Gorgeous Blueburst 660

brianeharmonjr · Post by **brianeharmonjr** » Sat Aug 11, 2007 5:38 pm

This may be the most beautiful guitar I have ever seen. Wow.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rickenbacker-660-6-String-The-Vintage-620-Model_W0QQitemZ230160868579QQihZ013QQcategoryZ41439QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

admin · Post by **admin** » Sun Aug 12, 2007 11:21 pm

Brain: I too, love the shading on this blueburst.

winston · Post by **winston** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:31 am

It's very nice indeed Brian.

rumbush · Post by **rumbush** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:08 am

This is a perfect example of the "ordinary" wood that's employed in the manufacture of the 660s now. Nice grain but not a lick of what me or many others would definte as character (flame, quilt, birdseye, etc.), and certainly not as good as what RIC have given in the past.

From RIC website:
"The Model 660 and 660/12 feature a charactered Maple cutaway body..."

That's how the FIRST sentence describing the 660 models begins, but there are barely any I've seen with charactered maple in the past few years. Obviously I haven't seen every single one but the dozens of them that I've seen is most likely a representative sample. Every once in a while there's a nice one but most of them are anything but charactered & that's why I haven't ordered or bought another 660.

I wonder if any other forumites have had the same experience when searching for their next 660.

Mr. Harmon, this one's pretty nice if BBR is your thing: http://www.willcuttguitars.com/details.asp?stock_id=5870

clearblue · Post by **clearblue** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:27 am

My bbr 660/6 has nice flames.

johneek · Post by **johneek** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:33 am

J. Oliver,

Is this what you have in mind?

rumbush · Post by **rumbush** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:08 am

Very nice example

But I said very few, not none. You're lucky that you got one with such lovely wood.

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:40 am

I've never really have been captivated by blueburst, but these pictures are really are amazing. The one on ebay is stunning.

johneek · Post by **johneek** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:13 pm

But I said very few, not none. You're lucky that you got one with such lovely wood.."

J. Oliver - I didn't intend for my previous post to be a rebuttal of your comments. I was agreeing with you whole heartedly. I have been (along with you) hoping for some current examples that looked something like the BBR above, but its been a long time since I've seen one. I'm curious why...figured maple rarer and more expensive, supplier not meeting commitments?

BTW, unfortunately its not mine. I looked at it for a long time, but passed because I thought there would be another chance down the road. I still hope....

rumbush · Post by **rumbush** » Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:54 pm

Simer I'm likewise unmoved by BBR but that guitar (minus its finish) is a truly stellar 660. I especially like that charactered Rick's are solid, not covered with a cap or veneer of some fancy wood.

Not at all John, just was making sure I was clear

I know that we have a lot of very bright, detail-orientated folks as members of this forum and I didn't want to seem ambiguous. I guess I'm a little partial to my 660/12: if mine's roughly the standard for what RIC can do with the 660 then that's sort of my frame of reference. There is a mild dissatisfaction I feel when checking out the latest examples, so I'm not sure what RIC are doing when marketing a guitar as charactered, but are obviously on some scale not actually delivering it. It's really a question more than a criticism. Same goes for 381s. I'd be cheesed off if I spent 12-18+ months waiting for a "charactered" Rick and got something similar to the one in the above eBay listing. Nice guitar to be sure, but charactered? Not that I can tell.

Before my post gets chucked I guess I'm obligated to say that I'm a huge Rick fan. As an unswerving patron of the brand and the product I think these are legitimate points to discuss. Market prices are up and in my opinion at least the types of charactered wood that RIC were once putting out should be maintained. Maybe it's the COYs that have inadvertently created a wider demand and as such RIC are trying to reduce costs wherever possible to maximize production. Minimize cost, maximize production, maintain or enhance instrument quality is about the soundest, simplest business model I can think of. Maybe it's simply a wish to widen the profit margin - spend less on charactered wood, get more dollars.

mp_me · Post by **mp_me** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:20 am

I got my 660/6 BBR a few months ago....it has less "charactered" wood than my 620/12 BBR.
There is not one definition of "charactered" that would fit my 660/6 BBR.
I could not believe how plain it looked when I got it.

86kubicki · Post by **86kubicki** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 4:48 am

Sorry to hear that Mark - I would be quite disapointed as well. I can see less charactered wood being used if it had an opaque finish, but not with translucent finishes.

mp_me · Post by **mp_me** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 6:57 am

This is a picture of my 660:

mp_me · Post by **mp_me** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:06 am

oops...double photo...

does this look "charactered" to anyone?
no flame
no quilt
no birdseye
no curve in the grain PIN STRAIGHT

This guitar should have been sprayed Jetglo.
The back is worse!

I think the backlog has made Rickenbacker less selective with wood choice. Customers expect something special when they wait an extra year and spend an extra $600 for a 660. These guitars should look amazing for the premium that is charged for them. When my dealer called me to tell me the 660 was in, I asked him how the top looked.....He told me he has not seen a 660 with a nice top in YEARS, and mine was no exception.

I do not think I got what I payed for, looks wize.
The guitar sounds amazing....I have cranked it up through my Matchless DC-30 and it sounds wonderful.

clearblue · Post by **clearblue** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 10:50 am

You should see what Gibby charges for their flamed maple and Fender charges $50 extra for their non limited edition "burst" finishes. I would not be disappointed if my figured maple Rickenbacker 660 had no flames or quilting. I seriously doubt backlog has anything to do with wood selection. You can always refinish it in jetglo.