Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

It started with a disappointing arrival from an ebay auction. What had I gotten myself into?

Here's the before views:

Pretty ugly, huh?

Some more: Dig those knobs!

I think I'm gonna enjoy this thread!

Keep the photos coming, Ron.

Ah, but I see great potential! Where are the end result photos, Ron?

nice flame on the neck and i love the square heel.Ron i cant wait for the after pics.Capri s fascinate me.I suppose if it wasnt for them there would be no 330.
Can you enlighten us on the what looks like wooden knobs? have you set them on fire?

After searching about for someone to tackle this job, I was alerted by a Kevin Kuney post on the forum to Larry Davis, who has done work for others here. I contacted Larry, showed him the photos, and he agreed to tackle the project. I caught him as he was just finishing up another project, and he was able to fit me in pronto. I sent him the guitar and he started work in January of this year. We had numerous consultations throughout the restoration process, with progress photos at every step as Larry explained to me exactly what he was doing and how he was doing it.

The result arrived yesterday. Color me floored!

Absolutely stunning.

And more . . .

WOW, that FG is FG.


B E A utiful.

godber wrote:WOW, that FG is FG.

What he said.

red dot in the neck binding FG all amazing work from Larry.Blown me away congrats thats gotta be the nicest geetar ive seen in a looooooong time.............

I do have the Kauffman arm, it just got in the way of the photos.

One of the decisions made was to outfit the guitar with "newer" hardware while being faithful to the vintage aspect of this 1959 instrument. Therefore, the following were replaced: p/u covers, tuners, VB. The fretboard was a mess so Larry totally redid it; though not period-correct, we decided on sparkle inlays because, well, just because! The neck was reset and Larry salvaged the original back wood for the body and rebound it. I was going for kind of a 58-ish Autumnglo look, and gave Larry some pics (graciously supplied by Graham and JWilli) of examples in a 58-style Autumnglo. The result is more Monte Brown to my eyes, though some may call it FG. Whatever one's name for the color, it's all good! The binding wasn't aged, so it looks like a new guitar -- just like they looked when freshly made in 1959 -- with the hi-contrast between the white binding and the dark body edges.

Larry was a pleasure to work with. It goes without saying that I highly recommend him. Apart from his obvious professional skills as a luthier, he is a gentleman, which made the process pleasant and engaging for me. Thanks Larry!

A1 stunning Ron, superb choices. How does it sound?

Wow. Talk about rising from the ashes...congrats Ron - that is just amazing.

LOVE the paint job

Slurp

godber wrote:A1 stunning Ron, superb choices. How does it sound?

Oh, yeah, it plays great! Sound is crisp, nice range of tones and the action is superb. It is a joy to play a nice old Capri and have the action low and buzz-less. This one is NOT staying in the case! I'm pretending it's 1959 and I just bought myself a new guitar!

BTW, on the technical front, the finish is waterborne acrylic laquer.