Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi everyone,

Just got a Rickenbacker 620 left to me, but don't really play much anymore.

I've heard they're worth quite a bit, though I know very little about them. This one seems quite old (I'd guess between 10 and 20 years, not sure how long they've been making them) and is in pretty good nick.

The odd scuff or chip in the paint, the chrome isn't as shiny as it once was, but I'm looking to see how much people would say this is worth before trying to sell it.

The bridge pickup isn't standard, though if it would be worthwhile putting an original in (ie - it would substantially increase the value) I'd be more than happy to do so. It looks like a Seymour Duncan 59 SH1 (from looking at their website) so not sure if it would be worth selling that seperately too. There was some concern that the actual hole in the body has been modified (made bigger) to fit the new pick-up, but from looking at it, it seems fine, though the screw-holes may be in a different place. This shouldn't really matter though as the pick-up shroud on an original would cover these.

Ignore the strings, I know there are two missing! I'm looking to restring and also polish it before putting it up for sale. I'm more just looking for a ball-park figure here. There are various ones on eBay (I'm in the UK) but most are brand new. A few 2nd hand ones for several hundred at the low end, up to a grand for some in good nick, though I'm not sure how much age affects price.

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac12 ... 1300735392

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac12 ... 1300735392

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac12 ... 1300735392

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac12 ... 1300735392

Any help/advice/tips on this would be massively appreciated. I'm not a massive guitar buff and I'm pretty worried about getting ripped off. I know a guy who sold a vintage set of Ludwig drums for about £50 as he didn't realise how much they were worth!

Sorry for my complete lack of knowledge on this guitar, hopefully this is the right place to get some honest advice.

James if you read the serial number which is stamped on the output jack it should give you a code.If you log onto the RIC forum under the icon Service there is a serial number decoder which will tell you exactly when your 620 was manufactured.

I think you've come to the right place. A couple of things: (1) is this a 6-string or a 12-string? (2) the Rickenbacker company website has a serial number decoder that will tell you the year of manufacture (you should find the serial number stamped on the jackplate).

Finally, there is a price list on this forum that will give you a range of recent sale prices for similar guitars:

http://www.rickresource.com/register/pricelist.php

You'll have to take into account the condition of your guitar, including whether the pickup modification did any lasting damage, plus the fact that Rick prices in the UK are generally higher than in North America.

Its a 6 but were a fussy lot in the UK... but id like to see the date on this one.Looks like a early 80s headstock.

RIght, now that I look at pictures I can see that it is of course a 6 -- I didn't follow the links, assuming (wrongly) that they were to the other 620s referred to as for sale on ebay, rather than pictures of this particular guitar.

What's the condition of the frets? It's hard to tell from these pictures.

jimmyjam wrote: The bridge pickup isn't standard, though if it would be worthwhile putting an original in (ie - it would substantially increase the value) I'd be more than happy to do so. It looks like a Seymour Duncan 59 SH1 (from looking at their website) so not sure if it would be worth selling that seperately too. There was some concern that the actual hole in the body has been modified (made bigger) to fit the new pick-up, but from looking at it, it seems fine, though the screw-holes may be in a different place. This shouldn't really matter though as the pick-up shroud on an original would cover these.

It would take some woodworking and a refinish of at least the guitar top to go back to stock RIC pickups. Not worth the cost IMO. You will take a hit on the value due to this mod.

Looks just like my first Rickenbacker - a jetglo 620 from (VD1084) April 1982. The small headstock, kluson tuners and the Model 620 on the TRC are what give away the date. A highly desirable guitar (at least to me anyway!)

What are the letters and numbers on the jackplate? That will precisely date it.

I have a 1977 620 with similar pickup mods - still trying to get it back to stock eventually...

As to hard costs - Between $1000 and $1200 I would say...

Brian ... out of curiosity (and since this came up the other day in a Peter Buck thread) -- do you know what year they stopped printing the model number on the TRC?

jdawe wrote:Brian ... out of curiosity (and since this came up the other day in a Peter Buck thread) -- do you know what year they stopped printing the model number on the TRC?

Late 1983 I think... Certainly by early 1984... It is hard to be precise as different models would have had stock to go through.

For example The model 620 TRC was out of stock until mid 1980 - they lasted until 1984. (My June 1980 620 12 had no model # on the TRC My November 1980 did as did my April 1982 620.

I have noticed that all 1980 320s have no model number on the TRC by mid 1981 they start to appear so again different models had different dates of overlap for them

B

Hi everyone,

The serial is WC432, which the Serial Decoder tells me was manufactured in March 1983.

As for the other questions:

Frets - Great condition considering the age. No wear or indents at all, not even any discolouring of the metal under the strings apart from a very slight mark under the high-E on the 3rd fret. The fret board itself is a little dirty as would be expected, but has no scratches or dents. I reckon it will clean up nicely with the right treatment.

Neck - No knocks, dents or scratches in the back of the neck, as smooth as the day it was new.

Headstock - Tuners all fine, still smooth and steady, none are loose. There are a few dings to the paintwork, the most notable right at the top of the headstock, about 3mm long, 2mm wide. You can see that the wood underneath is still in perfect nick (hasn't been dented), ie - just the paint has been chipped.

Body - 1 or 2 slight paint chips but again, the wood is fine.

Metal work on body - Slight wear to the chrome on the jack input, nothing major though. The other metalwork (bridge, etc) is all in great nick. The stylised "R" is still very shiny and the whole lot should polish up nicely.

Pickups - Good working order, but again, I'm worried about the modified pickup. Looking again, it looks like a standard one could be put back in with little issues, ie - there's been no drilling or boreing out of the body to fit it, though I'd have to take it out to look properly.

Plastic scratchplate - All in good order aside from a piece (about 4x5mm) chipped off from around the screw nearest the pickup switch (the pointy bit of plastic). I actually have this small piece and it fits back on (no bits have been chipped off and are missing) perfectly and could easily be glued back on, if this would be reccomended.

Any further advice on these issues and their effect on the value would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the help so far. Any further advice on where would be best to sell this would also be great, I'm a little warey of just sticking it on eBay.

As it from early 1983 this 620 will have square Grovers on it rather then the Klusons.

I would be grateful for some more images