Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I just recently purchased a 1981 Rick 320 in a very dark Burgandyglo finish, its so dark and has lots of weather checks, that you almost cant see the grain...Its almost darker around the edges and shaded on the neck and headstock like a Fireglo finish but its very hard to see this because its such a dark burgandy....ever heard of Rickenbacker doing that ???
I found another 81 320 in better shape... in what I think is a Burgandyglo also, but Im not sure if its really a Burgandyglo or a color Im not aware of, its much lighter than the other, almost a dark tomato soup color, it has more of a red/orange in the burgandy, like the dark red in a Fireglo finish, but its not a cherry red, the 320 I have now has more Brown/blue in the Burgandy...
Is this second guitar Ive found, faded out or is it a completely different color than Burgandyglo...was there a lighter red/burgandy see through color or did Rickenbackers colors vary that much??? Its a radical difference in shades between the guitars, but I think you could call them both Burgandyglo...Im trying to figure out if one has been refinished, Ive looked at both real carefully and they both look factory.
the guitar I have now has weather checking all in the finish like a Gibson, that makes me think it might be, Rick finishes dont usually do this do they???? and the other just has a few, I thought I would buy this nicer one and sell my other, they're both cool, and different enough that I dont think I would get tired of them??? Im just not sure if I need 2 Rick 320s, I dont really play a 320 that much, I just set around playing early Beatles songs while pecking at the computer, I never use a 320 on a gig, so Im trying to justify keeping both...plus Im not rich, so I really should sell one off.... I now have the delema of trying to figure out the one I want to keep...or if Burgandyglo or whatever the other one is, is a rare color on a 320, if I should try to hold on to both???

which one would you keep???
the darker or the lighter burgandy 320....
the dark looks more like a black "Lennon" with a little kick, you do a dbl. take, but its no in as good a shape....the lighter, is in better shape and has a really cool look, you can tell its a shade of red/burgandy...

I posted this before but Im going to ask it again, because no one answered it in detail...they just told me I should keep it....
How hard is it to sell these burgandy Lennon style 320s from the 80s??? I assume most people want a maple or black 320...what is the price diffences between a burgandy and a black, does it really matter??? would the Burgandy one be more rare and people would want it more or less???
I would think I could get 800.00 with a ohsc case, for one of them, they are both in good shape, one has more finish checking...
is that a fair price to sell it for...

please help me deside....
I just dont know....


thanks
FRANK M. ROBINSON III

Burgindyglo is a color that is not in the can ,but in the hand of the painter.

This past year I resprayed a bass for Don Adamek and he had a piece of an old 'burg' that he had me match.
I have seen this as a really light reddish brown and an almost black ..depends on who sprayed it and what they thought it should look like .

Mark MD
I guess I have 2 examples of it then...
Its strange that the colors would be so far off....one being almost black and another a lighter faded looking SG color...
Did some of the spray men shade the guitars like a FireGlo??? Did they have a case of FireGLo on the brain and had been spraying Sunbursts all day and then someone requested a Burgandy and they just sprayed it in this style....I would think that there are other Burgandyglo 320s out there besides the 2 I have....
would they have sprayed...a lot of ten 320s or whatever needed to be sprayed or whatever the body builders had sent over and were ready for a finish...three 320s, eight 330s , five 360 12s and four 4001s....kinda like that???

Im interested in your history with Rickenbacker, Im sure Im not the only one your tidbit are always very interesting to me.....
Im sure if you wrote your history, it would take up a lot of space and your time, but briefly could you give us a small idea of what you did at the factory and the years you where there??? did you meet any famous Rick users or famous star geetars, we should know about....
Did you ever get to talk to F.C. Hall or bump into old man Rickenbacher who might have been coming by just for old time sake????
If you posted this before and I over looked it, Sorry ???

Mark, I hope I'm not driving you too nutty asking about my ol 320s every other day....
thanks for taking the time to answer though....

FRANK M ROBINSON III

Lots of questions ....so

Yes I did get to meet Mr Rickenbacker ...a very soft spoken gentleman and not long before his passing.

What did I do at the plant ?
I worked in every station except winding coils and working on a mill .

This does not include running the plant ...Ward Deaton was the head of operations and Bill Meyers and Dick Burke were the Captains of the ship.
I never held there jobs.
Bill at one point took me under his wing and started to show me every aspect of the finishing building .I wish he were alive to ask him what his intention was .
I miss the man and all that knowledge that he passed to me I relish.
The guitar men that most influence me have been Bill,Klaus Heyne,Hideo Kamimoto,Don Teeter,and Rod Brower .Without there knowledge and input ...I would not be where I am today.

Yes I did see and speak to F.C. Hall on a regular basis.He came to the plant every day to pick up the finished instruments .

Yes I have worked on famous guitars owned by famous Rick users and the list of the famous is long who use any kind of guitars .I have been in the right place at the right time and have a seemingly abundant favor in this area.

But it is just me ...no big deal .I do what I do and aim to please the consumer.

I wish that there was a book (I always wish there was more detailed guitar books) where all the old ex-Rickenbacker employees told shop stories, told how the bodies were made and how they put the binding on what materials, laquers or polys....the time so and so came to work drunk and invented the slant fret 481..... all that detailed stuff.... this may bore some folks, but I find it very interesting...i think if you guys dont tell the stories and the history, people wont know or will make it up or the folks wont be around to tell it and that would be a bad thing.....but we cant always get what we want and it would take tons of work....
I would love to hear the old stories of what it was like to work for the REAL Rickenbacker Company/factory before Johnny Hall got it....
It had to be interesting to be able to see all that old 50s 60s wood working machinery and look around and stumble onto old 50s Rick bodies...work on Paul McCartneys 4001s.....
You were lucky to be able too see it before it all changed....Im sure you know that....
thanks for sharing that tidbit.....
what years were you at the company????
I am guessing it was late 60s to mid 80s???
thanks MD

Mark,
I know I asked you in the post above about the Burgandyglos....
Was the Ruby finish that was offered in the 80s a see-through or opaque color...
Im not totally sure that the second guitars thats more light red, is a burgandyglo....it looks like the ruby but Ive seen Ruby and i was thinking i remembered it as a opaque RED metalic color...

thanks for putting up with all the geekin...
FRANKRAT

I just answered this on another post.

Ruby is basically Candy Apple Red

It has a silver base coat with a red tinted clear top coat and then clear over that.

thanks Mark, I guess what i have is a very light Burgandyglo...
It hard to believe that the colors would vary that much...
I looked on my Fireglo 360-12 v64 and its the same color as the red in the fireglo, except its red all over...
thanks for anwsering my million questions...
FRANK

My 1972 4001 is Burgundyglo. The best way to describe the colour is to refer to it as "eggplant" as in the vegetable. It's real dark, you'd swear it's black until you get up close and look at in the proper light, but it's burgundyglo. My personal favourite all time RIC colour.
Cheers
Jon
PS - Keep the dark coloured 320

Bassman....
I think you right, i like the dark one but its not in as good of shape...but who cares really....thats not a big deal.... its so hard for me to figure out the one to keep, i like both but its hard for me to deside....Im sure some of you have been through this....I just really dont need to have 2 Rick 320s I dont really play a 320 on stage but I want one around for the house and its geek time in front of the puter ticking on the forum playing along to the BBC sessions.....
thanks for the input.....
I think I have drove everyone nuts on here asking...Im going to post a vote on which on to keep....

From painter to painter ,era to era colors change.

One reason is the formula for mixing ,

2-the speed in which you move your arm to spray the color

3- the dye in the color and how much UV it has been exposed to

4-how many layers of color went on to it

5- the color of the original maple and what kinds of cosmetic defects are there and does it need to be dark or not .

6- the painter preferance to the shading

7- the guy who trained the painter and his impression of what the color should look like and he may think that the 1960' to 1978 era were just plain but ugly and think that more brown would look better.Management says ...try it ,it looks good ,it becomes the 'new' look.

these are just a few of the reasons for differences.