Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Thanks,John!We were pressed for time last summer in Kalamazoo,so I didn't get to see you there...wife/kids/etc...but I did take a quick tour of the Heritage plant @ 225 Parsons Street (my fourth time),and I grabbed a pint of pale ale @ the Old Peninsula and another @ Bells...thanks for the tip...next time I'm in town,the beers on ME!

Sounds like a plan. All I'd need is a heads up.

Back in '98, I had a '94 360/12 for sale. A guy from up North said that he would be down my way and would like to see the guitar. It turns out that he could only get as close as 80 miles from me so I volunteered to drive the rest of the way. So, I meet him at his inlaw's farm. In the middle of nowhere. He gave me horrible directions, but I finally arrive. He looks at the guitar and is obviously a beginner guitarist. He strums it once or twice and says.....I'll think about it. So I graciously thank him for his time and leave. I felt like tipping a cow over before I left but I knew that it was my fault.
The good news? He calls me back a week later and buys it.

Sounds like it was a quick decision on his part with lousy communication skills. At least the sale went through. Bet you were glad you didn't tip that cow over!

I favorite RIC acquisition story is the time I rigged the SoCal Confluence raffle so that I won the 660-12.

alanz wrote:I favorite RIC acquisition story is the time I rigged the SoCal Confluence raffle so that I won the 660-12.

You thought you won a 660/12; looked more like a 620/12 to me!

That blue 12 string thing that my guitarist plays all the time.

Welcome, Matt, and great story jwilli!

I went back in the thread thinking that I had already told my tale(s), but apparently I have not ... so here it is.

In 1998 I was just starting to gather Rickenbackers and was thinking about acquiring a bass (I may have already bought a 3001 MG by then). I spotted in the Yahoo classifieds a "1981 4001 Fretless Fireglo" in Houston TX. I e-mailed the guy and indicated my interest, and after talking to the guy on the phone, we were moving toward a transaction. About this time my ex-step-daughter called and said that she was having trouble making payments on the Pontiac Grand Am I had helped her buy, and would it be OK if I took over the car and the payments. She was in Mobile AL, so that meant I'd need to fly back there and drive the car back to San Diego (where I was living at that time). I said, sure, and made plans. Being that Houston was on the way back, I contacted the seller of the bass and arranged it so that I would stop in Houston and we would meet, and I'd most likely buy the bass. When we met, he took the bass case out and when I opened it up, to my absolute surprise, inside was the 4000 FL BG. He said that he had bought in in 1983 from a dealer as old stock. I tried to hide my elation (even though it was early in my collecting life, I knew this to be really, really special) and after playing it a bit, said, "Yep, I'll buy it" and handed over the full asking price of $400. Oh, it also wasn't a 1981, it was a 1977
My other story occurred about a year later. I was doing a generic Yahoo or AltaVista search for "rickenbacker for sale" one night, and on the second page of hits was this one that I had not seen before: "Rickenbacker 370/12v64 Fireglo for sale" ... "Hmmm," I thought, "I didn't think they made those ... must be a typo." I clicked on the link to the New York Bass and Guitar Boutique page, but the picture wasn't showing up. After doing a little on-line research, I decided that I had to see a picture of this guitar ... so I e-mailed the seller to have him/her e-mail me the picture. Next day, I check my e-mails, and I have a response. I opened the attached picture, and this is what I saw:
Whoa Nelly! That is a 370/12v64! So I call the guy (he gave his phone number in his e-mail reply) and talked to him. Really nice guy. He said that it was his brother's guitar that had been used a couple of times for recording in a studio, and not played otherwise. I then asked, "Can you ship it to California?" and as soon as he said yes, I said "I'll buy it." Total price: $895 + $20 shipping.

jwilli wrote:Back in '98, I had a '94 360/12 for sale. A guy from up North said that he would be down my way and would like to see the guitar. It turns out that he could only get as close as 80 miles from me so I volunteered to drive the rest of the way. So, I meet him at his inlaw's farm. In the middle of nowhere. He gave me horrible directions, but I finally arrive. He looks at the guitar and is obviously a beginner guitarist. He strums it once or twice and says.....I'll think about it. So I graciously thank him for his time and leave. I felt like tipping a cow over before I left but I knew that it was my fault.
The good news? He calls me back a week later and buys it.

I don't feel so bad about the drive you did for me now John! Many thanks again....

A couple from my years involving wonderfully helpful people, like our own JW above...

I found my 68 on VG online ads in 2002. The seller sends me some poor photo's and wanted top dollar at the time, cash only. He's selling for a friend who is the original owner. Once myself and Lefty, (thanks again John!) had gone over it, I decided to take a chance. By chance, a retired couple who are good friends are back in Philly that week for Thanksgiving. I give them an envelope full of dead presidents, his phone number and instructions not to leave the bass in the car on the way back south!

They are instructed to meet him in the parking lot of a hardware store to do the exchange. They didn't know what to expect, and said they felt like everyone was watching a drug deal as they handed over the envelope and took a case...

Thankfully, everything is kosher and the 68 gets home safe. I still couldn't believe the condition of it when I opened the case...


I found my 73 FL online at Loot in the UK. The seller responds telling me it's a 75 and the serial number is MD, and he's had it nearly 30 years, again, buying it from the original owner. After sending photo's, I am very interested and it just so happens my father in law is heading down to Southampton that weekend, and the seller is en route...

This poor man had to sell because his wife told him he could keep his organ, or the Ric, and like any good man, he chose his organ. Now, I know what you're thinking, and it's not that organ...

Again, like the 68, the photo's he sent didn't do the bass justice, and needless to say, I was very happy with his choice...

In '97, I saw an ad in VG advertising a '60s 365 FG. Price was $1700. I talked on the phone and decided to buy it. When it shows up, it turns out to be (probably) one of the earliest New Style 360s ever. (April , '64). The body shape was a bit different shape than any other New Style that I had seen before or since. Van Ghent tuners and square heel, too.

Wow!That fretless model 4000 is SUPER rare!And Burgundyglo,yet!You're a lucky man,Gary...and thanks for the welcome!It's nice to see some old friends here,and to make some new ones.

I got my (former) 340/12 from my favorite mom and pop store in Nashville that specialized in lots and lots of used gear, along with some lines of new stuff. A Rick was definitely something I'd never seen in his store to that date.

I had a Peavey Strat-ish guitar on layaway for some time. A real Strat was also something hardly ever seen in that store. So after months and months of making payments, I went in one afternoon to pay the thing off and take it home. He drug the Peavey out of the back room, I payed, and made the mistake of actually looking up on the "expensive" wall behind the register.

Big mistake.

I uttered something like"Oh son of a (bleep)."

There, on the wall, was a perfectly gorgeous 340/12 FG. The store owner smiled a very evil grin (bad bad man!) and said "try it out." Not unlike a drug dealer giving a newby his first hit for free. He knew darn well putting it in my hands was going to mean it would not leave my hands. I took the guitar from him, sat down, a little light headed, and noodled around on an amp for a few minutes. It was (and still is) a bit difficult for my fat fingers, but hey...Rick versus Peavey Strat knockoff. I was hooked.

So I asked him how much he would give me in trade on the guitar I just finished paying, a guitar that had never left the store for 10 months. He was very fair, making it only $50 less than the full price since it was out of rotation for that long. Now for the hard call home. I called my dear lovely ever understanding wife and only said "Honey, I'm at the store and have a problem"

"How much this time?" she asked.

Ouch! Cutting to the quick!

Well, the difference between the Peavey trade and the Rick price was not too bad at all, so I was granted permission. The store owner told me it was a 1997 (which did check out on the serial number later) which the previous owner had shoved under his bed for five years and brought out to trade for something else. So it was practically new for a used price.

Fast forward a few weeks later and I'm back in the store for more stuff. The store owner tells me that the Rick had been on his wall only a day when I got it. Someone had been in shortly before me very interested but had not done anything about it. Apparently this person came back in an hour after I left with the Rick, cash in hand to get the Rick. Woops!

The ole "ya snooze, ya loose" scenario! Great story Bruce.