TRC Changes

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 9:25 am

Apologies accepted.

sangandongo · Post by **sangandongo** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 10:48 am

--Quoting Dale_Bruce_fortune--
Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2006 - 01:07 pm:
"Way back in the early 70's all the T.R.C.'s were marked from a template, cut on the band saw and the holes were drilled by hand on the floor stand drill press. These were done 1 at a time. After the holes were drilled, they went to the pin router and were cut to exact size 1 at a time. We would do 30 to 35 of these a day. From there they went to the silk screen shop to have the logo put on the back side, then to the paint shop to be sprayed with white lacquer over the black logo. This is the way it was done from the 50's on up into the present day. Because the holes were drilled freehand, there were slight variations in placement holes, but since each one was fitted to a guitar at assembly it was no big deal. That's just another thing that makes Rickenbackers so unique."

I recently bought an early 80s 4003 from a small guitar store here in town. The guitar was badly mistreated; nicks and scratches everywhere, truss rod cover and pick guards spray painted black, replaced jack plate with a generic and control cavity sanded down to hide the origin. It had obviously been stolen in the past.

I was able to sand the pick guards back to white but could do nothing to fix the truss rod cover. the paint used ate at the plastic and the thief sanded down the lettering so that only the faintest impression of the edges remained.

I called RIC and asked if this would be a problem and they said that it would not be. Turned out they did have a problem and sent it back to me. I had little choice: spend hundreds of dollars and weeks of time on ebay or fabricate one myself. I opted for the latter using some clear plastic, hand paint and a spray can for the white. Here's the result--

http://dumb.org/pics/ric-trc.jpg

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 12:03 pm

Humphh...

sloop_john_b · Post by **sloop_john_b** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 12:08 pm

Looks fantastic, John! Maybe you can make me some custom ones for my Ricks.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:23 pm

Counterfeit TRCs on real Ricks? Whatever has gotten hold of you, JB?

sloop_john_b · Post by **sloop_john_b** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:30 pm

??

Surely I jest, Paul!

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:33 pm

OK, Tony...Har!

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 8:53 pm

John, you boozin and I'm working overtime.....

Best part is my wife says I'm earning the trip to Santa Ana next August!

You have mail, John.

sloop_john_b · Post by **sloop_john_b** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 9:05 pm

Whoa, John, we're goin' back? Mail received and replied to.

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Wed Dec 20, 2006 9:39 pm

If there's a SoCal confluence again, and others from around the world go, sure as shooting I'm going! Hopefully it would be a big national/international one!

sangandongo · Post by **sangandongo** » Thu Dec 21, 2006 4:23 am

Paul Wilczynski (Jingle_jangle) wrote:
"Counterfeit TRCs on real Ricks? Whatever has gotten hold of you, JB?

JB didn't get me but a glass of frigid Tito's vodka did. (steadies my hands, you know.

)

Man, if you had seen the shape the original TRC was in, you'd understand why RIC wouldn't exchange it for an authentic one. I was unhappy as hell that it came to this, but I wasn't about to drop over a hundred dollars on ebay for a piece of plastic that doesn't even affect the tone of playability of the guitar.

If one day I come across a TRC for a reasonable price, I'll definitely grab it. For now, I have a fake TRC that looks like a 50s style clear type. Wrong for an early 80s 4003, but at least it looks decent. The bass felt incomplete without it.

By the way, I noticed a screw up in my work: Check out the missing underscore by the "a". That's what I get for tracing and not checking. The logo came from RIC's homepage.

--
john