Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

BTW, IIRC, the maximum size is 1200x1200 pixels and 300KB.

I've contacted Pickgaurdian and found the right pickgaurd, Tony from there is going to do the custom holes..

I also ordered the 56 black vintage knobs from him as well

This is getting expensive, but it will be worth it when I get to plug it in!

http://www.darrelllahay.wordpress.com

"Only those who labour by the sweat of their brow truly know what eyebrows are for!" Pastor Darrell

Does anyone know how many of these guitars were made in 64?

beatlebacker wrote:Does anyone know how many of these guitars were made in 64?

The only publicly accessible sources are here at the Rick Resource register and on page 234 of Richard Smith's RICKENBACKER book published in 1987.

He gives a total of 23 FireGlo and 2 JetGlo 325's made in 1964 (one of which was John Lennon's) - it also lists 201 FireGlo Rose Morris 1996s, which are basically the same guitar.

The Register lists 6 FG 1996's and 7 325's (including John's and the other JG which was last seen in Sweden in 1999)...

None of this should be taken as gospel though as John Hall on the corporate forum has said several times now that Smith was working from incomplete and unsorted records...

As to this guitar now being restored in British Columbia is it a 325 or a virtually identical 1996?? Who knows? But I am not surprised that it was found in a church basement in a garbage bag... My own recently recovered 77 JG 320 sat in a closet for 15 years with no strings on it. I am sure that there are many such stories of people who do not realize the value of these instruments... Thankfully they sometimes fall into the hands of people who appreciate them and bring them back to life... A guitar is meant to be played!

There is also the 325 connection page which has 25 or so guitars listed from 1964..
http://www.geocities.com/vintage325/325_3.html

After that your guess is as good as anyone else's...

Okay, the last thing i need to get is the three pickupd. Ive been scouring the internet for used, or the best price newer....anybody know where the deals are?

beatlebacker wrote:Okay, the last thing i need to get is the three pickupd. Ive been scouring the internet for used, or the best price newer....anybody know where the deals are?

Darrell:

Ebay is your best bet.

Set up a search listing for Rickenbacker pick ups... Add variations for Rickenbacker and "toasters". It will email you hits and you can then bid on them as they come up...

It may be contentious but you may find that a set of High Gains will be much cheaper... A pair of them just went on Toronto Craiglist for $125.

Also post a message in the Marketplace Wanted section here on this board.

When you get it together take lots of pics for us all!

B

It is tempting to get high gains..they may not sound as authentic as toasters, but im assuming they will sound pretty good for what i like to play...also, the idea of fixing this guitar is to play it soon, not to restore it to spec so i can sell it.....hmmm hmmm...decisions

Darrell:

I agree completely. First part of getting the guitar back to life is to get it playable again.

Afterwords you can add the stuff to make it as original as you can...

I went through this myself with my own 1977 JG 320 which was horribly damaged in a fire. First step was just to get it playable again. I have slowly been replacing parts, mostly the plastic which was melted to get it back to its original condition. It is still battle scarred but gets better all the time!

Rickenbacker just a few years back reissued your guitar, so all of the parts are available to bring it back to looking like it did originally. But unless another guitar of its era has been cannibalized, it can never again BE original - (unless there is another basement somewhere with all of the old parts in it).

As Canadians though all of these things cost much more then they do our cousins to the south, because of the exchange rate and customs fees.

Best to get it playable again so that you can get used to the specific sound and feel of a RIC... You may discover that the guitar is not the sound feel that you wanted, or you may wonder how you ever lived without one for so long!! You will only discover this once it is playable again...

I would recommend just slowly adding the older looking stuff as it shows up...

You are correct in that it is collectors that want all of the details as it was when it left the factory. The tuners on your guitar are not original, but they should do the job of keeping the guitar in tune until a set of vintage Klusons comes along..

Just my thoughts.

Hey folks..i'ts been a while since i posted..
My 325 fireglo is coming together..I still need to purchase pick/ups though...I've been able to get most of the parts from online and once the pick-ups are in, I will just need to find someone to do the assembly...I am having a hard time finding someone in the Vancouver BC area who can do this for me..does anyone know of anyone?

Also, I am also open to the idea of selling the guitar and parts as a project guitar..What amount ould I be asking for this..

For some pics, go to my website: http://darrelllahay.wordpress.com/rickenbacker/

thanks

Happy new year Darrell...