Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Shoot, what'd I miss?

Elys, you're in for a treat with the '66 4005WB. The neck on my '66 is thinner then the neck on Jeff's '67, I think! Though i'm sure he'd disagree.

YOU DID IT NOW ELYS.

What did I miss?

That's not a bad idea, Scott! It is not one that I had yet found enough brain cells to rub together to see yet

Hi Dave, you didn't miss anything.

JB, I can't wait! That 66 4005 WB is in its original state of MG now, a little ambered I am told, but I do not have any photos of it yet from Dale...will post as soon as I receive any!

Peter, your question is a good one. A short answer is that it would look bad, because the repair is noticeable now as a FG, and might be very noticeable once the MG finish clarity reveals the full grain of the wood. A long-winded answer:

I don't think the sanded-off heel will matter much, that is hidden and it will be a player and show bass anyway. I will get a closeup taken of the headstock and post soon, if you want to see it. The headstock was broken off just above the A-string tuner. It broke off most of the crest of the wave, sorta. The visible portion of the repair is two-fold:

One is the fact that new wood appears to have been spliced in, instead of just regluing the old piece of wood that was broken off. Second is that the joinery was not tight enough for the seam to be invisible, and it was not sealed properly with clear sealer before applying the dark pigment portion of the FG paintjob. So the seam has soaked up more dark hue than the face of the wood on either side. Consequently, when sanding is done, the dark seam will still stand out.

Daryl had the refin done by Dan Shin at Lay's Guitars in Akron OH, so it was not exactly a known-artisan luthier like a Paul W. or Dale F. who did the refin in the first place. So it is possible that with the FG pigment removed, the seam will still stand out as very dark and noticeable. Plus, the grain will be very dissimilar.

At present, with the FG finish on, the seam and repair is very noticeable, and stands out to the naked eye.

If, however, a Paul W. could sand enough thickness off of the headstock to eliminate the pigment soaked down into the repair seam, then it is a no-brainer to take it back to MG

And if it is ambered MG, so much the better, thanks again, Scott!

Elys, why not make it the ultimate Chris Squire L.E.? The color would hide the work, and I'm pretty sure nearly everyone loves that look!

Mainly because I love MG My 1966 4005 WB is MG too. The 68 is FG, but I would rather it had been MG too if I had the choice. The only FG I have really fallen in love with so far is my Jan 1970 21-fretter, and it is a real 10 out of 10 NOS-looking original finish.

My favorite will always be the eggplant burgundy that came on my factory-new March 1971 21-fretter back when I bought it new in April 1971. But not BG on a 63 (although that would solve the wood problem for good ).

Another consideration is to cut off the wings, then in the good wood cut a diagonal, then splice a new, somewhat matching piece of maple back on so the joint is almost impossible to see, then new wings. Dale or Paul.....

I'd do a Squire conversion on it with the correct guard and all the other minor details that the signature series didn't have. The broken headstock just makes it that much more authentic!

Elys...once you go Jetglo, you'll never go back...just ask Sean W. if you don't believe me...

As far as shaving the neck, I'm the wrong guy to ask...I'm opposed to shaving anywhere...

Elys,
I shaved down the neck on my V63, using an old spokeshave. I even replicated the older style volute shape on the back. I think there are some pics in my Vibrola thread?
Thanks to those that contributed to the old thread "Measure your Girth", it came out really nice. I used the slimmest dimensions given, from a '64 S. Dale's almost finished with it now (no pun intended!), and commented on how nice it felt to him.
I say go for it!

Sounds like Dane is a Neet kinda guy (just kiddin)...

The Squire conversion is tempting - just paint it a one-off solid color and forget about what the wood looks like. I could even restore the square heel profile that way!

Sean, your "Measure your Girth" thread was brilliant. The only thing that thread lacked was a listing of the fingerboard radius for each dimensioned neck cited. The radius has a great deal to do with feel and speed, too. Maybe we should update or run it again?

The thread wasn't mine, Elys... I'm actually not sure who began it?
It sure is a great resource though!

Anybody remember the author?

Wasn't it Jeff Thomas? He came equipped with a tape measure when he checked out the V63 I sold him. I also let him measure my CS, and probably my S.

It was Jeff.

Thanks, Kevin... memory is the second thing to go!