Ricky Ripoff - Bigtime

John Dahms · Post by **John Dahms** » 11 Mar 2007 7:51 am

It freaks me out, too. I know my way around these and it's legit. There are 2 plated plugs in the headstock to blank off where the original center tuners were located and the spacing of all of them has been grouped closer together to use the top and bottom holes. The tuners are 4 in line and have slightly smaller metal keys to give clearance (not like any mando tuners I know). The string holes and bridge are factory. The very early 6 string I have (D44) has a plated bridge and nut as does this but the 8 string has NO SERIAL # at the top of the headstock! I would love to think it is the very first one (and it could be) but I can't prove it. I will post pics if I can remember how to shrink them properly, etc. (send instructions if you know).

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 11 Mar 2007 8:37 am

That has what appears to be a six string PU with poles added just as you have done.

I didn't add the poles ... thats "standard RIC procedure". I just rewound that one.

In fact ... I was sooooo pissed by 6pm last night ...

... trying to get everything balanced, etc ...

I was about to rip them all out and build 3 new bobbins ...

With blades and # 38 ...

PS One of my Sivers has the plated brass nut and bridge ... its my favorite (and oldest).

Gary Lynch · Post by **Gary Lynch** » 11 Mar 2007 8:58 am

My thoughts are that A. Rickenbacher was a lot like Rick Aiello. He kept the factory boys experimenting with new concepts as the regular production was running. It's easy to see in some of their work like your SH 8 and the 8 string bobbins. So in a sense, Rick A. is recreating the tradition set forth by A. Rick of the 1930'a and beyond !! Pretty wild.

Terry Huval · Post by **Terry Huval** » 10 Apr 2007 7:50 pm

I'm the poor schmuck who bought the Rick T8 described in this post. Fortunately, this saga had a happy ending.

The first part of the road to success was the tremendous effort Rick Aiello made to bring these pickups back to life. He did a great job of communicating with me and although we never spoke in "real time", we developed a great level of trust. Rick is a very talented and generous person.

After receiving the repaired steel, I restrung it and spend considerable effort adjusting the height of the pickups to avoid buzzes and to try to balance the volume between strings on the same pickup. This type of steel needs more TLC than any I have ever experienced before (of course, this is my first Rickenbacker). I finally got it to best it could be. I had to use only a 7 sring setup on each neck, but that worked fine for me. I have used it for several gigs and really enjoy the sound I get from it.

The second part of this good story is that soon after Rick Aiello e-mailed me indicating that the horseshoes on this steel were imposters, I contacted the person I bought this steel from. He was not a steel player himself, but bought this steel to learn. Only the middle neck was strung up, and he - like me - was unaware that there was really a serious problem. Once I shared with him the post from Aiello, this person immediately said he would help me, as he also had not known that these horseshoes were fake. In the end, he sent me a check for half of the cost of the repair. I thought that was very generous, as he ended up $300 short on the amount he paid for the steel as a result of all of this. He told me he bought it on ebay from a person who only had 4 previous sales, with 1 negative feedback. Since ebay shuts down the "Feedback" after 60 days subsequent to the end of the auction - and the sale ended long before that time, the person I bought it from had no recourse from the person he bought it from. He e-mailed that person, but received no response.

The lesson learned here is there are some great people in this world who really do the right thing.

Thanks again to Rick for making this steel useable again.

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 11 Apr 2007 8:44 am

forget about Rick's genius with regard to the guitar.......that Popeye joke was freakin' hilarious!!!!!!!!!

Gary Lynch · Post by **Gary Lynch** » 11 Apr 2007 8:51 am

It most likely sounds better than when it was built. I have one and really like the sound of it. In fact, I like all Rickenbachers and Rickenbackers up to the point Mr. Hall took over. That was the end really unless you play Spanish style guitars. Mr. Hall can thank John Lennon and Roger McGuinn for making him extra successful. Those two musicians alone brought massive appeal to the Rickenbacker guitar. We can thank Rick Aiello for resurrecting our old lap and console steels. Adolph Rickenbacher lives.........