Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

s4001 wrote:

jimk wrote:Note to self: be sure to wipe yer Rick down when yer done playin'.
JimK

Nah. Several layers of sludge give it that endearing appeal.

And protects the finish by covering it up!

+1 on the "caustic sweat"! I had a friend back in my teens who owned a nice Gibson SG... and he'd have to buy a new stopbar tailpiece and tune-o-matic bridge assembly at least once a year due to his sweat having corroded the heck out of those pieces!

After the movie "Alien" came out, I used to imagine that he was really one of those creatures with acid for blood!!!

i would say people with very sweaty and acidic body chemistry would be the culprit along with not giving the instrument a good cleaning afterwards. unless you handle sandstone or make concrete or play in a sandbox for a job description, i can see no good reason for weardown if good hygene is observed. when someone who sweats or smokes wants to grind on my basses, i ask..."did you wash and dry your hands first ?" i do get very strange looks for that question !!! don't know why ! i don't sweat unless there is high humidity and have dry hands so i'm lucky in that respect. my strings will last quite a while.

Yeah, my skin is stupid dry. It cracks and bleeds on occasion for no reason.

jps wrote:

Prowl wrote:Jesus1 Jeff I would be so ****** every time I looked at that. Checkered binding and all. My eyes went wide like the person in your little image there!

Fortunately, mine is much better shape.

This is how I got the bass, since that time, I put proper pickguard screws and vintage knobs on it.

Well Miles, I must admit my eyes usually pop out of my head when I'm playing it, or looking at it...it's killer.


The scars don't bother me at all, my '79 looks like it was attacked by a bear, big "clawmarks" in the tailpiece and jackplate, finish damage (it was resprayed from FG), and this small injury:

...definitely dropped at some point. But it sounds unreal! I had a beautiful '74 MG with Grovers (and red dots!) that was clean as a bean, I didn't trust myself with it...

And Jeff, your bass is much cleaner, but I dig it because it's got the ultra-sharp-corner pickup surround, like mine. I've never seen any others besides these two, though I'm sure they're out there...

badeggs wrote:And Jeff, your bass is much cleaner, but I dig it because it's got the ultra-sharp-corner pickup surround, like mine. I've never seen any others besides these two, though I'm sure they're out there...

I have seen one or two others, but I too, have come to prefer the sharp corners on the surround.

jps wrote:I have seen one or two others, but I too, have come to prefer the sharp corners on the surround.

Me too. I always figured a few of the small-radius ones slipped through without being rounded-off on the corners. Unless they were stamped this way...of course I don't know anything about metalwork or how these were actually made! But it's nice to think about...

jimk wrote:Note to self: be sure to wipe yer Rick down when yer done playin'.
JimK

And keep it waxed.

I use a RIC polish clothe and some fender and planet waves polish to shine my bass up and it lasts for quite a bit. Sometimes I even put carnuba on it, really really depends though.

Jeff, did you ever think to get the damages fixed or did you feel that that may take away from the character of it?

Prowl wrote:I use a RIC polish clothe and some fender and planet waves polish to shine my bass up and it lasts for quite a bit. Sometimes I even put carnuba on it, really really depends though.

Jeff, did you ever think to get the damages fixed or did you feel that that may take away from the character of it?

Well, I can see the logic behind getting cosmetic things fixed, but I like the character. Even that nasty crack in the control cavity there doesn't affect playability...that said, I can't deny the sheer awesomeness of what guys like Paul W. and Dale Fortune can do with a trashed instrument.

Ridden HARD and put away WET...

badeggs wrote:

Prowl wrote:I use a RIC polish clothe and some fender and planet waves polish to shine my bass up and it lasts for quite a bit. Sometimes I even put carnuba on it, really really depends though.

Jeff, did you ever think to get the damages fixed or did you feel that that may take away from the character of it?

Well, I can see the logic behind getting cosmetic things fixed, but I like the character. Even that nasty crack in the control cavity there doesn't affect playability...that said, I can't deny the sheer awesomeness of what guys like Paul W. and Dale Fortune can do with a trashed instrument.

I've never seen any of their work is there a place that has a gallery by any chance?

jingle_jangle wrote:Ridden HARD and put away WET...

my band had used that expression before , but in a different application i won't discuss here !

btw...don't turn around...someone's behind you in your avatar !

Prowl wrote:I've never seen any of their work is there a place that has a gallery by any chance?

Paul's work is all over the site, here's his forum, and check this thread for some nice pics. He also builds Rick acoustics...amazing work.

Check the restoration forum at rickenbacker.com, too (can't remember if we're allowed to link to them).

Although I'm a little skeptical of the neck blems being all wear (looks too ragged and not smoothed like the body front hand anchor wear), the body bottom end looks like it has always been bounced off a stage when taken off. LOTS of chipping there. The neck rods need adjusting badly - the CV has fractured along the neck binding and also the back of the neck. Paul said it best.