Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I just got this beautiful 1992 360 from Olivia's. (The Olivia's listing says 1991, the Register says 4/92. I'm just going by the Register's date.) It plays beautifully, and sounds crisp and full through my AC15 -- it's my dream guitar. It's everything I love about my 620, except it just sounds... bigger.

Anyway, I got the guitar today. There's a fair amount on the neck heel and the front of the guitar (especially on the upper bout). It was 103ºF in Memphis today, and the guitar was riding around for most of that. I can't see much checking in the finish in the Olivia's photos, but I assume it probably doesn't show up very well in photographs.

Is a moderate amount of checking normal on a 20-year-old Mapleglo guitar, or did the heat get to my 360? I'm not really worried about it -- it's still gorgeous in its aged MG w/ black trim and hardware, and it's definitely been played. But should I be worried about the finish, or is this just normal?

(I'll try to get some better pictures of the finish checking. It just looks like normal old guitar finish checking, not over-the-top "Fender Super Ultra Mega Relic" devastation.)

Finish checking is normal. It just happens with the changing of temp and humidity and doesn't hurt the guitar. Some people don't like it but I think it adds character. If you hate it you can have the guitar refinished; that's the only cure.

kiramdear wrote:Finish checking is normal. It just happens with the changing of temp and humidity and doesn't hurt the guitar. Some people don't like it but I think it adds character. If you hate it you can have the guitar refinished; that's the only cure.

Oh, I like it. I love guitars that have been "rode hard and put away wet." I just didn't know if it was early for it to be happening to a '92 guitar.

No, not early. I've seen it on more than a few ricks from that era. Your '92 may have an extra thick clear coat which may contribute to checking, besides the environmental factors mentioned. I'd rock it!

Checking on older instruments Is just "one of those things" IMO. Some guitars get it, others don't. It's just another aspect of the character of that particular instrument.

Oh, BTW, it is difficult to capture checking in a photo.

doctorwho wrote:Checking on older instruments Is just "one of those things" IMO. Some guitars get it, others don't. It's just another aspect of the character of that particular instrument.

Oh, BTW, it is difficult to capture checking in a photo.

This particular 360, like a lot of the Mapleglo guitars I've seen from the early 90's, has a lot of character in the wood, too. Lots of subtle flame, and one big... thing in the grain on the upper bout about even with the neck pickup. You can see it clearly in the Olivia's photo:


A lot of the checking seems to be around these grain irregularities. The cool grain features are just part of why I was so drawn to this particular guitar, and the checking just makes it look well-loved.

If only I had the black bridge cover it's lost to the winds of time, I'm afraid. It looks like the low E and A bridge saddles came off of some sort of 12-string, too -- those two saddles have two slots. I'm thinking of buying a new bridge and re-spacing the strings a little.

What is the standard string spacing on a 6-string 360? What kind of file do I need to slot the saddles? Rickenbacker slots appear to be much deeper than, say, Gibson slots.

My old '95 Jetglo 360 had checking on the back of the body, when I re-bought it in 2008 (9 years after I sold it to help pay some bills). It's not at all uncommon for guitars to start having checking when they're 15 or 20 years old.