Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Grey wrote:Now I just need to know what that weird white single cut is and my curiosity will be sated.

It is in the top left of this picture.

It even has a R in between the pickups!

Infront of a gutted 6xx guitar with a 480-style headstock???

Where is this magical place.

It's Rickenbacker Walhalla!

A tiny R between two humbuckers, insane! And Grey's right abiout that 600-series with 480 headstock! Wow!

Grey wrote:Infront of a gutted 6xx guitar with a 480-style headstock???

Where is this magical place.

I looks like it has a slight german carve to it as well.

IvanMunoz wrote:I looks like it has a slight german carve to it as well.

Looks like it, the horn even seems to have some extra carve! Ric really need to add a section to their website where they show off these rarities!

Wildberry wrote:

IvanMunoz wrote:I looks like it has a slight german carve to it as well.

Looks like it, the horn even seems to have some extra carve! Ric really need to add a section to their website where they show off these rarities!

+1 Werner. That would be great.

A lot of those type instruments were what-ifs or just experiments to try ideas. Dead ends, if you will.

Can Forum Members take a Tour of the Factory? See where are Ricks were born!

Thanks,

Glenn

The Rickenbacker "Contact" Web page (http://www.rickenbacker.com/corporate.asp) says:

Please note that our corporate office is a manufacturing facility only. We do not have a showroom or retail counter, and we do not offer factory tours.

Martin Guitars, in Nazareth PA, has a visitor center, museum, store and a nifty factory tour. Well worth doing.

I hear Fender, in Corona CA, now has a visitor center, museum and a factory tour.

I wonder what the cost/benefit ratio is for having the factory tours?

LenMinNJ wrote:
I wonder what the cost/benefit ratio is for having the factory tours?

E.g.: More customer loyalty for less money than usual advertising or expensive sponsoring.

LenMinNJ wrote:Martin Guitars, in Nazareth PA, has a visitor center, museum, store and a nifty factory tour. Well worth doing.

I second that - informative tour guide the time I went. I like the way they built the shape of a guitar into the design of the visitor center.They also have two places where you can try out a variety of instruments.

johnallg wrote:A lot of those type instruments were what-ifs or just experiments to try ideas. Dead ends, if you will.

Guitars are not like cars - the body shape and main hardware lay-out on a design is difficult or impossible to put in a different place without redoing the whole guitar and ending up with something completely different. In that way close to all guitar designs are dead ends.

Wildberry wrote:

johnallg wrote:A lot of those type instruments were what-ifs or just experiments to try ideas. Dead ends, if you will.

Guitars are not like cars - the body shape and main hardware lay-out on a design is difficult or impossible to put in a different place without redoing the whole guitar and ending up with something completely different. In that way close to all guitar designs are dead ends.

So true. When I said dead ends, I was meaning in the context of their place in the development of the Rick instruments that have been manufactured for sale. What I read into the query I was addressing was that these instruments led to production models. Ideas may have, but not the models themselves. Their interest, at least for me, is in what other ideas were floated at RIC over the years.

johnallg wrote:So true. When I said dead ends, I was meaning in the context of their place in the development of the Rick instruments that have been manufactured for sale. What I read into the query I was addressing was that these instruments led to production models. Ideas may have, but not the models themselves. Their interest, at least for me, is in what other ideas were floated at RIC over the years.

Ah, okay, now I get it How many ideas never went beyond drawing, or one off that somehow got lost?

Still, it would be cool if they'd feature these models somehow online with some info on specs. That way we would have a good look at them and talk about them until the end of times