Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

HI folks,i need help!I have a 800 that needs parts.i talked to Kenny at rickenbacker, he sent me to DALE FORTUNE who worked for ricky and he lives not 20 mins from me!Nice guy,he said what i have is probably in the best shape he had ever seen.Sadly it was stripped sometime in the 60s all the parts are missing off the body.what i have is a beautiful neck,tuners,nameplate,stripped body,backplate,and one very nice case.The body was nicly striped and is still bare.The neck was possibly refinished very early on and has a beautiful warm buttery checked look,aaaaaaaawesommm!!The nameplate is gold aluminium with one tiny scratch.IT was the rarer bluegreen color.thankfully someone at the factory penciled the last three numbers of the serial on the backplate leaving me to find the rest on my own. not knowing if it was a 600 or 800 until i noticed in velvet case lining the indent from where two switches sat,cool a 800!Upon further exam i saw that the knob indents were tarnished like the rest of the spots where the chrome parts sit,AAHAA!!!It had chrome knobs!So now i have the serial number and some understanding of the parts i need.All this leads me to beleive its a 1954.The body was hollowed out different than ive seen in the books that are out.It was done with a drill bit about 2 in dia.not routed out, leading me to bleive it is very early 54. I have missed a couple of steelguitars on ebay that had parts i needed to my frustration.So i am looking for a horseshoe p.u.Double coil if possibly but Dale says he can rewire a single to a double,the chrome knobs,switches,jackplate,pickguard,bridge,tailpiece,strapknobs and pots.does anyone know the numbers of the pots i need?does anyone have one apart that could look for me?any and all help to bring this guitar back to life would be greatly appreciated.Instant positive guitar karma for those who help me bring my 800 back to life.Thanks

Forgetthekarma,I'dsettleforafewextraspacesinthatparagraph.

More legible:

Hi folks!

I have a 800 that is in need of parts. I spoke to Kenny Howes at Rickenbacker, and he in turn sent me to Dale Fortune. Dale, of course, worked for Rickenbacker in the 70's, and happens to live not 20 minutes from me! He's a nice guy - he informed me that my 800 was in the best shape of any he had seen.

Sadly, the paint was stripped sometime in the 60's - it was a professionally done job. The guitar was originally Turquoise (Blue-green?). What I have left is a beautiful neck, tuners, nameplate (Which is made of gold aluminum and is mint save for a tiny scratch), body, back plate, and one very nice case.

It's possible that the neck was refinished very early on. Today, there is some checking, though the color is a nicely aged maple (alder?).

Thankfully, someone at the factory penciled the last three numbers of the serial on the backplate leaving me to find the rest on my own.

I had no idea whether it was a 600 or 800 series guitar - until I did a little investigating of the case. In the velvet lining of the lid, I could see the indent of two switches - making the guitar an 800. I was also able to deduce that this guitar formerly had chrome knobs, by some tarnishing on the case lid where they once sat.

Based on all my findings, as well as the evidence, I believe the guitar to have been made in 1954. I have compared my 800 to that of the 800's i've seen in the Rickenbacker books currently in print, and the body of mine appears to have been hollowed-out differently - it was apparently done with a drill bit about 2" in diameter, rather than being routed out.

Unfortunately, I missed out on a few Rickenbacker lap steels that had many of the parts I needed for my guitar. Most importantly, I'm looking for a horseshoe pickup - Double coil, if possible. Dale says he can rewire a single coil to a double, but I would prefer an original.

The rest of the parts I'm in need of are: the chrome knobs, the switches, a jack plate, a pickguard, a bridge, a tailpiece, strap buttons, and pots (Does anyone know the numbers of the pots i need?).

Any and all help to bring this guitar back to life would be greatly appreciated. Instant positive guitar karma! Thanks.

Ah! my eyes are working again. Thanks John. I was going cross eyed reading that long run on post.

Oh! You need some parts? I understand your dilemma now.

Hello John Biscuti,

Thank you for taking the time to edit,rewrite, and repost my message. That letter was in fact, my first ever attempt at typing and using the internet. You may not believe that at 48, I have never learned to type. That posting took me a frustrating two hours. Your effort is appreciated. However, I don't understand your desire to sterilize my personality.

Sorry Brian...Yes, any and all help finding parts is appreciated.

I had my wife type this for me, hopefully that will help.

Rory! Didn't mean to step on any toes. Often times I actually do that for my own use in the Text Edit program. Once in a while, there are long posts on message boards, like yours, that I find difficult to read (I'm also training for a career as a newspaper or magazine editor). When I saw that Alan made a comment, I decided to just post it as I had rewritten it.

Welcome to the forum and the internet, and I hope you find the parts you're looking for. You've certainly come to the right place.

Welcome Rory,

I was just having a bit of fun (albeit at your expense) no malice intended. Good luck with your search.

Dale is a great resource and in fact may be able to assist you to find old parts. You may also try a short want list in the "Wanted" section of the forum.