Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi fellow forum members,
I am newbie to the Rickenbacker Registration Page forum. I have owned/played several rics since my first 360 in the seventies.
I am looking to buy a 660/12 string and I noticed that on the ric website they list this model has a "charactered maple" body. The several I have seen listed lately the wood looks like their regular production maple. Does anybody know what's the deal?

I got my 660 6 string in Mapleglo a couple of months ago and the maple body has a real nice flamey look, maybe it's just the pictures that you're looking at?

I've ordered one in Monty Brown and I'm hoping for the same figuring

Check out the ones at Dave's guitar in Wis. He currently has three or four and one is in MB and they all are plain. The only one that I have been able to find that is figured is a MG one from Wildwood guitars.

Charles/Bob, this 660/12 has nice maple as well, more so on Mapleglo finish guitars perhaps? It's also had the guards and truss rod cover switched to white which compliments the checker binding well.

My 660/12 has a very nice flame maple body.

"Charactered Maple" means it will be one type of highly select Maple, whether that be Birdseye, Flamed, Quilted, etc. It is very different than the standard production Maple. However, sometimes the regular Maple is especially nice, coming close to the worst piece of premium Maple you might see.

That's true... I've seen some regular Ric guitars sporting near flame maple tops. A really different look. How do they sneak into the process John? Are they bought as premium maple, then someone decides they aren't good enough, so they get turned into a run of the mill 330 or 360?

Some premium Maple is "demoted" but usually it's just a really nice piece of standard Maple that came through the system when you see a great 330 or 360.