The Steel Guitar Forum

I just saw this Ricky body on Ebay. If you check sellers other items, you will find the rest of it. What a shame!!!
Auction on eBay.

Ron<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Brad Bechtel on 21 August 2006 at 03:06 PM.]</p></FONT>

i know, that is really irratating. i emailed the seller(some pawn shop), and asked them why they're doing it. if they reply, i'll post it.

From the color of the plates and the tailpiece that's a Bronson Model 52, a very rare bird.

I just noticed in the photo that it's a "tail piece" model and not the "strings through the body"...I was startin to get a wild hair about bidding on it.

Are all those parts from that body?
Ron

It's sleazy but, it's smart e-baying in theory. Seperating it out guarantees a bidding war on each auction. It will be interesting to see if it actually works.

"It's sleazy but, it's smart e-baying in theory. Seperating it out guarantees a bidding war on each auction. It will be interesting to see if it actually works."

Interesting? Interesting?
Interesting like watching lions tear up Christians at the Colloseum! It goes against everything I have done in the more than 35 years I have been a collector. It's just not the right thing to do.

Just think of it as "supply side economics".

Greed is the latest vice spun into a virtue.

Man, I just saw all the rest of the guitar on his other auctions. I think a "public caning" is in order here, what a shame!<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Andy Sandoval on 21 August 2006 at 05:05 PM.]</p></FONT>

Hey I didn't do it. Just made an observation as to why. Don't jump at me lion!

Well, what if you were looking to find just one part of a bakelite?.... The thing about parting out guitars is this: The seller will sell everything, with a sum total more than if he sold it as a "unit". And, as a bonus, more people can complete their guitar with the parts of this one. It is not all bad.

Here is a picture of the guitar before he tore it apart.



It was missing the tone control and one of it's plates, and that volume knob looks suspect. I'll bet the electronics had been cobbled and the guitar didn't work. That's no excuse for parting it out IMHO. The main parts were all there, the pickup, tuners, fretboard, etc. I can understand parting out a guitar if the pickup and all electronics are gone, etc. but this one is a tough call. I notice that the seller is a Pawn Shop. <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 21 August 2006 at 09:22 PM.]</p></FONT>

Original Rickenbacher Tuners? Not!


<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 22 August 2006 at 01:14 PM.]</p></FONT>

You really can't expect much from a guy running a pawn shop. It looks like he has sold a lot of stuff. That guitar is a Bronson, and I told him so. Bobby ingano had one years ago and was very disappointed with it, so maybe it's not as sad as we assume.

A lot of Bronson lap steels and amps were made by Valco and Dickerson. The Bronson Melody King was built by Rickenbacker in the 1950s and it's considered to be the best of the Bronson lap steels.

Here are some pictures of an all original Bronson Melody King. What a beauty!











It looks like the one being parted out is missing a few parts.. eh?

Below is a “Valco” Bronson.



<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 22 August 2006 at 01:21 PM.]</p></FONT>

Bronson also sold some that looked like MOTS Dickersons and MOTS Magnatones. A friend in Toronto has a Bronson MOTS, and it weighs nothing and sounds great.

I had a very nice 1940s Bronson a while back... wood body, dark stain, white binding, screw-on connector, open gear tuners. It looked a little Gibson-ish, but I believe it was built by Valco.

George Bronson was a steel guitar teacher in Detroit from the 1930s until the 1950s, and he sold a lot of lap steels and amps under his brand name. Also guitars and a lot of sheet music.

Here's more:









<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 23 August 2006 at 01:41 AM.]</p></FONT>

Doug,
That Bronson Melody King and the matching amp of the same name used to belong to me. Great steel, just like the BD6 but with brown Bakelite body. The amp wasn't too bad either even with the original tubes.
I sold the set to a guy named Bronson for a pretty high price 6 or 7 years ago. He just had to have them. Looking at that photo I took I'm starting to suffer from seller's remorse again.

You can count on those 1.25" magnets goin' off at a hefty price ...

RIC bass players ...

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<font size=1>Dustpans LTD.
The Casteels
HSGA </font>

The vintage parts market has become huge as all one needs to do is look in an issue of Vintage Guitar and you'll note dealers who sell nothing else. It has become big business on eBay as well. I agree that parting out a vintage instrument can be almost criminal however just like a car, the sum of its parts, in many cases, is worth more than the whole. To the less than savy player or collector it makes financial sense to part it out especially when it is already missing some or has significant damaged. You can sell it as a "project" but I bet many of those end up in parts bins. Also it allows those who already own those vintage gems an opportunity to purchase a missing or defective part. I would think many forumites have been on boths sides of this fence.
I happen to own the Rickenbacker-Bronson steel and Valco amp and must say it's a beautiful steel both in looks and tone. As Richard pointed out the amp is pretty decent as well but unfortunately no one named Bronson has offered me big bucks for mine yet

I have no problem parting out a guitar that has major parts missing, like pickups, if I know I will never find those original parts anywhere.

I have also been a thankful Buyer of vintage parts. I managed to snag original tuners and bridge cover for my '68 telecaster, and I was extremely happy to find those parts.

Vintage parts breathe new life into an otherwise crippled guitar, so that is a good thing. However, tearing apart a complete working guitar and selling it's parts is unconscionable IMHO.

<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 24 August 2006 at 09:33 PM.]</p></FONT>

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica">quote:</font><HR><SMALL>You can count on those 1.25" magnets goin' off at a hefty price ...

RIC bass players ... </SMALL><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>


$338

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<font size=1>Dustpans LTD.
The Casteels
HSGA </font>


<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 31 August 2006 at 12:37 PM.]</p></FONT>

But why would Ric bass players being buying old 'shoes off eBay? Ric makes NEW 'shoes don't they?

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Half-assed bottleneck and lap slide player. Full-assed Builder of resonator instruments.

Well, one thing is for sure. If you cruise this end of the forum you're bound to run into some of these type things. And it always stirs up a flurry of responses. I guess it's all just about the bottom line for a pawn broker. But as a Rick owner thrice times over I hate to see it happen!

Keep slidin' guys.

Kobe

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Gibson D-8 Console Grande - Stringmaster T-8 - Alkire EHarp D-10
Fender Super Reverb
kobe@austin.rr.com
http://home.austin.rr.com/kobeco