My contribution to 325 mania! (pic)

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 2:06 am

Nice looking '67, Graham!

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 3:41 am

That's a beauty, Graham....looks like the one David used to have.

8mileshigh · Post by **8mileshigh** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 5:13 am

It could be? I keep looking at it. It's in Japan, for around $8500 I think?

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 6:34 am

His was real clean like that but he sold it quite some time ago, and Tony Blair had one too that was real decent...two different guitars altogether.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 6:55 am

Here is my 325C58 with a few slight mods, just to make it stand out a bit from the rest...

It has a two-knob wire loom and pickguard ala the originals, Grover Sta-Tites in place of the Ric-Tite tuners, original 50's Rickenbacker case and strap, and original 50's chrome knobs..I also straightened out the Kauffman handle like some that you see from that period. Strung with Chrome .011s, plays like buttah. My Go-To Rickenbacker. Love it.

8mileshigh · Post by **8mileshigh** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:19 am

Ah that's beautiful John. You did a great job there!

sloop_john_b · Post by **sloop_john_b** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:45 am

Wow, great job John! Why didn't you go with oven knobs?

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:53 am

JB: Originally, they were equipped both ways...Lennon's original guitar, #V81, had the chrome type when it was still a 2-knob guitar. 325 #V85, another 2-knob solid top '58, has oven-knobs on it by the pics on Glen Lambert's site. So, either way is okay.

In fact, I had the guitar at MARF II and it had oven knobs on it there....

35012 · Post by **35012** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:10 am

So I guess that would be the 325c58 "Trade Show" model as opposed to the "Hamburg" model. I wonder how big the market would be if RIC started manufacturing 2 knob 50's reissues...

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:56 am

Isaac, a 'Trade Show' model is pretty well accurate in terms of what I was trying to achieve, for my own interest is in the original version of the guitar circa Feb. 1958.

I think it would be neat to offer them in ambered blonde and ambered two-tone brown, some with f-holes and some without. There are a "few" of us who would get one without a doubt, but the market probably wouldn't be a wide as the Beatle fans' demand has shown. I'd love to see a limited run of them. Why not 28, just like the original run? Count me in.

wmthor · Post by **wmthor** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 12:28 am

John, I like your 325c58 and the fact that it stands out from the others.

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 2:00 am

John wrote:
"In fact, I had the guitar at MARF II and it had oven knobs on it there...."

A beautiful and great playing guitar is is, too. I couldn.t get over how much lighter it is than my 325V59.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:59 am

Thanks guys. The biggest change concerning playability was spending some additional time on the setup, and I like the Chrome .011s quite a bit. They sit in the factory nut really well, and they intonate just as good or better than heavier strings I'v had on it previously. Action is really nice. I had a chance to play Mark Benson's(1964 THE TRIBUTE) early 325 a little bit recently, and his guitar felt a lot like mine in terms of how it was setup. Low action, lighter gauge strings than .013s.

BTW my C58 was one of the GC 'blowout' specials for $799, I was one of the lucky ones that snagged one.

doctorno · Post by **doctorno** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:51 am

All these 320s and 325s in this thread look really beautiful. This thread shows what a very special guitar the 325 is and how much love and time so many musicians devote to it.

So here is a picture of my modified 325V59 - as Kenny said - who wants to be like everyone else? So a long time ago the golden pickguard and nameplate and the brown knobs were replaced by a white pickguard and nameplate and standard knobs. The guitar was wired differently with the 5th knob controlling the middle pickup´s volume and the tuners were replaced with Gotoh locking machine tuners.

By the way: today I finally did it, I brought it to the luthier to have it refinished and refretted (is this the right English word for "installing new frets"?). I will post another picture when I have got it back in september.

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:36 am

Refretted is the correct term. That looks nice with white PG and TRC, too!

Somehow I neglected to post a picture of this rare bird 320 of mine: