Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi there fellow Ric players

Can any one tell me what kind of wood Lennon´s 58´325 capri body (not the back) was made of? I was told it was birch.
I belive it to be birch, but a lot of people in here keeps saying different things about the body wood ...and back wood.

Things like; it was made of Alder, Maple, Ash or Birch and the back was made of plywood birch or alder....ect ect ect


Now,.. can any of you fine people, tell me for sure, if the body was made of Birch?
And if it wasn´t,... what kind of wood it then was made of....

Thanks in advance

Alder, I believe.

It doesn't look like Birch to me, though there were several Birch Capris. Alder? Basswood? Who knows...

From the RIC corporate website:

"*** Discontinued Model *** Today’s 325C58 is an exact replica of the 1958 model 325, just as John Lennon first purchased in Hamburg. This hollow-body guitar is sculpted from solid Alder, and is available in natural Mapleglo or Jetglo finish. Featuring gold nameplate and pickguard, gold-on-brown knobs, an elongated jack plate, and Kauffman Vibrola, the 325C58 precisely replicates every detail of the 1958 Model 325."

I think that means it was Alder.

libratune wrote:From the RIC corporate website:

"*** Discontinued Model *** Today’s 325C58 is an exact replica of the 1958 model 325, just as John Lennon first purchased in Hamburg. This hollow-body guitar is sculpted from solid Alder, and is available in natural Mapleglo or Jetglo finish. Featuring gold nameplate and pickguard, gold-on-brown knobs, an elongated jack plate, and Kauffman Vibrola, the 325C58 precisely replicates every detail of the 1958 Model 325."

I think that means it was Alder.

I guess, but was V81 ever inspected inside and out for the C series? I wasn't aware that it was. If not, then it's really speculation... due to the wide variance between models back in the 50's.

So no one would really know for sure, what kind of wood it was made of, unless someone got the opportunity to check it out from the inside out??
I own a 325c64 and a 325v59. Both guitars are made of mable, and they are very lovely guitars, made to perfection,. . . still though, I would love to know for sure what kind of wood the real deal is made of.

You can watch my video of my Ric´s here:

try this:... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm6DhnNehVo

Alder.

Every 1958 325 that has been observed and still in existance has a body made of Alder, especially the solid-top 325s with long jackplates (like Lennon's) that had a blonde finish.

One exception to this would be # V87(the long-body 325), which has butcher-block construction of various woods.

They would not weigh 4.5-5 lbs. if they were made of Maple (or birch)....they'd weigh more than that.

leftybass wrote:One exception to this would be # V87(the long-body 325), which has butcher-block construction of various woods.

.......and V88

8mileshigh wrote:

leftybass wrote:One exception to this would be # V87(the long-body 325), which has butcher-block construction of various woods.

.......and V88

What kind of wood is it, you tease?!??

Well, I for one still think the body on Lennon´s 325 capri, could be made of Birch. If you compare pictures of the guitar from the Beatles Gear Book, with Birch wood and Alder wood, ...Birch seems to be more likely to have been used.

Are anyone convinced that Alder was used instead of Birch, or are we guessing here

What kind of wood is it, you tease?!??

Butcher block construction again........maple.

I don't know if it was a son of a birch tree, or a son of a beech tree, or maybe the finest piece of ash I've ever seen.

Its naked Graham and its amazing how they get that cloud in the wood!

shamustwin wrote:I don't know if it was a son of a birch tree, or a son of a beech tree, or maybe the finest piece of ash I've ever seen.

It was one of the aldernates.