Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Does the Knicker-backer have Gibson style tuning keys? They appear pearly white in some parts of the clip.

Janglyman wrote:Paologregorio,
TTYD is one of my all-time favorite movies. I saw it in the theater, was immediately sucked in and made the wife stay and watch the entire credits, looking for music credits. BTW, I Need You (That Thing You Do) is a great song in its own right. I was wondering, tho, if Tom Hanks had any input on the music. Whoever did it managed to string together some great rock and roll cliche's into great songs.
Recently, I saw the movie on cable with scenes not in the DVD. These included Guy puking after the jazz club, gratuitous shots of Charlize Theron with the dentist boyfriend, and more interestingly, a couple of shots including Howie Long as Mr. White's "companion." I never gave a thought to Tom Hanks' character being gay. Was he supposed to be?
Also, the wife now walks out of the room every time TTYD comes on, shaking her head saying "Why do they play that same song over and over?" and I try to explain it's a 1 hit wonder.

That's the recent-to-DVD director's cut that included the additional material. I think that the possible orientation of Hanks' character was to place him in a more Brain Epstein-ish light.

It is a great film and Hanks does have some credits in the material included on the CD. Also, I believe that there is a connection to Fountains of Wayne and the music of the film, IIRC.

longhouse wrote:Does the Knicker-backer have Gibson style tuning keys? They appear pearly white in some parts of the clip.

I'm thinking it's stage light reflection.

longhouse wrote:Does the Knicker-backer have Gibson style tuning keys? They appear pearly white in some parts of the clip.

They are probably Van Ghent tuners, used in the '60s on some Ricks; here shown on a 1965 360 MG: Someone once described these to me as "Harley-Tank Tuners." See if you agree:

It's been years since I've heard that tune. Beau Charles is the one on the Rick. I think that's his brother on bass.

Ron -- I'd be very surprised if you owned that very Ric in the clip...1 in a million shot, but, who knows?

JakeK wrote:Ron -- I'd be very surprised if you owned that very Ric in the clip...1 in a million shot, but, who knows?

You mean you wouldn't be surprised if it was the same guitar? It's certainly possible. The serial # on this guitar is EAxx, so it is a very early 1965. Scotty said in his post that the K-bockers came out with this tune in November 1965.

I can't tell whether the Rick in the clip posted above has an "R" TP or an Ac'cent. I can see something down there, but no clear shot of an "R".

A notable thing about this guitar (probably better raised as the subject of another thread) is that the back binding is plain b/w and not checkered: I'm not able to tell whether the guitar was re-bound. If rebound, it likely would have been refinished, and that does not appear to be the case. The binding on this early 360 is very even and nicely done and the finish around it and on the entire guitar appears uniform and original. This at least gives pause to raise the question: did Rickenbacker build some early 360 NS models with non-checkered binding? If so, is this one of them?

Here's another video of 'Lies' showing a better shot of Beau's Rick. It shows an Ac'cent tail. It appears the arm has been changed??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQQFPRThIfc

Scastles wrote:Here's another video of 'Lies' showing a better shot of Beau's Rick. It shows an Ac'cent tail. It appears the arm has been changed??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQQFPRThIfc

Yeah, the VB arm kind of looks like those flat arms you see on mid-60's Gibson SGs, although the arm appears to be shaped like an Ac'cent at the point where it is mounted on the VB. I can't blame him for changing it. Those Ac'cent arms with their sharp points can do some damage to your body if you happen to whomp your guitar around at the wrong angle while playing.

I took a closer look at my 360 with the Van Ghents. It has a roller bridge (hiding under the original tarnished bridge cover) and inside the cavity is marked "365". I am not trying to position my guitar as a Knickerbocker relic, but it could be that someone changed out the Ac'cent for an "R" TP at some point. It also could be that there were many 360 MGs produced with Van Ghent tuners at that time.

Kind of ironic in this clip that the camera focuses on the guitar during the sax solo.

No love for the sax.

Great clip! I recall that back in the '60's, there was a rumor going around that "Lies" was actually recorded by the Beatles under a different name. Not true--yes, Virginia, there was actually a band called the Knickerbockers! The drummer, Jimmy Walker, lived in Napa, CA in the '80's and '90's--I did some gigs with him. He's not only one of the best drummers I've ever played with, he's a killer singer as well. Some time after the Knickerbockers, he played drums for the Righteous Brothers, and actually did a stint as co-lead vocalist with Bill Medley when Bill and Bobby Hatfield split up. A couple of years ago, GAC was re-running episodes of the Glen Campbell TV show from the late-'60's--I saw one featuring the Righteous Brothers, and there was young Jimmy singing with Bill Medley--he even got mentioned by name! Last I heard from Jimmy, he was moving to Las Vegas, but I don't know if he's still there--I hear there aren't many gigs left there anymore.