Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I bought this a few weeks back from a reputable dealer: http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... lebrity%3D

When I opened it up I found that it has solid centre block under the bridge pickup with a route for the pickup rather than the x-brace like my '66 365 and '67 335. I also lifted the scratchplate which confirmed that this guitar has a solid centre block and no x-bracing. The serial number on the guitar links up with the COA and it has the CW scratchplate. Just wondering if I have a fake on my hands, as I'd heard these are supposed to have x-bracing.

Any help would be appreciated.

PS: The paint job doesn't look as extreme in person.

I believe the construction of your guitar is correct for a CW. It was the 360/12C63 reissue which reintroduced a '60's style X-braced body construction to the modern era line up and, AFAIK, none of the other vintage reissue/LE models of the past 25 years (i.e. 360V64, PT, CW, 370V67 etc) have had a X-braced body. If we leave aside the factory one-off program, and other individual exceptions for celebs like Petty etc, the only significant LE exception I know of is the batch of ten Pearl White Rose Morris 1997 style guitars which were shipped to the UK earlier this year - they were X-braced and that's because they used the C63/12 body/neck to make them albeit finished off without the binding and with a non-routed headstock in 6 string format rather than as a 12.

I'm attaching a couple of pics I took of my Pearl White 1997 which show the X-bracing under the bridge pick-up routing and also the neck position pick-up routing - as you can see these are constructed like a late '60's original (i.e. to take a short pole neck, and long pole bridge, toaster).

Thanks,

For whatever reason I'd thought that the CW's had X-bracing. It ticked every other box but that one (ie, everything else is 60's spec and compares favourably with my '66 365), so that's a load off my mind. It does play and respond beautifully btw.

Chrome Aardvark wrote:Thanks,

For whatever reason I'd thought that the CW's had X-bracing. It ticked every other box but that one, so that's a load off my mind. It does play and respond beautifully btw.

I'm glad you're pleased with the way it plays.

The main difference I noticed between the Pearl White and other modern era reissues that I've owned or played (including a 370/12V67 which I think is very similar if not identical in construction to a CW), is the much greater resonance /acoustic sound level when unplugged that you get with the X-braced body. In this respect, the Pearl White is very similar to the '60's originals I've played.

The CW's thin top that is the same thickness as my '66 365 and acoustically it resonates out pretty well, but not like the 365 or my '67 335, which has a substantially thicker top. The difference is when I plug them in the 335 and 365 both favour my AC-30, but the CW is a bit too bright with the Vox, but sounds great with my Deluxe Reverb, as do both my Gibson ES-335s. Maybe it's the centre block?

Chrome Aardvark wrote:The CW's thin top that is the same thickness as my '66 365 and acoustically it resonates out pretty well, but not like the 365 or my '67 335, which has a substantially thicker top. The difference is when I plug them in the 335 and 365 both favour my AC-30, but the CW is a bit too bright with the Vox, but sounds great with my Deluxe Reverb, as do both my Gibson ES-335s. Maybe it's the centre block?

I think the centre block is the big difference...to me playing a X-braced Rick versus a modern era construction is similar to a Gibson ES330 versus ES335...I guess there's just a much bigger cavity in the X-brace that produces that wonderful resonance... I appreciate the modern era construction may be much more robust, but personally I'd take the X-braced any day of the week.

Here's a better pic of the neck pick-up routing on the Pearl White's C63 body.

I'm a big fan of the X-bracing too, there's something cool about the sonic texture that it produces. Marty Willson-Piper describes 60's Ricks as having a certain "boxiness" in their sound, that is unique to them.

I'm guessing that X-braced guitars are too time consuming to produce in substantial numbers though, which explains why the C63's come out sporadically.

Thanks for the pics, the top of your C63 looks pretty similar to my 330 in terms of thickness.

Carl Wilson and Roger McGuinn LE models are harder to fake than say a Lennon, Petty or Townshend. Your guitar looks real to me.

Thanks Jake,

You're right about these being hard to replicate, I just overeacted. I think sometimes you can over research and still get the facts wrong!

Despite not being quite what I thought she was I'm pretty happy with her. One thing that I've ordered is an adjustable base plate for the bridge, as the bridge pickup is literally resting against the bridge so some separation is required.