Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Although I live in the Toronto area, the last two new Rickenbacker basses I've ordered have been from Mike Parks in the US. Why? The major RIC retailer in Canada is Long & McQuade (and their subsidiary Ward Music). For those in the states L&M would be similar to a Guitar Centre. Unfortunately I have only ever seen a couple of Rickenbackers hanging in their stores and the sales staff are generally unknowledgable when it comes to Rics, (sound familiar?). I called one store the other day to inquire about ordering a 4004cii/5 in Blueburst. He gave me a price which was significantly higher than the price I got from Mike Parks (factoring in the currency conversion). I also asked him to double check the price in case there was an upcharge for Blueburst - still waiting to hear back about that. I usually don't rant about such things, but I would really like to buy from a Canadian retailer who is knowledgable about Rics. Aside from L&M, the RIC website only shows two other Canadian retailers - Steve's in Montreal and a shop in Edmonton. Does anyone out there have any positive experiences with Canadian RIC retailers? If not I'm more than happy to stick with Mike Parks - a great guy who knows his stuff!

Steve....better find out if the CASE is included in that price.....The G.C.'s all charge extra for the case...a shady practice at best...

Just got a quote back from L&M for a 4004cii/5. After converting the currency their price is almost $400 Cdn. higher than Mike Parks!!! What the heck is going on here?

It's their polite way of saying that they don't want to sell you a Rickenbacker.

But if you insist on buying one from them, they're going to soak you for it.

Been there and done it.

But they have their reasons.

Hey Jon,
I'd love to hear about "their reasons" - e-mail me privately if you'd like.
Maybe L&M does sell a decent number of Rics every year, but from where I stand they don't seem that interested in making a sale considering the pricing they quoted me. The sales guy also made a big deal about the wait ("well over a year"). That may be true, but I just felt it was another way of disuading me from ordering the bass I was interested in.
There was a nice shop called Murch's Music in Chatham, but guess what - they're part of the L&M family now. We really need a good and knowledgable RIC shop up here. Maybe I'll quit my job and approach John Hall about becoming a dealer!

L & M are very poor when it comes to Rics. I had the same experience when I was looking for a bass. I was told that they were not stocked and that they were available only as special order items. I know that it's rare to find a Ric hanging on a peg just about anywhere, but L & M weren't even trying. It was quite frustrating considering that they're an official dealer. There is a guitar-centric L & M in Toronto that did have a couple of Rics available: a 381 JG (used) and a 360/12 JG. Those are the only two I've seen in recent months.

Steve, I've had the same thought about setting up a web-based dealership, but my day job just wouldn't allow me the time I'd need to do it properly. Plus, I don't know a thing about the retail business.

In the meantime, Mike Parks is doing an excellent job.

I've been to Steve's in Montreal two years ago, I was looking around for Gretsch's at the time so I didn't really take a look for Rickenbacker's, but after going around the whole store I only saw one.
It was hanging up on the side of a rack that in the middle of an aisle, hard to explain or maybe I just can't find the words right. Anyways it didn't look like they really wanted anyone to touch it.
I don't think it even had a price tag on it, maybe it did but I don't remember...
It was a 325 in Jetglo, not sure about the specific details it had, but it had a 325 shape...

I'm supposed to go to Montreal this June for a few days, I'll drop by, see what they got, hopefully try one! Since I've never played any other then mine I'd like to be able to give a different RIC a shot.

I'm sort of disapointed that it's the closest dealer from home, well maybe there's one in Maine that's closer but I never go to USA so I wouldn't know.
What I'd like to do is be able to bring my guitar in for a professional set-up where they actually have people certified or whatever to work on RIC's.
I'm sure that if I handed in my guitar somewhere without telling them it's a different trussrod system they wouldn't know off hand...

Steve,
Definitively go for it!
Your fellow Canadian RIC lovers will really appreciate you as a dealer who loves and knows RIc instruments and is passionate to "spread the love'.

This will also make you job much more fun for you, don't you think?

Steve's Music Store on Queen St. W. usually has at least a few ricks kicking around, and the staff are pretty good in my experience. Haven't been there in a few years, though.
Steve - I'm with you on Murch in Cambridge...a very good store, too bad they've gone L&M...the store's really expanded but the last time I was in there the new staff seemed pretty sub-par...

Guys,

Over the past 12 years, I have bought all 4 (+ another 3 on order) of my Ricks from Warren Cooper (Manager) L & M Brampton Tel: (905)450-4334.

He is VERY competitive on pricing. Warren's a great guy and goes above and beyond to help!

For Beatlefans: Warren also knows a lot about correct Beatles Gear these days since I have purchased over 17 Beatle guitars in the last year or so - LOL

Give him a call and say Paul Aujla sent you!

ATB

Hm, over 17 guitars in a year, how many Rics and do you still have them ? Which models and how about some pics ?

Hey Brian,

At the moment I have two 325C58's - one in Jetglo and one in Alderglo. They will soon be undergoing the Hamburg and Sullivan Lennon mods!

I USED to have a 1981 320 in Jetglo (I can still remember travelling to NY on the train to buy it - LOL), a 1994 325V59 in Mapleglo and a 1994 325V63 in Jetglo.

On order are: 360/12C63 in Fireglo, 325C64 Miami in Jetglo and a Lefty 4001C64 in Fireglo.

The other guitars are Gretsch, Gibson, Epiphone and Lefty Hofners.

One day soon, I will definitely post pics of the entire collection!

Cheers

Paul

I have been dealing with L+M for decades, and have always had great service from them, but I will agree that L+M and Rickenbacker have some serious issues that I wish they would resolve.

Yeah, Murch sold to Long & McQuade in Cambridge. Even so, Don Randall still works there. He is a great guy and understands Rics, setups and can really handle the two truss rods. He has done my Rics for some years and has owned a few himself as I understand. I have not had any dealings with Don since the take-over but I'm sure he's not too impressed with the name tag and neck-tie.
In stock now are 2 330 Fireglows, a Mapleglo 660-6 and a Fireglo 360. There are also 2 used Roland JC-120's as well. If a 381/12 Turquoise shows up it'll be mine!

I ended up purchasing the 381V69 JG (used) from L&M in downtown Toronto 4 weeks ago. The staff were fine to deal with, though that's only my first time dealing with them.

When I finally squirreled away enough cash to purchase a Ric, friends warned me that it might be an adventure to track one done. And it was. Which is why I picked up this one when I saw it. So far, so good. Now, must buy a dozen more, but where to look?

Wife is making plans to leave me as she reads this...