Butchered Dakota

[brianeharmonjr]

I just saw this on ebay. I don't know what to say except, yuck!

http://cgi.ebay.com/RICKENBACKER-DAKOTA ... 0162873715

[headbanger]

Toasters would've been the obvious choice...

[paologregorio]

Good Lord! Why didn't he just buy a Les Paul Junior?!

[sir_andrew_of_left_coast]

I've seen a lot worse done to a 650.

A P-90 is a great pickup. And, at least he chose black covers that, well... sort of match the truss rod cover's 'black-on-maple' look... a little... when viewed from a distance.

But $700? I don't think so.

[nukebass]

Aren't P-90s what come in a Casino? If so, it seems the chrome would have matched better than the black. Maybe I'm thinking of a different pickup, though. The polarity thing sounds cool, though.

New Dakotas are getting higher in price ($1000+), so maybe 700 isn't too bad if you can live with non-RIC pickups forever.

[Scastles]

Indeed, P-90's are what are on the Casino. These aren't the 'dog ear' P-90's which are found on the Casino, but a pair of 'soapbar' P-90's. There are different companies making P-90's. Seller doesn't say what brand they are. P-90's are excellent single coils, but toasters would have maintained the guitars integrity. Each to their own though, I suppose.

[robbo63]

People mod guitars all the time, and P90s can be great pickups. Maybe he chose some really good ones (though maybe not, since he doesn't name a brand). Hey, Eddie Cochran replaced a Dynasonic on his Gretsch with a P90, and I don't think too many people recoiled in horror at his sacrilege of "butchering" a Gretsch.

I also think the black covers look good on this guitar. I've seen at least two Dakotas on eBay this year that mentioned a dead or dying original humbucker, maybe this was one that the owner fixed in their own way.

Now, if those P90s were Lollars or equivalent, I'd consider $700 for this guitar. But I wouldn't pay that much if they were $40 Stew Mac Chinese pups.

[sir_andrew_of_left_coast]

Now, if those P90s were Lollars or equivalent, I'd consider $700 for this guitar. But I wouldn't pay that much if they were $40 Stew Mac Chinese pups.

That crossed my mind, too; i.e., with Lollars, the asking price ain't too bad. If they are Lollars, one would think the seller would mention it because it would make the guitar much more desirable. Then again, with only 3 feedbacks in 2 years, writing "copy" for an eBay auction may not be his forte.

The guitar is growing on me, though. Perhaps I'll inquire about the pickups...

[mfb]

"Butchered"? What butchered??

The P90s fit quite nicely in the Dakota routing and actually I've been thinking about the same thing because the Rickenbacker humbuckers sound quite dull, especially on clean settings.

[eatswodo]

I think it looks ok - it certainly doesn't deserve the term 'butchered'. I'd reserve that for what Ed Roman used to do to them.

[brianeharmonjr]

Yeah, if it didn't have to be modified to put in the P-90's I guess its not too bad. It just rubbed me the wrong way since I know how incredible those humbuckers sound. Definitely not worth near $700 to me if you'd have to spend nearly getting the original pickups back in there, plus another $50 or so to get the electronics back to original.

[alanz]

Seller says they are Rio Grande brand P-90s.

[sir_andrew_of_left_coast]

Seller says they are Rio Grande brand P-90s.

But his answer to my question didn't help much. I mean, are they Rio Grande "Jazzbars" (8k) or "Bluesbars" (12k)? Or a Jazzbar neck / Bluesbar bridge combination?

[jingle_jangle]

I have never seen any jazz bars near the Rio Grande...but there is a blues bar near the bridge in Ciudad Juarez...

[sir_andrew_of_left_coast]