serial number) 330 FG:
It has had some work done, include the repair of a cracked heel, a fresh refret, and the removal of the gloss from the fretboard (PM me and I'll let you know who did they work - they did an absolutely phenomenal job). But the original Fireglo is untouched, and most of the guitar is original, including the tuners, harness, bridge, tail etc. I couldn't get it to come out in any photos, but there is some absolutely gorgeous figuring in the wood. The Fireglo is what I would consider the standard 60's Rick Fireglo, by which everything else should be judged. No gold plastic going on this one - this guitar is pure mid-60's and that's how it'll stay.
The pickups are new. I got it for a i'd-be-completely-insane-to-pass-it-up price due to the work done, but it was also sans pickups. I decided to go with a 7.4k scatterwound at the bridge, and a 4k-ish c58 flat pole toaster at the neck. Yes, there is a bit of a volume mismatch, but it's really not bad at all. The c58 toaster is warm and dark, and of course the 7.4k, with the cap inline, is brash and bold. Combine them and tweak the blender knob and there are a ton of unique but very usable sounds - and for me, that's saying a lot since I mostly play Gibsons.
I had been debating messing around with different pickup combinations - I even had FabGear stuff one of my spare Firebird pickups inside a Toaster cover - but for now, I rather like the fact that it doesn't sound like my other guitars. It just sounds so damn good.
The action is nice and low, with some room to spare on the bridge. That's a great sign. It hasn't had a neck reset either, despite the other work that's been done to it. The new frets and faster fretboard (no thick shlock) really allows me to stretch out and play anything I want on this thing with ease. The only thingk I'ms till getting used to is the thinner nut width. It sustains really well too - I haven't had any desire to perform the Tune-o-Matic bridge mod to this one, though I may in the future just because I like to tweak things.
Just wanted to say that after a few busts, this guitar has really restored my faith in vintage Ricks. I really found a good one and I can't tell you how thrilling that is.
