Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Am I right?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=150123187361&rd=1&rd=1

Considering what autumnglos have been going for lately, $1200 is nice, and it looks like better shape than the last one that went for way more.

Unless I'm missing something?

AutumnGlo? Looks like my 78 Walnut. Still a good price though.

I can't tell the difference, although I know my own is AG. I'm convinced they're really the same thing, and the Walnut finish is a myth cooked up by long-time posters and John Hall to see how many people would go along with it. At least that would explain why they look the same to me (in pictures, anyway).

Dang, that puppy was only about 30 miles from me....

The reason why AutumnGlo and Walnut look the same is because both finishes are exactly the same colour!

AutumnGlo is satin, Walnut is gloss.

Until recently AG's fetched relatively less than other finishes on eBay. Not many liked this color or the matte finish. Seems like it's changed now.

I like Autumnglo a lot. I'd get one if I could.

AutumnGlo and Walnut are not the same color.

This is AtumnGlo

This is Walnut

I would've thought they'd vary in the way that fireglos do.

They do vary in consistency for the same reasons that FireGlo, and nearly all guitar finishes do.
Different batches of pigment, different spray booth workers on the day, and different ageing conditions once the guitar leaves the factory.

JH has stated before, and I own one of each, so I too know - 1970s/80s AutumnGlo and Walnut are the same colour.

From what I've seen, Autumnglo is the color that has the greatest variance of all Ric finishes. It varies from dark brown edges (like Montezuma Brown), to iced tea burst, to an almost un-burst like the pic Ben Brown posted. Maybe the pigment tends to fade, maybe they were just applied differently at the factory, I don't know.

Autumnglo and Walnut are the same pigment. The difference is that Autumnglo is matte (satin) and Walnut is high-gloss. What futher complicates the distinction (aside from the "-glo" suffix to a matte finish...) is that Autumnglo, after years of playing the guitar, gets "polished" and starts to reflect light like Walnut.

But beyond the matte or gloss finish, Autumnglo and Walnut are sometimes the same color, and sometimes not. There have been examples of very orangey color, and some kinda greenish brown over the years. I don't think over the course of these colors that a single formula of color was taken off a shelf, used, and the rest put back until next time. My theory is that it was an "eyeball" mix, made when enough orders for "Walnut" or "Autumnglo" was attained. Yes, there's a lot of variation depending on who was spraying, but over the years, you can see a marked difference in hue.

On the other hand, you can see variation in the application of Monte Brown, from nearly black to soft "ice tea" brown on the outer edges. But if you look at the lighter areas, you can see it is the same hue. Montezuma Brown (MB) was the color of the year for 2003 and 2004, but production extended until sometime in 2006, I believe. That fairly short period would enhance consistency. My theories, anyway.

Never string your bass in the dark!

Ben, my Autumnglo is the same shade as the Walnut you pictured -- and I'm sure it's an Autumnglo.

I agree, lots of variation. A nice dark AG/Walnut with black plastic is my personal favorite look.

I think it's a little strange that there are two colors that are identical except that one is glossy and the other is matte. I wonder why both were available (and then sort of resurrected as Monty Brown, which is not totally different, but generally more bursty). I mean, there's only 1 version of the other more common colors.

Maybe I'm the only one obsessed with Autumnglo (and maybe I prefer it to Walnut just because it sounds cooler).