Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Though I'm fairly new to the Ric world, I've fancied finding and doing a Ric project.

Ran across this seriously broken 345 on ebay.

Jeez, whadyathink guys.

Les

Ouch! Who mistreated that?

Uh-oh. Poor one.

It's got a ethereal beauty, like a dinosaur fossil or a longship in the mud. It’s (maybe) dead to use, but alive as art.

Mount it up and stick it in a gallery. Lovely.

Does it come in a box with glue and a set of instructions?

I reckon you could do anything you wanted with that one without criticism from anyone here, Ambrose - given the condition of it. Perhaps even cover it in snakeskin..........

Perhaps even cover it in snakeskin...

...or refinish it in Greenglo...

Or green snakeskin.....

...with pink spots...

hmm.... Green Glo(w) .... very cool....

patience & money .... hmmm

Ah! That! Picture! Again! I want it!!!!!
(i mean guitar, not the snake, of course).
Yeah, and with walnut hardware...

As a project, it certainly leaves a lot to be decided in what direction to take.
You could use some bare bones & have the rest built to be your dream guitar by Dale or Paul & still be able to call it a Rick, but it wouldn't be cheap.

Or perhaps a test subject to learn luthiery. It couldn't be in much worse shape.

That is a workable project. barely. I have some doubts as to it's authenticity though. No matter, it can still be a cool guitar.

It all depends on how much time and money you have. In the end, you will have invested far more than the actual worth, and judging from the condition of the parts, it will not ever be 100% right.

The question is, how much do you like doing projects?

I built an Allen Amp kit and it sounds real good. I never play through it because I have other amps I like better but the experience of building the amp and hand wiring it was really cool and worth the price of admission.

It looks like the real deal. And it's a lot of work, but repairable. Kevin's right--it wouldn't be cheap.

The wavey edge around the control pocket and lack of consistent wall thickness around the edge of the body, especially near the control cavity, look like some hack made them. Not at all what I'd expect from a manufacturer. That's why I question the authenticity.