Here’s something you don’t see every day! It's on eBay; It’s not mine, I thought forum members would be interested in seeing it. If you’re thinking about placing a bid… note that the seller is new to eBay and has no record of feedback, no prior transactions, so sending him money might be risky. That’s enough to stop me in my tracks, but maybe some daring forum member with spare Rick parts might want to take a chance. The guitar is missing the tone control knob, and a couple of tuner buttons. Also, the electronics are untested, pickup might need a rewind.
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<font size=-1>My Site | My SteelTab</font><font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 02 April 2006 at 10:09 PM.]</p></FONT>
Last year around this time, George Gruhn in Nashville sold a EXC Ric 10 string for $2100.The was one at the Chicago Vintage Showat $2450. This one might be worth rehab.
I would take the claim that he has no means to determine if the pickup works or not as a crock. At this level, with the kind of money and type of rarity involved, you don't just say "I don't know" and leave it at that. I will assume this is his way of saying "the pickup doesn't work and you are buying it 'as is". I don't trust this way of doing business and I therefore I don't trust the seller.
That being said, if I were willing to take the chance (I'm not) I would contact Rick Aiello and ask him if he were willing to work on the pickup. If so, then I would see if I could get the Ric at a decent price.
But I'm not going to be sending this kind of money to someone who is providing absolutely nothing at all to answer the question "why should I trust you?".
Re the flat plates: It could be that because of the extra P/U width they couldn't use standard plates and probably didn't want to invest in a seperate die to make convex ones.
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Half-assed bottleneck and lap slide player. Full-assed Builder of resonator instruments.
I have a ten string Ricky with white plates that's in perfect shape. It's just a little different than the one pictures so guess it must be post war. Bakelite body with cast iron neck and white plates. No missing parts, tuners or anything else. Rickenbacker logo is elongated and goes down between the tuners. I wouldn't sell it for sentimental reasons but I don't play it too much. My super slide just blows it away on tone. Guess once you've heard and gotten used to a certain tone it's hard to go back to a more vintage sounding horn.
This is the one I used to own. <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Mike Neer on 03 April 2006 at 01:15 PM.]</p></FONT>
RE;Flat side panels. I have seen both flat
and convex on the chrome B 10's. It might have something to do with the year they were made but that is just a guess.
Rich.
The seller just registered with eBay last Thursday. He might actually be an experienced eBay guy who had poor feedback and just re-registered under a new name. He doesn't come across as a first time seller in his description.
Also... have those plates been rechromed? They're pretty shiny.
I just received a nice email from the owner of this guitar--his friend is the actual ebay seller. I will say now that based on the note, going from pure gut feeling, this is straight-up and legit. As I told him in response, I really feel that it is his job to do whatever he can to find out about the pickup---hey, walk into any guitar store and whip this thing out and ask to plug it into an amp----the guys at the store will go nuts over this Ric! They'll say 'sure'!.
But anyway, I want to undo any bad vibes my first post may have spread. If I were in the market for something like this I believe now that I would go for it.
Yes, a friendly response from the seller makes a difference. I too would pay the current price if I were looking to buy this… even though it needs a $150 rewind. I wouldn’t go much higher though. The guitar needs some other work...and parts. It's a handyman's special for sure.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 04 April 2006 at 10:43 PM.]</p></FONT>
As rare as a Ric 10 string is, there has to be limits especially when this particular instrument needs more than just a tune up. The correct knob could set you back $50 to $75.$200 to fix the pickup, $30 to $50 for replacement tuners. Good luck finding a case.