Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I found a bunch of strat parts sans pickups & started thinking of building a Rory Gallagher tribute strat. Little finish & the body is worn in. Even though my main guitar is well played, I certainly don't go to the extremes in my playing that I would if it wasn't precious. No finish may not be pretty but the sound opens up. Then I got thinking I looked at my translucent purple (yes purple) 330/12 I hardly play. It started off as a MG but was refinished by a previous owner. I bought it cheaply in the 90's because a ric 12 is necessary. So I thought about converting to a 6, adding a vibrato & removing the finish. Don't worry, I haven't touched it. Truth is I don't like the spacing and I rarely use it which is a shame. Does anyone on here have a beater Ric out there with serious mojo?

"Beater Rickenbacker." Wow . . . I'm trying to think if I've ever seen a seriously reliced or beaten up Rickenbacker . . . aside from anything used by Pete Townshend, that is!

Yeah same here, at least nothing playable. You look up "beater Rickenbacker" and you find Rickenbacker cars lol. I've always wanted one I could really just lay into without care, or at the least wear a belt for a change! I play some pretty aggressive music at times & a lot of slide. Of course the more I think about taking off the finish the more I think about a total refin. BTW I also had this thing as a baritone for a time.

Sure, there's many beater Rics. I have a couple of them!

You usually need to find the older ones though. I doubt many are as beat up as Gallagher's strat (or they'd warrant a refin!)

This one's a '65:

Hey Mr. Hall,
"Reliced" Rics?? I want to order the Pete Townsend Relic. Does it get dragged behind a car ? (Just joshing)

Rubsoul wrote:Hey Mr. Hall,
"Reliced" Rics?? I want to order the Pete Townsend Relic. Does it get dragged behind a car ? (Just joshing)

Heck no! It gets pile-driven into a Marshall stack!

Collin - that is SO gorgeous!

sloop_john_b wrote:Collin - that is SO gorgeous!

Thanks dude!

The front's not too bad either. It's not as beat-up as the backside, but that seems pretty common for these.

Oh come on; everyone knows that the few special order Ricks that have been reliced were given their distressed look by the crew using the guitars for racquets while playing few furious rounds of racquet ball off the shipping dock wall at RIC.

When I find a beater Rick 330, it ends up looking like this....

I believe you don't see too many "beater" Ricks because, frankly, you don't see too many "beater" semihollow bodied guitars of any brand. Think Gibson ES335 etc. When was the last time you saw a "beater" ES335?

Fender solid bodied guitars -- in other words, the vast majority of Fender electrics -- can take the beating and show it, as opposed to take the beating and being destroyed. Because they have solid bodies! And detachable necks!

Though this is not a guitar, so technically not a "beater," it once was the better part of a 360-12 FG 1965:

libratune wrote:Think Gibson ES335 etc. When was the last time you saw a "beater" ES335?

Last summer.....and I sold it! :foreheadslap:



I agree though, you see it a lot less on hollowbody/semi HB guitars, but they're definitely out there. I love worn guitars though (natural wear!!).

Let's more pics, people. C'mon.

Good show! Man even a worn in Rick looks better than 90% of the new guitars out there. They're finished better than most too. Years ago I took my '88 to a shop & the guy thought Rickenbacker was getting lax on their finishes. Then I told him it was more than 20 years old and played almost daily by me since '94...that sure shut him up.

My '87 620 is pretty beat up. Lots of deep dings and scratches all over it. But it's Jetglo, so from more than 5 feet away it still looks all shiny and new.

Dom wrote:I got thinking I looked at my translucent purple (yes purple) 330/12 I hardly play. It started off as a MG but was refinished by a previous owner. I bought it cheaply in the 90's because a ric 12 is necessary...Truth is I don't like the spacing and I rarely use it which is a shame. Does anyone on here have a beater Ric out there with serious mojo?

Deal pending.

Rock on!