Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

"I wouldn't say yes but I couldn't say no." - Larry Fine

jingle_jangle wrote:Oh, is THAT the question?

My answer would be, "I don't know for sure, but I don't think so."

You can see a pretty hi-res shot here:
http://liveassets.rationalpathinc.netdn ... wga_so.jpg

Can you tell anything more from a close up view?

It's possible that all these guitars are not the same wood, but none of them look like maple to me. It's fairly obvious when you see a maple Capri, like my all time favorite one here: *drool*

Eh, not definitive...the varnish on the one in the hi-res shot is very yellowed. If the yellow wasn't present, it could conceivably be maple. And you can't ever tell by looking through the soundhole, as these had lauan plywood backs.

Not to belabor the point, but this is my current obsession... sorry!

Is this not uncannily similar to the flame we're seeing on those Capri's?


Like, in comparison to the mapleglo in the OP.

I know there are no definitive answers, but I like a good mystery... obviously I don't want to look for one where none exists, though.

As an aside, the boards I posted above are all old-growth from the late 1800s/early 1900s. So it could be in the range of the kind of trees Ric was culling wood from.

jingle_jangle wrote: The striped 340 that Thomas posts the photo of, looks very much like mahogany in the photo--very open-grained.

Yes, this one is definitely mahogany. Been discussed here a while back. I believe JWilli also has or had a mahogany Capri.

Pics to show grain:

PS I'm glad to see that three of my Capris are getting so much attention here! They love it! If only they could tell us what they are made of . . .

I acquired this 360 ATG 1958 from Mitch Easter in 2002. Here's some pics showing the non-flame maple grain:

libratune wrote:PS I'm glad to see that three of my Capris are getting so much attention here! They love it! If only they could tell us what they are made of . . .

I acquired this 360 ATG 1958 from Mitch Easter in 2002. Here's some pics showing the non-flame maple grain:

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Hey Ron, thanks for the detail shots! I'm absolutely obsessed with this particular Capri of yours. I think it has my favorite burst of any Ric I have seen... it's just totally awesome in every way. Is it a 3 piece top? I'm really sorry, but this guitar just makes me geek out!

Could you post some more detailed shots of the really flamey Capri you own as well? I don't think it's in the register.

It's interesting how they used an upper pickguard on some two pickup Capri's without the traditional indent between pickups.

My guitars are flamed alder. I sent a picture of one to Dale Fortune I think years ago. I always thought it was maple, but it never really looked exactly like maple to me. He told me it was flamed alder. I had never heard of it before, but he was pretty darn certain it was. Any wood can theoretically have flame, it's a function of how the tree grew and the uneven stresses placed upon it. I've seen and owned guitars with flamed zebrawood, mahogany, and even ash. Did you ever think ash would have flame? It can, and it does. So alder can have flame too. When you see the guitars in person, and compare it to maple and alder, you would agree my guitars have flamed alder. Plus the flame pattern is not typical of the flame seen in maple. All the guitars that I have with flamed alder were made in '59 and are pretty close in serial number and coincidentally do not have laquered fingerboards either. So it would make sense that Ric bought a bunch of this stuff, and used it until it was done.

I sometimes see this distinctive flame on certain Capri's and it's just a heartstopper. It's so different from your typical flamed maple. I have heard it described as flamed alder, by Dave Kim and others. I have also read one post from a few years back where Dale Fortune described it as flamed birch. I can't find a single photo of "flamed alder" on the net, although I'm pretty sure it exists. Flamed birch seems far more common, and has a grain pattern that looks very similar.

Has anyone else looked into this, and what is your opinion?[/quote]


Where did you find that pic? That was a capri I sold many many years ago to Outlaw Guitars (Jim Pasch) who then sold it to Lee Gagliano. I've been trying to find it ever since. That was one special guitar I should never have sold. If anyone sees it, let me know......

Where did you find that last pic of the 335 mapleglo? That was a capri I sold many many years ago to Outlaw Guitars (Jim Pasch) who then sold it to Lee Gagliano. I've been trying to find it ever since. That was one special guitar I should never have sold. If anyone sees it, let me know......

egosheep wrote:

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I sometimes see this distinctive flame on certain Capri's and it's just a heartstopper. It's so different from your typical flamed maple. I have heard it described as flamed alder, by Dave Kim and others. I have also read one post from a few years back where Dale Fortune described it as flamed birch. I can't find a single photo of "flamed alder" on the net, although I'm pretty sure it exists. Flamed birch seems far more common, and has a grain pattern that looks very similar.

Has anyone else looked into this, and what is your opinion?

vintagemusicgear wrote:Where did you find that last pic of the 335 mapleglo? That was a capri I sold many many years ago to Outlaw Guitars (Jim Pasch) who then sold it to Lee Gagliano. I've been trying to find it ever since. That was one special guitar I should never have sold. If anyone sees it, let me know......

Hi Dave, that is just a pic I saved at some point. I have a huge folder of Capri photos sorted by year and serial #, but that one was in the unsorted folder, so I'm not sure where it came from. I also don't have any more photos of it.

Thanks for the info on your guitars!

egosheep wrote:It's interesting how they used an upper pickguard on some two pickup Capri's without the traditional indent between pickups.

From what I have observed, the "no ident" on the top 'guard on two-pickup Capris was the way it was done in 1958 and early '59. The indented top guard appeared in early '59.

egosheep wrote: Hey Ron, thanks for the detail shots! I'm absolutely obsessed with this particular Capri of yours. I think it has my favorite burst of any Ric I have seen... it's just totally awesome in every way. Is it a 3 piece top? I'm really sorry, but this guitar just makes me geek out!

Yes, it's a 3-piece top. You can see a seam just to the right of the low "E" string in the last detail shot.

egosheep wrote: Could you post some more detailed shots of the really flamey Capri you own as well? I don't think it's in the register.

It's in the Register here: http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... hp?id=9231