Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I would agree that safety is one of the best aspects of CNC. I remember seeing photos of the old drill/machine that would do the ramp carving, it looked mean!

aceonbass wrote:Speaking of which, who's responsible for the new rounder upper horns on the 620 & 660 guitars? I don't care for the way it looks and am really surprised that the new pattern would be applied to the 660.

Dane, that "new" shape came right off of a stock 615 I have hanging right here, serial number GD2042. What is that, about 44 years "new"?

bitzerguy wrote:I am blown away by your comment, Ben, about the safety of your employees being improved as being one of the most important aspects of the CNC addition. That kind of perspective is very rare today, and speaks volumes about the success of the company.

I agree. Some of that concern I would guess comes from the fact of each employee's highly specialized skillset, but that in no way takes away from the concern for basic safety and welfare of the workers. With a company as small and close as RIC, the loss of a digit, hand, or other bad injury affects all.

Think they could make an entropy plug-in for the program that would simulate the effect of templates wearing out over the years?

kiramdear wrote:T... an entropy plug-in ...

Sounds a bit like a gravitic anomalizer to me ...

johnhall wrote:

aceonbass wrote:Speaking of which, who's responsible for the new rounder upper horns on the 620 & 660 guitars? I don't care for the way it looks and am really surprised that the new pattern would be applied to the 660.

Dane, that "new" shape came right off of a stock 615 I have hanging right here, serial number GD2042. What is that, about 44 years "new"?

John, while I don't doubt your source for the new/old shape, I had never seen one just like it before. The shape of older ones, like the one Tom Petty's holding on the cover of Damn the Torpedoes, is pretty much the only one I've ever seen. Since I've never seen the current shape, it looks odd to me. I liked the way the old shape resembled the upper horn on the 4000 series basses, and feel that it had continuity with it. Does anyone here any pics of other 600 guitars like that they could post?

johnhall wrote:

aceonbass wrote:Speaking of which, who's responsible for the new rounder upper horns on the 620 & 660 guitars? I don't care for the way it looks and am really surprised that the new pattern would be applied to the 660.

Dane, that "new" shape came right off of a stock 615 I have hanging right here, serial number GD2042. What is that, about 44 years "new"?

If 44 years is new, where does that leave me at 35?

You're an infink in the Rick universe, Werner...

aceonbass wrote: Does anyone here any pics of other 600 guitars like that they could post?

If I recall, on another thread there were several of Gary (Doctorwho's) 620 and similar models posted by the swimming pool, offering a good comparison of the Cresting Wave design over the years.....

Will this do?

Does anyone here any pics of other 600 guitars like that they could post?

For what it's worth, here's a shot with two 620s: a 1996 6 on the left, and a 2009 12 in the middle.

Here's a couple of older ones, a 1964 625 in Fireglo and a '73 in Jetglo. I'm not sure if either of these show what your looking for but I'll post 'em anyway.

Dan

Here's my bunch...

Top images feature a 1991 610, a 1980 620 12 and a 1977 620.

Bottom shot is from 1984 and has my 1982 620 and a different 1980 620 12...

A CNC machine is merely a tool, just like saws and a template. As Ben mentioned, the person operating it still needs the knowledge and experience to make it or break it. (The guitar, that is)

There was a similar thread on Talk Bass recently.

I am a commercial photographer by profession with over thirty five years of experience. I am often asked about digital cameras replacing photographers. I reply by telling them that never before have so many been able to become bad photographers so quickly.

Regarding the wearing of patterns and templates over time, here is how it is in the art world. When an artist makes an original, and commissions editions, whether they be lithos, itaglios, gravures, silk screen prints, etc, the first ones made are always more valuable as the the thing making the edition is fresh and the reproduction is faithful. As it wears, the later ones in the edition are less accurate, (those with higher numbers) and are always seen as less valuable in the marketplace.

coolhandjjl wrote:Regarding the wearing of patterns and templates over time, here is how it is in the art world. When an artist makes an original, and commissions editions, whether they be lithos, itaglios, gravures, silk screen prints, etc, the first ones made are always more valuable as the the thing making the edition is fresh and the reproduction is faithful. As it wears, the later ones in the edition are less accurate, (those with higher numbers) and are always seen as less valuable in the marketplace.

In the case of the darkroom working photographic printer it is their brain that wears out after 50-75 editions of a single negative.