Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I think I'm going to call Bob Comaro and compliment him on his fine work.

walker wrote:I think I'm going to call Bob Comaro and compliment him on his fine work.

I like the way he lost patience...starts with fairly clean routing and the just chops off the bit between the bridge and the control area.

godber wrote:
Very cool! Looks like the extra routing is under the pick guard.

"Mostly" Ted! Or definitely if it had this pickguard combo...
[/quote]

Disregarding the butchering under the guard and the structural problems it may have been triggering, I quite like the look of that one!

Much better looking than what was done on my 68!

godber wrote:Also does the long (biscuit?) jointing between body pieces look normal?

No biscuits have ever been harmed in the making of a RIC bass. Not normal.

Come on guys, that is how to lighten these overweight basses and still retain the "original look".



Jim

i've got JA-013 which is a 21 fretter which the subject bass is not. I would say late '71-early '72.

johnhall wrote:

godber wrote:Also does the long (biscuit?) jointing between body pieces look normal?

No biscuits have ever been harmed in the making of a RIC bass. Not normal.

Thanks for the input John. So the body joins are not original? This bass has had an interesting life - I'll post a pic of the 2-becomes-1 truss rod replacement later

[quote="godber"]

Well it looks like it's later than '69-'70 because it has a slither of binding at the end of the fretboard - as seen in this pic. quote]


Sometime after Jan '71 and before April'ish '72 when they started the skunk stripe and eliminated the walnut wings, IMO.

[quote="godber"]Does anyone have a shot of the original routing for one of these? Although deep, the "floor" looks original - any guidance would be great.
quote]


Here's the route on a Feb '71 21 Fretter.



And this is a May or June ( ? ) '72.

Thanks Kevin, your's don't look do deep at all.

My Nov 70 21 fret is the same as Kev's first pic, no deep route, plus it has no binding on the board end.

Interestingly as the bass has the short pole toaster the long pole toaster still fits these routes.

sean...my '70 has the same as yours as i have replaced the short with the long toaster.

teed...that '72 has a black painted coil with flat slot screws ???

Ron, my may 72 ( walnut wings) had the exact same screws, black and flatter than my 70, I think this is yet another era in the pickup evolution.

BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS wrote:sean...my '70 has the same as yours as i have replaced the short with the long toaster.

teed...that '72 has a black painted coil with flat slot screws ???

Yeah, not sure when they started painting the green bobbins black. Sometime latter in '71?

So here is the last bit of '70s DIY. The fretboard was removed and a channel added for a single rod straight down the middle! There are still "glimpses" of the original rods viewed from the body end. The fretboard/neck is so tidy you would think the work was done by Jekyll and Hyde luthiers.





...and one more of those body-join fillets.



Despite all the neck is straight and sound; thin front to back but slightly wider feeling.