to admire the style--it's brilliant, IMO.

Do you mean these? http://www.grbguitars.com/index.html

Still not as nice as an original!

I prefer the Tangerine model, as it's truer to the original, lipstick-pickup Charvels. I am not too crazy about the looks and sound of open-coiled hummers (well, it WAS a surf guitar until...).

jingle_jangle wrote:I prefer the Tangerine model, as it's truer to the original, lipstick-pickup Charvels. I am not too crazy about the looks and sound of open-coiled hummers (well, it WAS a surf guitar until...).

hmmmm how about we rout one out and put in a P-90, a Jag pup w/ proper value cap and a lipstick

I don't know if this will post I never done it before

I bought this guitar new in 1992, the bass is a friend of mine's also from 1992
The pair were bought at Rythm city in Atlanta GA

Welcome to the forum Chris.

Lovely pair of Surfcasters.

I have the acoustic/electric version of one these, in Sea Foam Green! Thinking about letting it go, too.

I've got an original '91 Charvel 12er in Jetglo black.George sold it to me for really low bucks. It's gonna be up for restoration soon. Some kinda cool surfy burst thing, I think, for the refin... I love the look of these thangs!

jingle_jangle wrote:I've got an original '91 Charvel 12er in Jetglo black.George sold it to me for really low bucks. It's gonna be up for restoration soon. Some kinda cool surfy burst thing, I think, for the refin... I love the look of these thangs!

I like the general look of these things as well; the only thing about them that somewhat disappoints me aesthetically is the straight angle edges on the pickguard; to my eye the guitar would look better if the pickguard edges followed the body silhouette on top, and wrapped around the controls and hardware more closely as well. Paul, your opinion as a designer and builder?

paologregorio wrote: I like the general look of these things as well; the only thing about them that somewhat disappoints me aesthetically is the straight angle edges on the pickguard; to my eye the guitar would look better if the pickguard edges followed the body silhouette on top, and wrapped around the controls and hardware more closely as well. Paul, your opinion as a designer and builder?

Agreed! Especially on the bass.

The straight-edged pickguard, is IMO, a touch of genius that was perhaps unintended. This might have been a naive solution to making something distinctive. By "naive" I mean that somebody thought it would "look cool", so they did it.

It moves the shape out of the '60s idiom of "offset waist" styling, and into a sort of post-punk, or even retro, design vocabulary, nearly a decade before we got hit with all the other "retro" stuff, a lot of which is wishy-washy, bland stuff anyway.

Speaking of bland--that's how this would look with a guard whose silhouette followed the body's outer edge, again IMO.

jingle_jangle wrote:The straight-edged pickguard, is IMO, a touch of genius that was perhaps unintended. This might have been a naive solution to making something distinctive. By "naive" I mean that somebody thought it would "look cool", so they did it.

It moves the shape out of the '60s idiom of "offset waist" styling, and into a sort of post-punk, or even retro, design vocabulary, nearly a decade before we got hit with all the other "retro" stuff, a lot of which is wishy-washy, bland stuff anyway.

Speaking of bland--that's how this would look with a guard whose silhouette followed the body's outer edge, again IMO.

I tend to agree with that, as contouring it would take it into fakey Fender territory, IMO. While the design appears abrupt, it really works for me in the sense of it trying to be it's own deal, rather than something that looks half Rick half Fender.

I just picked up a Charvel Surfcaster acoustic bass for a steal! There's a small metal plate that was added to the bridge where some cracking was occurring, but other that that its in great shape!

Cool, I have never seen one of these, only the solidbody geetars.