Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Did y'all catch this in today's Best Buy circular? A new Tom Petty DVD/CD set is coming out this week, so scattered throughout is this shot of TP with a fantastic looking 1997 complete with gold signature pickguards and TRC. It must be a fireglo that's yellowed by the stage lighting, but this would look terrific as Monty Brown or Autumn Glo re-release with or without the TP signature. (What, does Tom call up and say "I need another half dozen pickguards...just got some new guitars and I want to make sure no one thinks they belong to someone else.") Anyway, I'd love to see this in production. (And thrilled to see it get exposure in a national retail circular.)

Didn't Rickenbacker make him a special solid body 1997 so that it woundn't feedback on him like semi hollow guitars usually do. It would have made it very heavy. Is it possible that this is that guitar?

I'm not an expert on Tom Petty, but I've seen others mention a special solid 1997 before. You're right, it would be very heavy. If they built him a special 1997 (and I think I've seen pictures of it), I'm sure it was a solid top, not a solid body. They'd just skip the step of cutting the F-hole. Many non-Rick players assume that John Lennon's 325's were solid bodies, but they just had solid tops.

There's a color picture of it on page 101 of the Rickenbacker book by Richard Smith. It does have an f hole.

Yes, the guitar in the Best Buy ad and the Smith book has an F-hole. If memory serves me, the 'special' guitar might be on the cover of Tom's "Full Moon Fever" album. It is shaped like a 330-style guitar but there's no F-hole. I don't recall whether it had binding or shark fin neck markers.

He's had (or has) many similar guitars like this, all the above mentioned...a 1997 from the V-Series, a special solid version (less f-hole) and a 60's 365 O.S. which he's pictured with a good bit...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ0O00zO5e0

What is Campbell using here?

epitreture wrote:Didn't Rickenbacker make him a special solid body 1997 so that it woundn't feedback on him like semi hollow guitars usually do. It would have made it very heavy.

Not necessarily. An F-hole guitar can be filled with acoustically unsympathetic material which weighs next to nothing and which would not support acoustic feedback. A good example of this is closed-cell polyethylene foam (the stuff that many boogie boards are molded from, also used in packaging).

Yep. One can buy a can of expanding insulation foam at any hardware store. I think I'll fill my 1997's.
No, wait. I like feedback. Never mind.

dpowell wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ0O00zO5e0

What is Campbell using here?

IIRC, a 60's 615 or 625 that had its body reshaped to resemble a 325.

The 610 is a bit more awkward looking, and a 3-pickup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lfpqZaaM74

I think Campbell's using a custom 350 or something...

dpowell wrote:The 610 is a bit more awkward looking, and a 3-pickup.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lfpqZaaM74

I think Campbell's using a custom 350 or something...

Ah yes, you're right!

Whatever it is, I want one!

Ah, yes, I've fallen in love with Petty's 1997. It's made me want to get up and look for one!

Campbell's got a 3 pickup 610? When did he use it?

I've seen him use his 350 custom in the 1991 Concert VHS Take the Highway. It's shaped like a 350V63, except it's got one toaster, one humbucker and a 24-fret neck.

mcxb wrote: