Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

That would be very cool John. It would also make the headstock a little lighter and perhaps improve the sustain to some extent. Didn't Roger McGuinn have this done to one of his guitars?

Thanks Adam, That's a great looking guitar - wouldn't mind having one of those myself.

Like this one from page 278 of Electric Guitars the Illustrated Encyclopedia-Tony Bacon.

Yes good work and keen eye Ken. My only question in seeing the routed out headstock before was will it weaken the headstock to any degree. I suspect that the headstock is presently over-built, but I would be curious what John Hall has to say about the structural integrity of routed out models. There aren't too many in existence.

It's funny but the first Ric 12 I ever saw up close, sometime in the eighties, was of this style. It was not til a few years later that I learned this was the odd one. Considering I bought my first Ric bass in 69' I guess I never payed much attention to the guitars until I started playing them.

Some of the early Gibson basses had the 'classical' headstock arrangement & I am led to believe that a high percentage of the surviving ones have had repairs in that area.

I sincerely doubt that. The guitars that get pulled off eBay are using a trademarked body shape or a trademarked body feature like the cresting wave, and the Surfcaster does not. Or they're pulled for infringing on the Rickenbacker name, which Charvel never did.

Since this was the thread that we had discussed the routed out 12 string I thought I would comment here. It appears that they are going back to the slots going clear through the head stock as shown on the updated web site.

I guess I just went here before seeing the other post. Sorry.