Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

k43rover wrote:

kennyhowes wrote: My 370/12 was made in '81 and came with Byrd wiring.

That's a turn up for the books! No sign of your guitar in the register - the newest one in there is the '72 I mentioned earlier. Are you sure the wiring was factory installed or could it be a retrofit? As it's an '81, presumably it's a 24 fret or did they have a left over 21 fret body for it too? If it's all original and 24 fret then that could be a unique config!

It hasn't been Byrd-wired since I got it in '88 - hindsight is 20/20, but I've rewired the guitar three times since then (it's now at stock/"normal"). The Byrd wiring reminded me of Gretsch wiring; some neat ideas but only 2-3 useful sounds.

See related topic:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=389730

And yes, it came from the factory Byrd-wired. I've seen the original invoice.

kennyhowes wrote:

k43rover wrote:

kennyhowes wrote: My 370/12 was made in '81 and came with Byrd wiring.

That's a turn up for the books! No sign of your guitar in the register - the newest one in there is the '72 I mentioned earlier. Are you sure the wiring was factory installed or could it be a retrofit? As it's an '81, presumably it's a 24 fret or did they have a left over 21 fret body for it too? If it's all original and 24 fret then that could be a unique config!

It hasn't been Byrd-wired since I got it in '88 - hindsight is 20/20, but I've rewired the guitar three times since then (it's now at stock/"normal"). The Byrd wiring reminded me of Gretsch wiring; some neat ideas but only 2-3 useful sounds.

See related topic:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=389730

And yes, it came from the factory Byrd-wired. I've seen the original invoice.

It's interesting that the wiring was verified as factory Byrd original. As mentioned above, the latest one in the register classified as a factory "Byrd" i.e. with this wiring harness, is a 1972 21 fret model. So your guitar in its original configuration as a 1981 made 24 fret but with that same wiring loom must be very rare. It also begs the questions, how many other guitars were made with this loom after 1972 and when did the factory finally stop offering this wiring config as an option? If I'm reading the story correctly, it says that your guitar was sold with another in the same config at the same time..so presumably there's a least one more out there. It would be great to think that there are more from the 1970's/80's also waiting to be discovered.

I noticed this comment in the other thread:

kennyhowes wrote: I found the Byrd wiring pretty unusable, kind of like the double switches on a Gretsch. Most sounds were muddy, the treble tones too quiet. So, I got a regular 360 pickguard and had a shop called The Guitar Closet in Oldsmar, FL re-wire the guitar to standard Ric specs. After that, it was easier to dial in, but somehow it sounded crisper than my other Rics, not in a good way, kind of brash. More on that later.

That surprised me. I've only had chance to play one factory wired Byrd model (my '67 OS) but I'd describe the tone on that one in almost completely opposite terms to the way you described your guitar - the treble tone is excellent and the treble settings are bright and loud (i.e. tone switch set down or middle). The top position (i.e. switch up) is certainly pretty muddy but I assume it was designed that way as it balances out the other 2 settings. This makes me wonder whether there was actually some technical problem with the treble settings of the loom in your guitar by the time you bought it rather a design issue with the way it was factory configured. It was an "oh no" moment reading that you sold those original parts for the Byrd config...it would be great to think that they too will turn up again one day so you would have the option to reunite them with the body.

Anyhow, thanks for sharing this story again Kenny. It's a fascinating read in the other thread and well done for tracking the guitar down - just great that you found it!

kennyhowes wrote: The Byrd wiring reminded me of Gretsch wiring; some neat ideas but only 2-3 useful sounds.

I know what you mean, the mud switch alone keeps me away from those. The only time I've heard that wiring used well was by Gary Burger of The Monks.

Dom wrote:

kennyhowes wrote: The Byrd wiring reminded me of Gretsch wiring; some neat ideas but only 2-3 useful sounds.

I know what you mean, the mud switch alone keeps me away from those. The only time I've heard that wiring used well was by Gary Burger of The Monks.

Doesn't sound muddy to me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8ndMHfpMVE

Well the Gretsch mud switch was what I was referring to. Setzer takes them out of his & leaves a hole.

Speaking of beaters...

This one is a bit more beat up than I usually like 'em.

I'll make a formal post on the rest-of-ration that will happen to this 350 body I bought off Len (thanks!). The reality is this is a long and involved project but the idea is this: Strip guitar, remove back, reglue body & back (both have center split), bind it, remove & strip the neck from the black 330 (both are '91's), reshape the heal & reset neck, amber fireglo & fiber top HiGains+HB1. A B5 is in the maybe column.

Next build bass neck (30" scale possibly) for the 330, bind, set neck, back & refin, 2 HB-1's no top pickguard. I'm too small for a normal size bass and fatigue on every one I have played and I'm tired of playing things made of masonite. A 330 with a shorter scale bass neck would be about perfect and I know I'm not the only one who has had that idea. May go AFG as well for a complete set, 350, 330 bass & 370WB.

I've been reading everything I can find on attempting this, failure is not an option here. If it takes a jig, build a jig, no shortcuts. A FG 24 fret 350 has been a dream guitar of mine since I started playing 22 years ago. A RIC bass has been a dream to but I could not justify an instrument I can't play for hours & hours at a time. My dad builds ukes and has many of the tools needed to do both instruments including planning & bookmatching a new back if needed, building & fretting a neck, heat blanket for removing back etc. Other than that lots of blood, sweat, tears and titebond...

I guess my '73 JG 4001 might qualify. Previous owners certainly rode it hard & put it away wet. One of them tried to turn it into a righty; boogered up the nut and the saddles, and drilled holes where they don't belong. It has dozens of little dings all over it, front and back, like someone hit it with a ball-peen hammer. In addition, on the back are dozens of what I can only describe as worm tracks - like someone put a small ball bearing under a metal plate; pushed down fairly hard, and rolled it around. A couple of friends keep telling me it's buckle rash, but it's not like any I've ever seen. Odd thing is, none of this stuff has gone through the finish. Also has the usual paint chips in the usual places, which wouldn't bother me; but that other stuff...

How about the brown fretless 4005 which has been on eBay (from music-outlet-shoppe) for a good while now? Has anyone given serious thought to making him an offer and bringing the old girl back to life? I doubt if you could restore it and sell it for a profit, but it might make a really enjoyable long-term project, for a well-loved model of bass.

What is the general consensus of the forum on that guitar? Is it a real Ric, or has it been too badly damaged to be able to tell?

It's real. It sat around on ebay for way too much money for a long time before it was eventually stripped of parts and those sold off individually. Seems to me it was stained or something like that which might make it hard to refinish to something decent...

Thankyou very much for the information, CJJ!
I confess I'm surprised that it is still there, when it is not much more expensive than a brand-new 4003. The restoration would be an expensive job, and the stain would limit your finish options somewhat - but all the same, it's a 1960s 4005! I doubt whether I would go for it myself, but I'm surprised that it has sat around for so long.

Unfortunately. it's wrong-handed (for me), else it would have been mine a while ago. I've had to pass on lots of neat stuff for that reason-story of my life.

GIBrat51 wrote:Unfortunately. it's wrong-handed (for me), else it would have been mine a while ago. I've had to pass on lots of neat stuff for that reason-story of my life.

Not necessarily.

And, Greg has more than being a lefty to deal with. There's all that food behind him that he keeps eyeing!

GIBrat51 wrote:Unfortunately. it's wrong-handed (for me), else it would have been mine a while ago. I've had to pass on lots of neat stuff for that reason-story of my life.

I'm sorry to hear that, Chris. That must be a real nuisance, and you often have to pay more for a left-hander too!
I know that this is a somewhat obvious question, but have you tried to play right-handedly? My dad is left-handed, but he has always played as a right-hander - it is just the way that he learnt! It seems to make more sense to me, when you think about it - your "strong" hand is doing all of the trickiest fingerwork. It might be worth giving it a try, perhaps just for ten minutes a day; give it six months or so, and see how confident you feel about making the switch!

Anyway, good luck finding the bass of your dreams. I hope that one day you will walk into a dark little secondhand shop and find a left-handed (whatever it is that you lust after the most) which nobody else can make use of, sitting there at an incredibly low price, waiting for you to take it home!

When you think about it, a normal right handed 4005 is an ideal bass to play correctly righty or lefty given how there is full access to the fingerboard at the 20th fret as it does not extend into the body.

I know you mean well, Bassmouse, so I'll just say Yes, I have tried to play right handed, off and on since I was 10 (I'm 62 now). The answer is, unfortunately, no I can't. Yes, lots of people who are leftys can play righty. Most of them can usually do lots of other stuff right handed, too. I can't do much except use a computer mouse right handed, without looking severely retarded. The problem is that nobody is genetically left handed; humans are the only mammal without a "left hand" gene. The prevailing theory is that we become left handed shortly before or during a difficult birth, which can deprive the left side of the brain of oxygen. The brain "switches sides" to compensate, resulting in varying degrees of leftiness. I'm so left handed I can't even shoot with my right eye; after a couple of minutes, my brain shuts my eyes down, and I'm completely blind in one eye/ blurry in the other for 5-10 minutes. Drove the M-60 and M-203 instructors crazy, until they finally let me shoot left handed. You can't imagine how often I wish I was a righty!. And, a 4005 might work fairly well upside down, if my left arm wouldn't be resting on top of all the knobs; might make for some interesting sounds, though.