Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I live in Fredericton, N.B. and at one point in time the cloest Rickenbacker Dealer was in Moncton, N.B., just a couple of hours away by car. At present, nothwithstanding possible changes in the works of which I have no current knowledge, the nearest dealer is in Montreal, a day away by car. So I am wonder, how far away is your Rickenbacker dealer?

One might argue that the nearest dealer, in our global economy, can be seen at your nearest computer, but this arrangement (which I have used three times already) doesn't really give one the opportunity to play a Rickenbacker and fully appreciate all the features before buying.

The closest Ric dealer is at Music City, which on the Yahoo Maps website says it's a 9.4 mile drive from where I live.

But, I prefer to go a little extra out of the way to Jackson Music, which is a 17.3 mile drive. The selection seems to be much better at Jackson, IMHO. Jackson is like between a "Mom & Pop" music store, with more of a corporate music store appeal with how much of stock they have on hand.

I can opt for a 150 mile trip to Atlanta, a 250-ish mile trip to Nashville, or go 800 miles to Houston to see and play a real, live Rickenbacker.

We have two dealers listed on the RIC web site in my home state, but one has only one guitar (the "salesman" I spoke to couldn't even tell me which model it was, or whether it was a 6- or a 12-string. He also couldn't quote a price, but said, "If I'm interested, I could come talk to the store owner and he's be happy to help me out." A real go-getter, that lad.) The other is no longer in bidness. Highland Music in Birmingham, AL, was a dealer until a couple of years ago, but they had some kind of a row with the company and are -- by mutual agreement -- no longer RIC dealers.

I tried New Orleans, 300 or so miles away; they list a couple of dealers, but they didn't appear to be actively stocking and selling Ric's at present. Both told me what (little) they had in stock and advised that they had no plans to order any more...

ON the ric website there's about six stores listed. Of those, only one with a showroom actually had a Rick in stock - GC in Raleigh. It was a nice 330 DG too - had I the money it would have been mine. The other (I should say first) option is MIke Parks in Raleigh - but I don;t believe he has a showroom, so you can;t play his without an appointment.

There's also a guy in Greensboro who wanted $1100 for a recent used FG 360, but I think he was overcharging. The Music Loft in CHapel Hill had a used JG 360 with some wiring/connection issues - but it sounded great when it was working. As far as I know, no conventional retailers (Besides Mr. Parks)in NC have any Rick basses. SOmebody please tell me I'm wrong.

Other than that, probably Atlanta.

I drove about an hour across Houston yesterday and visited Southpaws. They had six or seven Rics (not to count 4 basses) hanging on the wall. It's nice to be a lefty in the same city. Unfortunely, they didn't have the particular guitar that I wanted look at.

The closest Rickenbacker dealer is supposedly 100 or so miles away (Mauldin, SC). Last time I checked they had no new Ricks in stock! I usually choose Mike Parks (3 hours away, in another state). Maybe I could be the major RIC dealer in South Carolina?!?! I could certainly sell more than the guys in Mauldin, SC.

John, you probably have enough RICs to start the business today.

About fifteen minutes.

No ric dealers in my country at all, thank god for the internet.

4.5328 miles.

About 8 miles to the dealer I just traded my 620/12 for a 360/12 with. He only stocks 3-4 at a time, but that's a lot for the Detroit area. There are also two Guitar centers, but they don't really count. There is another store about thirty miles from home, and five from work, but again, 1-2 in stock. You never really see a wall-o-ricks around here. Although some stores have every possible Strat or Les Paul model and color on their walls. Even Elderly out in Lansing only carries 3-4 in stock.
Rob

I'm halfway between Chicago, with all their GC's and Sam Ash's, etc., and LaCrosse, WI, home of Dave's Guitars. Each is about 3 hours away. I have yet to make it to Dave's - I'm rarely in that neighborhood. But whenever I'm in Chicago, I try to hunt down and check out some place that carries Rickenbackers.

The closest Ric dealer to me is about 3 hours away by car. This shall improve when I move from Ontario to British Columbia.

I'm only a phone call away from anybody I have ever ordered a Rickenbacker from. Their physical locations are in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. I live in Texas. If I ever go anywhere in person to buy a Rickenbacker, it will probably be Ed Roman in Las Vegas, because I can combine it with a trip to Vegas and Ed always carries 100-150 Rickenbackers in stock, so there is plenty of selection. And if I hit the jackpot, there will be plenty of Rickenbackers to spend it on.

In reality, my next Rickenbacker dealer will probably be a seller on eBay, just like the last one that I got my 4004L from in the Denver, Colorado area. The local music stores do not carry Rickenbackers in stock, at least not the ones I would be interested in.

Too close!