Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So, I'm loving my Fireglo 360/12c63, but there is just one thing I'm having difficulty getting used to - the headstock finish looks just a little different from other Fireglo Rickenbacker's I've seen. At the center, it fades into the natural wood tone, which I guess is maple - but the color doesn't quite match the maple that shows through the finish anywhere else. It's a caramelly (sic), walnut-ish wood tone which, next to the red, in a certain light, almost seems to have the vaguest hint of a greenish hue to it (on close inspection, not really, but at a glance, yes). I'm having difficulty getting used to it, so I thought I would ask what you all think. I know aesthetic preferences are ultimately personal, and I'll need to decide if it sits right with me or doesn't, but sometimes other perspectives can get you to see things in a different light (for example, if "360/12c63's are all like that," or if "the nice ones are like that," or if "George's was like that," that would be good to know). Ok, thanks a lot. Your thoughts appreciated!

Are you talking about the walnut headstock wings? Give it a few or 20-40 years to age then it will look like this.

So this is typical for newer ones? The headstock on my Fireglo 350v63 looks very different, for example ... the red paint or stain extends much more toward the center of the headstock, fades but never completely fades away. The finish on the 360/12c63 headstock fades and reveals the wood completely, and I'm not completely sure about the look of the wood underneath. But, maybe this is how the 360/12's were back in '63? I guess it's either that, or just the style of the person who was holding the finishing gun on that particular day? Or a stock of wood that just has its own character? Trying to learn to appreciate it, or at least understand more about why it was done like this...

Looks good to me. Mine is a bit darker though.

ken_j wrote:Looks good to me. Mine is a bit darker though.

IMG_0255 web.JPG

Ken, yes, that is what I am talking about. That is more like what the Fireglo headstock finish usually looks like to me. Is that a 360/12v63?

I will try to post a picture of the 360/12v63 next to my Fireglo 350v63 later on.

I appreciate all of the replies!

Joe

Well, here's a pic of my 360/12c63 next to my 350v63. Jury is still out but I'm hoping I come to appreciate it. I do feel better knowing the headstock wings actually are walnut and not some funky color of maple.

mintwood wrote:

ken_j wrote:Looks good to me. Mine is a bit darker though.

Ken, yes, that is what I am talking about. That is more like what the Fireglo headstock finish usually looks like to me. Is that a 360/12v63?
I will try to post a picture of the 360/12v63 next to my Fireglo 350v63 later on.
I appreciate all of the replies!
Joe

Yes it is an earlier C63 with poured inlays. It is darker than many I have seen but there are darker ones out there. Here is a pic of it (lower right) next to one with the newer sheet inlays. The newer one is darker yet.
Looking at the Beatles Gear book on page 111 George's 360 appears light in the middle as yours does.

ken_j wrote:Yes it is an earlier C63 with poured inlays. It is darker than many I have seen but there are darker ones out there. Here is a pic of it (lower right) next to one with the newer sheet inlays. The newer one is darker yet.
Looking at the Beatles Gear book on page 111 George's 360 appears light in the middle as yours does.

Ken, thanks a lot for the pic and the info. I will have to check out that Beatles book. Cheers.

Great photos.

My opinion: Fireglo Ricks are like fingerprints, no two are exactly the same.

I really like the lighter shade there

Yeah, I think what you're seeing is simply a product of the fact that Rickenbacker bursts are hand-painted by real live humans and there is some variation from one guitar to the next, even though they follow the same general patterns. As to which ones look best, it's all a matter of personal preference. Enjoy your uniqueness!

Looks very similar to the first 360/12C63 I had. I think it looks nice

Learn to love it, thats nice!

Here's mine... a 360/12c63 from 2006 - a bit lighter on the bass side than on the treble site, but overall pretty dark w/not much fading to natural at all... Yup - like fingerprints (or any original works of art), no two exactly the same...

There is a lot of variation in the Fireglo finish - here are the backs of the headstocks of my 4003S/5, 1998PT, 370/12RM, and 660/12TP (cropped from my "Take The Fireglos, Man" thread.
(The front shots aren't that good because of sun reflection, but the back shots don't suffer from that problem.)