The One That Got Away

[Len]

Is there a guitar in your past that you think today, wow, I should have bought that? Not one that you should not have sold (I have one of those too) but one that had you bought it your music life would be different? I recently ran into a guy from my hometown who reminded me of the Rickenbacker that we did not buy.

I was in high school around 1980 in Albany Georgia and was learning to play electric guitar. I had an acoustic since before I can remember, but in high school I wanted to play Alex Lifeson licks and the acoustic was not doing the job. My uncle gave me an old Silvertone electric he was not using. Those guitars for some reason are popular today, but I could never get that one piece bridge set up to play in tune, and the one lipstick pickup sounded terrible. So as soon as I got a job I started looking for another guitar.

Albany was a military town and there were a bunch of pawn shops over near the bases. I spent some time looking through those pawn shops for a guitar. My hometown guy reminded me about one shop that had a Rickenbacker. All I remember about now is it was that was black, it had a short neck, and maybe it had three pickups. I know it made me think of the Beatles so it was probably a 325, but I don't know. I went back to that pawn shop frequently and it was there for a long time, hanging next to an old Gibson Les Paul gold top with a (to me anyway) really high price of $300. The Rickenbacker was probably less. I knew of course that the Beatles were cool, but I wanted to play Spirit of Radio, so I never gave the Rickenbacker a chance. Eventually my parents bought me an Ibanez Roadstar that was a decent enough guitar. But I regret not getting that Rickenbacker.

A few years later I moved to Athens to go to UGA, saw REM, and then realized that Rickenbacker is THE rock and roll guitar. If only I had gotten that Rickenbacker from the pawn shop maybe I would have figured it out sooner.

[beatlefreak]

Yes, I have a story, and it's a heartbreaker (although not about a Rickenbacker).

I lived in Columbus, Ohio until I was eight years old. My family moved around a fair amount, and I lost touch with the friends I had in Columbus. In 1975, after high school, I moved back there to attend Tech school. I looked up my best friend from my childhood, and found he was still living in the old neighborhood. We spent an afternoon together reminiscing old times.

He informed me that the girl we knew as kids still lived in the house across the street from where I grew up, so we headed over there and knocked on her door. She was surprised to see us, so we spent more time talking over the old times. I told her that I played guitar, and she said that her dad had a guitar that he hadn't played in awhile. He was thinking about selling it. She dug the guitar out of a closet, and when I opened the case, there was a '57 Les Paul Gold top in immaculate condition.

I never asked how much he wanted for it - Being a poor college student, I couldn't afford anything anyway. Besides, in 1976, nobody thought much of the fifties Les Pauls, they wer just 'old guitars'. I'm guessing I probably could have gotten that guitar for somewhere around $300-$400, and of course have been kicking myself for years now. That really was the 'one that got away'.

[collin]

Hi Len (belated welcome!).

I don't think there is such a thing as a "guitar that would have changed" anything.

The person makes the music, not the instrument----sure, having the right gear around makes certain sounds easier to achieve, but I've heard guys "jangle" on a Gibson, and rip solos on a Rickenbacker.

Life is too short to dwell on "what woulda happened" if you had bought this or that.....at least you figured it out eventually!

[longhouse]

Dave's Guitars, La Crosse, Wisconsin 2001...

I took a ride down to Dave's with Tony Pucci (my partner in the occasional duo The Foglifters). We had been locked up in the studio for almost a week straight. In the amply stocked acoustic room there was a pair of Ric Comstocks. I played virtually every guitar in the place and kept returning to the beautiful Fireglo maple/spruce jumbo. The Taylors, Gibsons, and Martins could not compare. Only the Lowden guitars sounded as sweet. Why didn't I buy it? I had a bit of money in the bank. "No", I said to myself, "you want a Ric with onboard electronics." And so I left it there.

agggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've lamented ever since.

Oddly enough the other Ric jumbo (a rosewood/spruce model) did not sound anywhere near as good -maybe the strings were dead.

[jimk]

It's rather difficult for me to put myself in such a place. I've sold a few guitars, traded one or two others, and played some nice ones in stores. One of those nice ones in a store was a Martin D18. I don't regret not buying it.

Actually, I'm quite happy with the guitars I have and glad I got them when I did.
JimK

[deaconblues]

Well, I don't know if it counts if you couldn't have afforded it anyway...

A few years back, a salesman at Chuck Levin's pulled a shiny new 325/12v63 off the wall and handed it to me. He said it was NOS...had been sitting in the back for years, unsold. He wanted about $1500, I think it'd be worth a bit more today. Still had the 'Made in USA' sticker on the 'guard.

I've regretted SELLING a few...

[JakeK]

Life is too short to dwell on "what woulda happened" if you had bought this or that.....at least you figured it out eventually!

+1

Although I do get upset that I never had the dough or waited too late to buy a certain guitar that I feel is the one, it doesn't bother me in the long run. I know that something better (which will turn out to be the right one) DOES come along.

Now, if it was a one-off or limited edition Ric (such as a 360/12CW or a 1993/12) then I get upset.

[stringsncords]

I had a '68 Gretsch Chet Atkins Tennessean that I sold to get a Gibson ES335 (which was later stolen). The Gretsch just didn't have the pickup response that the 335 had, but I always regretted parting with it; having limited funds in those days, it was the only way to "move up".
I was able to purchase a new Gretsch Country Rose in '06 at a great price, which is the same guitar without Chet's autograph on the pickguard, so it's all good again.

[iamthebassman]

In the early 80s I had just found out about 6-string basses(the good kind, not the ugly, modern ones with wide fingerboards), and was playing a gig in Austin,Texas(I hadn't moved here yet) and we visited Ray Henning's. They had a double-neck Gibson bass 6-string and 4-string, an EB-6 and an EB-3 in one instrument. They wanted $2K. I was a gigging 25-year old kid, wasn't gonna happen.
Since then, I've owned four different 6-string basses but have yet to find an EB-6.

[ricaddic]

My story is short and simple, but its not about a Ric, its about a Gibson Ripper, I purchased brand new back in 1976 a Gibson Ripper, natural finish, maple neck, black pickguard, however though in 1977 I belive, I wanted an Ampeg SVT with two 8-10 cabs, well I traded the Ripper and a 1971 Rickenbacker jetglo 4001 in for the SVT, and have always missed that bass, up until two months ago, I got off ebay for $800.00 a 1976 Ripper same color and with a maple neck in mint condition (Chris Clayton set up the bass for me so can verify what great condition this bass is in) the woman I bought it from told me her husband ordered it in 76 and when he got it only played it a handful of times and it has been in the case put away for the past 33 years, and belive me when I tell you, when it arrived and I opened the case, it was like this thing has been in a time capsule all this time, the frets are still like new, as I said Chris Clayton set her up I had a set of T I flats put on her and this bass is absolutelyy funoninal, probibly my favorite non ric, so I am still amazed not only to find the same Identical Ripper like I had before, but to get one that still basically brand new and for less than a thousand bucks, simply amazing..

[Len]

Hi Len (belated welcome!).

I don't think there is such a thing as a "guitar that would have changed" anything.

The person makes the music, not the instrument----sure, having the right gear around makes certain sounds easier to achieve, but I've heard guys "jangle" on a Gibson, and rip solos on a Rickenbacker.

Life is too short to dwell on "what woulda happened" if you had bought this or that.....at least you figured it out eventually!

Thanks for the welcome! You are right, it is the player not the guitar. Considering my musician buddies at the time, I may have played the same music even with the Rickenbacker. Still I wish I had talked my parents into buying that for me instead of the Ibanez.

One thing I did buy at that pawnshop was a Mutron Bi Phase with the wah pedal. It took a while to figure out how to use but that is a cool effect.

[radioactive]

In the early 80s I had just found out about 6-string basses(the good kind, not the ugly, modern ones with wide fingerboards), and was playing a gig in Austin,Texas(I hadn't moved here yet) and we visited Ray Henning's. They had a double-neck Gibson bass 6-string and 4-string, an EB-6 and an EB-3 in one instrument. They wanted $2K. I was a gigging 25-year old kid, wasn't gonna happen.
Since then, I've owned four different 6-string basses but have yet to find an EB-6.

I've had this SG shaped EB6 for almost 30 years. It''s got a 1965 serial number, but the pot code dates are all from '63. it's not a Bass, but a Baritone Guitar. Apparently Gibson's first model EB6 had a hollow 335 shaped body, and was introduced in the late '50s. This SG shaped followed a few years later, and from what I've read they've made less than 48 of them. When I got it, the strings were very heavy bass strings, I did some searching and found a proper Baritone set. You tune it to E or A major.

It's fun to play, sort of like a Howitzer with strings.

[loendmaestro]

It's fun to play, sort of like a Howitzer with strings.

That's the best line I've heard all day!



I was in the running for a '75 Azureglo 4001 on eBay a few years back. I pulled out of the biding at the end, & it only went for a little more that my final bid. Wish I'd have pushed a little more, oh well.

One word of advice though: NEVER bid on a guitar on eBay with your wife sitting next to you.

[loendmaestro]

Hey Len Lescosky.....I live in Decatur GA too!

We'll have to have our own Rickenbacker summit!

[cjj]

One word of advice though: NEVER bid on a guitar on eBay with your wife sitting next to you.

Yeah, I agree with that one! I always tell her how high I want to go, then walk away and let her decide how much higher she thinks is reasonable...