Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I bought a 1995 380L Laguna last year that had two small holes drilled in the front by a previous owner. Due to the natural oiled walnut finish, I didn't think just plugging the holes was the best option. I have always liked the look of a maple fretboard with a black finish so I contacted Larry Davis about doing some custom work.

Larry stripped the oil finish and filled the two small holes. He also removed the white body, soundhole, and neck bindings that had been stained by the oil finish. He replaced the body and neck bindings with new black ones. The front and edges of the body were sprayed with gloss black and conversion varnish clear coat. The back, neck and fretboard were sprayed with a satin finish conversion varnish to maintain some of the Laguna's unique look. The end result is shown here. Opinions welcome.

Looks great! I think I might like it even more than the original.

krick wrote:Opinions welcome.

Okay. I am of the opinion that your guitar is the best looking Laguna in the world, by far. Excellent planning and execution.

Thanks. More pics:

Wow...great vision Kevin. Very, very nice.

Fantastic, Kevin!

See you at MARF.

Bob

Kevin and Larry -- very nice! I really like the black finish, gold hardware and no 'guard look. Makes the sculptural quality of the body stand out.

Good move not to go black on the back.

That's NICE!

Thanks everyone.

Larry did a fantastic job, as always.

I will be bringing this one to MARF in a few days and I hope to see everyone there.

Except for the black finish ramp area looking so empty without tailpiece, something less striking on the plain walnut Laguna, it looks great. Job well done, I'd say!

I agree about the ramp area looking empty but as far as I know, all Lagunas are like that. I think it might have looked better if RIC had continued the curve of the body's edge all of the way around on this model. Maybe I should have an R tailpiece gold plated and mount it there just to fill in the area.

"Before" pics here:

http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... ine%3Dtrue

Beautiful! How does it sound?

Thanks. Sounds great with the HB-1 pickups. Lots of sustain too.

krick wrote:http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... ine%3Dtrue

Obvious a huge improvement over what it looked like

Well done. Congrats Kevin & Larry