Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Again, thanks for the kind comments. And those of you who thought it was ugly were kind enough NOT to post...

Dale: You are right. The 381 is a spectacular guitar and was my inspiration on this small project. To an accomplished luthier and ex-Rick employee like yourself and Mark, something like this is a "duck soup" type of project; compared to building entire guitars that are beautiful and play well, cutting pickguards is a simple matter. Thank you for your compliment.

Howard: You're a really terrific guy to talk to and to joke with!

John, Bill, Paul: Kind comments from those who have been around the Forum for awhile, mean a lot to me in my strange pursuit of the impossible goal of even more beautiful Ricks.

Gretsch pickguards (I own a couple) seem to be done two ways. The old MIA ones were pantograph-engraved manually, probably with a Preiss machine. The newer ones I've seen, since they are made in Asia where injection-mold tooling is relatively inexpensive, look to be injection-molded of acrylic, with different colors sprayed on the back.

There then seem to be secondary operations to drill and route for different pickup and screw combinations.

But I could be wrong...what's (mis?)guiding me is that the new GRETSCH lettering seems to be molded in, rather than panto-engraved.

Paul, I was hoping to see pictures of the whole guitar! I love the 381's!

OK, Steve, next time I set it up I'll get some GOOD pictures of the entire instrument. Couple of days tops.

Here's a small quicky, Steve. I'll get some nice detailed larger shots up on Photobucket when the project's done.

Still the color's way off, thanks to flash photography and web color shift. It's much browner and less reddish! But you get the idea. Wish you could see it in person.

I love those! Those are the best looking Rick guitars, IMHO. Congrats on that beauty!!

That MB colour (sic) looks sssoooooo coooool!! I'd get a 381 in a flash (well..... as long as it took to get here - read probably at least a year) if I had the $4800 smackeroos it would cost!

Paul, would you consider a 12 string version (even more dosh!!)? What coulor (sic) would you consider (seeing as how MB is off the menu)? I've already got a Fireglo, and I'll probably get a 620 in Jetglo anyway. That leaves Mapleglo (or Blueburst if they'd make it).

I like the Blueburst color (sic) but how would it look in a 381, do ya think?

You see? I'm already looking to you as a guru!! Might start calling you the 'Lasermeister'.

Maybe I could order one and get it shipped to you and have the 'Wilczynski factor' applied (thinkin' out loud now)!

Cheers

Howard, I could find you a new MB 381V69-12 in a couple of days! Several are available here in the USA from stock. Cost is around $1960.00 US. Then there's the shipping to Australia... I've never heard the 12 version on the 381, but I'm guessing a wider tone variation than my 660 solid body and much more bottom end. Then there's Ric-O-Sound, which 660s don't have.

A BBR 381 is something I'd like to see. I'd guess that there would be a long wait on it. If I had one, I'd do something a bit different in the pickguard department, don't know what, but something more contempo than gold, for sure...

I hope youse guys (Chicago accent comin' troo) aren't getting bored with the whole 381 narrative thread I've started, 'cause here's the latest TRC I've dished up. It's a bit more showy than the all-gold one, and it's growing on me:

[IMG]http://photobucket.com/albums/v693/jingle_jangle/19.jpg[IMG]

This one was done in several stages. First, the laser cutting and engraving. Then a polishing of the face with SCRATCH-X to remove the light laser "halo" that happens in the course of etching the logo. Next, the Rick logo and MADE IN U.S.A legend were vapor-polished to make them smooth, but still retain some of the graphic texture of the engraving.

When the logo was deemed smooth enough, a thin coating of Alsa Mirra-Chrome was sprayed into the logo cavities. When dry, the excess was wiped off the flat areas and the entire back surface of the TRC was painted with the gold urethane that I mixed up the other day.

Mirra-Chrome is a new coating which uses atomized aluminum in a special combination of aromatic solvents. It's sprayed onto a very smooth surface in a micro-thin coating. Ordinary plexiglas (acrylic sheet) painted on the back surface with Mirra-Chrome, looks like a mirror (NOT like silver paint) when viewed from the front (through the acrylic). Alsa says "98% reflectivity", and it's obvious.

So now the Rick lettering looks like chrome, and the background is the nice gold color to match the pickguards.

And, except for the major mod of the Accent and the minor changes in pickup and pickguard mounting, it's drawing to a close.

Incidentally, I recalled todat that I said I would not reveal how I was making the TRC. This was before I decided to laser-cut and engrave it. (I was going to do a non-engraved stock-looking one, but with the different shade of gold.)

But the laser cutting and engraving was just too cool to pass up, and it's not likely that anyone will be counterfeiting these anytime soon, because it's the ORIGINAL type ones that are worth the bucks. Still, my versions will not be for sale; the trademark issues haven't changed.

My tongue was firmly planted in my cheek, Paul but you are 'the man' when it comes to this sort of stuff.

$1960 USD converts to around $2500 AUD so that's pretty good. However, add shipping ($????), insurance ($????) and duty (probably 3%) and it gets up a bit. Worth thinking about, but not until my inheritance comes through.

Wise old saying: 'He who rushes in risks coming out backwards at twice the speed!'

Cheers

Odd, isn't it, that we come out backwards at twice the speed, but still we have forever to look at where we've been...

Blueburst with Mirra-Chrome pickguards would look cool.

Ted, Mirra-chrome pickguards look like chrome-plated metal. That would be one flashy guitar!

I'm still thinking about what I'd like to try on a BBR.

Wow.... That is truly stunning. Awesome work! In the above photo it looks like the guitar is glowing--it's radiant with its new guards and knobs!