Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have never considered the grain as an issue when looking at rics. It was sound and playability.
However ....


Is there any critical structural strength differences in the direction of the grain or the pattern.?

Mine have what I would call water mark grain patterns


J

Yeah, it is a grainy question, and it would take a book to answer comprehensively.

Not sure what you mean by "watermark grain". Pictures, perhaps?

carr wrote:Mine have what I would call water mark grain patterns


J

Are you referring to bird'seye type?
I was always more drawn to a plainer top myself- much like Page's '59 Les Paul- no flame, especially on Burst's.
Of course a nice ineresting grain or flame is always sweet on a natural or MG finish..

The grain HAS to be North/South if you are holding the guitar with the head up, because that's where all the structural strength is.

All the bass guitars and the 600's are basically built on one continuous piece of wood running from the head to the tail. You can see this especially clearly on the 650, which I call my "skunk" guitar. The side pieces are essentially wings added on for resonance rather than structural strength. I believe that Godin is the only other manufacturer doing this same design on 6 strings, though I have seen a few Peavey bases follow the same idea: one solid piece of hood for an extended neck with no major joints holding the strings in tension.

No structural issues with body joints at all.

The origianl poster may be referring to occasional black streaks in the wood, which may have been caused by water seepage during the tree's growth. I have a few in my 330 Fireglow, but don't consider that a problem at all.

I have been to lumber yards with neighbors who insisted on wood with no knots, compared to what I was willing to accept, and all of their construction projects could have been featured in the Vanilla TImes ---- no character at all.

vker wrote:

carr wrote:Mine have what I would call water mark grain patterns


J

Are you referring to bird'seye type?
I was always more drawn to a plainer top myself- much like Page's '59 Les Paul- no flame, especially on Burst's.
Of course a nice ineresting grain or flame is always sweet on a natural or MG finish..

I think he's referring to "spalting", which can be caused by mineral inclusions in the water making it into the wood cells, or fungus.

Ricks occasionally have a small amount (I've seen it on JG instruments that I've stripped), but major spalting is seldom, if ever, found on Ricks. I have a FG '67 425S that has both spalting and knots--under an original Fireglo finish. Usually a no-no and cause for a JG factory job.

Pix at last

That's just normal figuring in the wood. Sweet. Not a defect or problem.

That's one of the great things about the translucent finishes. Everyone is unique due to the different grain patterns of the wood.

i have owned for while 360/6cw in fireglo that had rather prominent knot in maple upper strip of the neck lamination behind 6th fret. it was bit of a shocker to find it there at first but the guitar played great so no big deal. as for those mineral deposits - it is pretty normal to find them even on mapleglo and fireglo since about 2000. there really is nothing to be concerned about from structural point of view..you can often find guitars that has wood extrusion of the neck to the body made from two pieces (like most of the 610 line were made) and it does not mean anything either - sometimes two glued pieces are stronger than one piece itself. good example of this would be some 80's 620/12 with necks made of two main maple boards glued right in the middle. i have one of those and that is the strongest ric neck i ever saw - it didn't need any adjustment since i got it.