Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

A nice twist on relic'ing. Fender did an interesting custom line for the last few years: their so-called "thin-skins" which have a different finish to show wear more quickly. It was limited to a few stores (three or so, I believe) and they used that opportunity to do some of the old 60s colors. I've played a couple of them (and own one of the jaguars) and they are much higher quality than the usa Fenders now. (and, strangely, cheaper than new ones, due to Fender raising list prices).

But, this is a Rickenbacker forum, so I'll get to the point.

I don't see that working for rickenbackers, though. As even the supposedly beat up ones here are still in pretty great shape, relatively speaking. They all seem to look nice for a very very long time (a testament to the quality, I suppose).

I think it is a beautiful thing to see a guitar age (or show its age). Play wear shows that it's been in good service.

(I'll hunt around for pictures of a 230 I used to have, as it surely qualified: dinged up, separating fretboard, rusty, etc.)

I'm kinda late to this thread, but really enjoying the pics. I love an old guitar with some honest wear and a unique history -- before I bought my newish 330JG, I really hoped to find a used guitar with some wear, but didn't find much.

I'm glad that the consensus isn't always "OMG! Repaint that thing! Make it look brand-new again!"

- Scott

Is it due to Ric owners taking better care of their prized instruments -OR- a superior finishing/sealing method which keeps most old Rickenbackers looking nice? Probably both. I play the bejeezus out of my 1997 and it still looks near-mint (the frets are showing wear, but the finish is excellent).

I've not seen many Rics in the field with the clearcoat and paint worn through -but I've seen SCADS of Fenders which look as if someone applied Zip Strip to them!

Add me to ANTI-RELIC guitar club too.

loopyreed wrote:Am I the only one who thinks Rickenbackers look really good with significant wear? I'm not talking about abuse, but honest wear and lots of it. Anybody got any pictures of some well-loved Rickenbackers?

Ask Collin Whitley. You should see his Rose Morris Model; total Kenny Howes Special, which means the headstock's been snapped off and expertly repaired. Awesome well-playe wear on it as well. I just look at that guitar and see Mod girls dancing around next to guys in 3 button coats and skinny ties.

On the other hand, when I find a beater 330, it's bound to end up shipped off to one of the forum luthiers and transformed into a previously nonexistent variant of a double bound model...

This V63 was over-loved!

paologregorio wrote:

loopyreed wrote:Am I the only one who thinks Rickenbackers look really good with significant wear? I'm not talking about abuse, but honest wear and lots of it. Anybody got any pictures of some well-loved Rickenbackers?

Ask Collin Whitley. You should see his Rose Morris Model; total Kenny Howes Special, which means the headstock's been snapped off and expertly repaired. Awesome well-playe wear on it as well. I just look at that guitar and see Mod girls dancing around next to guys in 3 button coats and skinny ties....

Thanks, I'll take "KH special" as a compliment. Pics of it are further up in this thread. It's the "ultra" Townshend-spec.

In fact, I want to have the neck break repaired professionally and refinished in that area. The rest of the guitar is so gloriously beat-up that I want the repaired area "reliced" to match the rest of the guitar. IMO, that's one of the better applications of relic paint jobs. I'm not a big fan of them (mostly because nearly all of them are unconvincing), but if it helps a truly old guitar look age-appropriate, then I'm all for it.

The best players are well-loved for a reason.

You have seen this pic before but......



emac.

Per Collin
"The best players are well-loved for a reason."

Here Here!

Oh and here's a couple shots of my 1966 335. It is very well loved with many dings, wear spots around the edges, and an absolutely great feeling neck. I'm only going to post a few pics but you get the idea

I wish I could tell you I'm the one that broke it in so well but I've only owned it for about 5 years, so I can only take "credit" for some of it.

teeder wrote:This V63 was over-loved!

family 610.jpg

Actually, the disgruntled wife/girlfriend (I forget which) backed over it onaccounta. I remember that ebay auction.

Both mine.




Images are clickable.

Bert, those are HOT !!

collin wrote:Bert, those are HOT !!

People threaten me if I say I want the 4005 refinished in JG. The 4000 is my first Rick and is now with me for over 20 years. It was allready "well used" when I bought it. My other Ricks (besides the 650d) get ScratchX/Zymol treatments when necesary. But with these two I feel like I'm removing the Mojo if I did. So I don't.

johnallg wrote:

teeder wrote:This V63 was over-loved!

family 610.jpg

Actually, the disgruntled wife/girlfriend (I forget which) backed over it onaccounta. I remember that ebay auction.

Yep. I believe it was an unhappy Wife.

If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

berth wrote:People threaten me if I say I want the 4005 refinished in JG.

You won't get an argument from me!