Telenator

The original Fender Wide Range Humbuckers read 10.6k so if someone is trying to sell you something reading in the 7.5k range, you can bet your life it's a re-issue pickup.

Yup, same problem.

I hope you guys realize that the RickenRocker photos did not have the pole pieces Photoshopped out. I got a good laugh out of that one! I took the photos at two different times. Once with the Antiquity Firebird p'ups (no pole pieces) and then later with the Gibson mini-humbuckers. Anyway, many compliments to some real fine builds. Skelf's awesome bass almost had me but then I saw the inlay work on Marcovis' LP and had to give him my vote. As you can tell by my RickenRocker build, I like guitars that take the original and go one better. In fact, that LP project has inspired me to do one of my own with a 25 1/2" scale. I have never gotten along well with Les Pauls because I don't like the shorter scale. Good luck to all. I'm honored just to be in your company!

Agreed Tonemonkey. I always found that using a stylus with a shape similar to the size of the cutting bit works best. Then again, the photos are just for display purposes.

Blasphemy? You dun gone all the way to sacrilege! LOL! Nice piece. Not sure I could even tune that pup! 6 strings about all I can handle.

Very cool. It sort of resembles the "Dupli-carver" of the late 70's/early 80's era. Lots of nice work to be done with that piece of gear!

Nice work! Looking forward to seeing that SG project. I have been very tempted to build an SG style guitar that had a nice hefty body to counterbalance the long neck. I love the shape but find them difficult to play because the neck always wants to fall to the floor. I have a hard enough time playing as it is without trying to hold the neck up in position too!

LOL! The guys on their forums got pretty heated about my 360 style guitar. I was in the same boat as you though. I called RIC too and they chuckled at the blasphemous thought of a 360 with an adult sized neck.

Don't try to solve all of your problems in advance. Make yourself available for your opportunities. If you try to envision the entire guitar and every little step along the way, the project will seem impossible, too complicated, beyond your ability, and just plain too risky to even start. Make a drawing. Make a template. Cut some rough blanks to size. Buy a truss rod. Anything! Just take that first step to break out of this willy nilly mode. Once you begin the project, everything will become clear and take focus. Just take it in small pieces. If you're not familiar with doing your own set-ups on your guitars, it would be a big advantage to learn that now. This will help you in untold ways during the build process and of course finally getting your new guitar to play and sound right. It's not that hard if you go slowly, take one step at a time and keep your focus by not getting ahead of yourself. We look forward to great things from you even on your first attempt!

Has anyone from Rickenbacker questioned your choice of body shape? The people on the Ric forums can be a militant bunch.

Here's my "RickenRocker" This is a little piece I whipped up out of frustration at not being about to buy a Rickenbacker 360 with the features I wanted. The wood is Black Walnut and Maple. The Black Walnut was torn out of a rural family cabin 50 years ago and has sat in a shed ever since. The wood was actually used as stair treads in the cabin! A travesty! This guitar features a 25 1/2" scale length with a Fender style "string through" Hipshots bridge. The peg head is thinner than a Ric and tilted back 1 extra degree because of the height of the tuners. The fret board inlay is of the same black walnut and it a modified Ric-style inlay. I feel that the curve added to the inlay better suits the design of the guitar. I maintained the 1/16 radius at the points to be respectful to the original. The binding is of the same maple used for the neck. The pickups are out of a 1968 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. I originally had Seymour Duncan Antiquity Firebird pickups in the guitar but they didn't get the tone I was hoping for. The control layout is very simplified ( volume, tone, 3 way switch) as I am a gigging musician and the 6 knobs on a Ric 360 are just too much for me to deal with on stage.

What a great idea for that bass. Beautiful work. If it sounds half as good as it looks, you've got a real winner on your hands! orqmorq, your avatar is one of my favorite albums of all time. The guitar solo in "Theme for an Imaginery Western" is one of the all time greatest solos ever!

I built the guitar below with a 1" thick, quarternsawn piece of mahogany and topped it with a bookmatched piece of 5/8" maple. It absolutely screams in the Les Paul tradition. Many mahogany guitars I play seem to sound nice and warm but often lack the complex highs associated with adding a maple cap. For what it's worth, I tend to like maple caps for rock guitars, and solid mahogany for blues, swing and cleaner tones.

Very cool project. Love the headstock inlay!

Thank you! The folks at Rickenbacker and their forums are in a real twist over this guitar. Some folks like yourself understand why I built this. Others are all bent on snitching that "someone made a fake!" as they run off to prove their self importance. I am very impressed with the caliber of work on this forum and the quality of the people who participate. I'm glad I stumbled across this place! Great forum!