Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Some time ago I removed the chrome pickup cover on my 4003 and fitted one of those black plastic bezel Infills. It looks nice and does the job fine, but have recently seen these for sale in Bakelite?

I know Bakelite was widely used in the electronics industry years ok but went out of fashion (possibly replaced when plastics came to the fore). I was wondering is there any benefit in having a bezel in Bakelite over a Black Plastic one? I assume they may be less prone to static build up (or maybe even static-free?), but I've never come across this problem before, are there any other 'benefits'?

The Bakelite ones I've seen don't look quite as nice, they're not as shiny as the plastic one's and there is a tint of brown colour to them instead of them being Jet Black?

Has anyone got any thoughts on these?

Ok, so no one else could think of a benefit for these being in Bakelite either?

Most of the original Bakelite products were molded from phenolic resin that had asbestos filler. In more recent years, cellulose in various forms has been the filler but lots of people still have a negative perception of Bakelite because of the asbestos use in the past and not too many places outside of China fabricate it anymore.

I'm not aware that Bakelite by itself is any better that other products as far as static, unless, I suppose, it is filled with metal or other conductive material. But it does come in sheet and rod form that have anti-static coatings.

johnhall wrote:Most of the original Bakelite products were molded from phenolic resin that had asbestos filler. In more recent years, cellulose in various forms has been the filler but lots of people still have a negative perception of Bakelite because of the asbestos use in the past and not too many places outside of China fabricate it anymore.

I'm not aware that Bakelite by itself is any better that other products as far as static, unless, I suppose, it is filled with metal or other conductive material. But it does come in sheet and rod form that have anti-static coatings.

Hi John and thanks for your reply/input.

Personally I have never experienced any issues with static on any of my basses, I don't know whether guitar pickups are any different as I understand some Fender guitar pickup covers are/were available in this material. I was just wondering if anyone knew of a specific advantage for them being in Bakelite and as you seem to agree, I don't think there is.

They may not be quite as polished and shiny as a plastic infill, so perhaps on a vintage Ric they might look better?

Steve, do you have a link to what you're describing?

johnallg wrote:Steve, do you have a link to what you're describing?

John,

The Bakelite pickup bezels are being sold by a UK company, here is their web address;


www premierbasses.com


If you do a search on there you will find the item.

Steve

Really, a part like this should be made of metal, preferably non-ferrous, to offer a bit of extra shielding. There is no good reason for it to be Bakelite either, as opposed to any other plastic, if one is to go the plastic route. If it were in actual contact with the coil you could make an argument for its density but some type of HDPE would probably be better in that regard.

A sandwich of thin aluminum and some thicker black ABS would offer the best combination of shielding, material workability and appearance.

Thanks Steve. The description includes this clue as to why they made it:

"Actual Bakelite, This is totally non conductive and will not produce any interference from the pickup ." I believe they meant to the pickup. But neither would aluminum or any plastic or nylon-type product.

johnallg wrote:Thanks Steve. The description includes this clue as to why they made it:

"Actual Bakelite, This is totally non conductive and will not produce any interference from the pickup ." I believe they meant to the pickup. But neither would aluminum or any plastic or nylon-type product.

In my opinion it seems a bit gimmicky, I think the best possible use would be on vintage instruments as the Bakelite may look less 'new' than a shiny black plastic one?

Baker69 wrote:

johnallg wrote:Thanks Steve. The description includes this clue as to why they made it:

"Actual Bakelite, This is totally non conductive and will not produce any interference from the pickup ." I believe they meant to the pickup. But neither would aluminum or any plastic or nylon-type product.

In my opinion it seems a bit gimmicky, I think the best possible use would be on vintage instruments as the Bakelite may look less 'new' than a shiny black plastic one?

Sounds plausible, and yes gimmicky, IMHO.

I'm old enough to remember when Bakelite was still fairly common (thank you very much for reminding me!); I had a nice little tabletop radio with a Bakelite body when I was a kid. And thanks John, for the bit of info about the asbestos; I always wondered what that fuzzy stuff was when you broke it. Definitely something to be mindful of. Other than being inexpensive, moldable, and fairly non-conductive, I don't think there was any advantage to Bakelite over anything else. It's just that for a long time, thare wasn't anything else. When there was, Bakelite faded away fairly quickly. It does have a pretty funky, retro-look to it, though. If you could get it in the brownish color a lot of Bakelite stuff came in (my radio was like that), it might go well with the vintage Rick knobs; otherwise? Meh.

We have Bakelite switch and outlet plates at the house from 1930 and I am looking at the temperature control knob and handles that are on our 1950s GE waffle iron. and yes, they are the brown variety.

GIBrat51 wrote:I'm old enough to remember when Bakelite was still fairly common (thank you very much for reminding me!); I had a nice little tabletop radio with a Bakelite body when I was a kid. And thanks John, for the bit of info about the asbestos; I always wondered what that fuzzy stuff was when you broke it. Definitely something to be mindful of. Other than being inexpensive, moldable, and fairly non-conductive, I don't think there was any advantage to Bakelite over anything else. It's just that for a long time, thare wasn't anything else. When there was, Bakelite faded away fairly quickly. It does have a pretty funky, retro-look to it, though. If you could get it in the brownish color a lot of Bakelite stuff came in (my radio was like that), it might go well with the vintage Rick knobs; otherwise? Meh.

Mine. Well, I have one just like it.

That looks nice. Mine, unfortunately, was broken/lost/stolen in one of my family's endless transfers to another base, or else, just given away; don't remember which, any more (oh, the many joys of being a GI brat!). I do remember that it was a pretty simple AM radio, with one knob and a round tuner dial on the front. Looked thru the vintage Bakelite radios on eBay last night, but couldn't find anything that looked like it. I listened to a lot of rock 'n roll on that thing!

GIBrat51 wrote:That looks nice. Mine, unfortunately, was broken/lost/stolen in one of my family's endless transfers to another base, or else, just given away; don't remember which, any more (oh, the many joys of being a GI brat!). I do remember that it was a pretty simple AM radio, with one knob and a round tuner dial on the front. Looked thru the vintage Bakelite radios on eBay last night, but couldn't find anything that looked like it. I listened to a lot of rock 'n roll on that thing!

I've had to replace a cap or two in it, and used our famous Zymol wax on the Bakelite, but it sounds very good and almost full range for an old AM radio.