Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I just received a 1982 330 JG and am trying to troubleshoot two issues: pretty severe flaking on the neck finish and no sound coming from the neck pickup.
(I knew about the former, am a bit disappointed by the latter).



First, the neck:





Somewhat odd in that it has more flakes the further you move up the neck (perhaps due to less surface area between the frets). The frets themselves are quite small but show little wear.

The serial number starts with "VD" which might be a bit too easy to make jokes about why the neck has issues. (nice use of duct tape to make the strap buttons bigger, too!)

Second, the pickup:
In testing it out today (I have a 72-hr return window), the bridge pickup sounded great, but there was no signal coming from the neck pickup. Bridge: sound in treble position and in middle. No sound from the neck whatsoever.

I was worried that the neck pickup was bad, but it shows up on the multimeter at around 14 (getting its second use since I bought it at a yard sale a decade ago!) The bridge shows a resistance of around 5 ohms (Measured without desoldering). Is that normal? (Or normal-ish?)



Any quick troubleshooting tips?

Third: minor stuff, such as new foam risers for the pickups, new knob or label, decide what to do about some scratches on the back, etc.

It is a mail order from Guitar Center, so I can try to negotiate some price break at their local store, or perhaps a Coldwell-Banker-Bain office, due to the pickup.

Overall, I'm very excited to have tracked down one from this era, even with some issues.

I had an '83 with the exact same flaking on the fretboard. The person I sold it to (the current owner) eventually had Mark Arnquist strip and re-shoot the board with CV.

Just play it and enjoy it. Get the wiring checked out. Replace the p/u if necessary. If it plays well and stays in tune, I'd keep it. Gary. Good luck my friend. Nice find!!!!!!

sloop_john_b wrote:I had an '83 with the exact same flaking on the fretboard. The person I sold it to (the current owner) eventually had Mark Arnquist strip and re-shoot the board with CV.

I came across a reference or two to the same issue.

Does anyone know whether Mark Arnquist still doing this sort of thing? (He's in the Seattle area, which is convenient).

I've corresponded with Paul W. about a neck refin + refret, which would be the ideal solution (or as my mother would have said, the "cadillac" solution).

More pictures:

PM incoming.

Love it.
Get the fretboard sorted and enjoy your 82.
Fab guitar congrats.
Does.it actually need a refret?

My first RIC - a JG 620 was VD 1084. 1982 is a great year IMHO.

I seem to recall reading that guitars in this era had matched pick ups that were strong vrs weak to provide maximum contrast when use the blend knob.

Not sure why the neck one isn't working - a broken lead somewhere?

Thanks for the nice words.

I am guessing that there's an issue with a solder joint or a pot went bad. They're fixing it (or attempting to do so). We'll see how they do.

The frets are really small (maybe more so due to the flaking finish) but seem to be in good shape. I'd be open to a neck refin without a refret if possible.

You have lucked out in finding a great guitar! Enjoy!