Someone got a great deal on this 8 string Ricky

Mark Davis · Post by **Mark Davis** » 23 May 2001 3:51 pm

I saw this when it was first posted but didnt click on it cause it said Rickenbacker Electro and I thought it was one of those grey metal body ones.

I will always click on every Rickenbacker ad on EBay from now on!! LOL

This lucky fella got an 8 string Ricky for $600 help I wanna hang myself with some old flatwounds. LOL
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1433260662

J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 23 May 2001 7:16 pm

Well, it's a 1950's model. But in great shape!
Note the chrome plating. Here's a lesson to learn: Not all chrome plated Rick's are pre-war!
But these later '50's models were better than the early post-war models (IMO), as they featured the string-thru design again, vs. the 1945 to 1950+ tailpiece design.
Just keep in mind that all those "B"-models used the same neck for 6, 7 or 8 strings. So, with 8 strings the sting spacing will be quite narrow... What I call a "NO-slanter".

... J-D.

Mark Davis · Post by **Mark Davis** » 23 May 2001 8:03 pm

Thanks for the extra info. Didnt realize the necks were all the same. The 10 strings must have a wider neck or they would be impossible to play huh?

I see hundreds of the 6 string ones but rarely ever see a 7-8 or 10 string model of any year.

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 23 May 2001 8:25 pm

Forgive my ignorance, but judging from the size of that magnet, it sure looks like the older model to me. I have an 8 string bakelite with the 'newer', smaller magnet and I also have a SILVER HAWAIIAN 6 with the larger magnet similar to the one in the pic...any comment ?[This message was edited by George Keoki Lake on 23 May 2001 at 09:28 PM.]

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 23 May 2001 8:32 pm

The 10 stringers definately have a wider neck. There was only one bidder for this. I'm sure that if this was auctioned under "steel guitar" instead of "misc. musical instruments", it would have had more bidders and a higher price. Someone did very well. Good luck to them.

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Eric Stumpf · Post by **Eric Stumpf** » 24 May 2001 2:45 am

....hey, don't feel too bad about losing the auction on that 8-string Rick. All of the early (pre-1960-ish) 8-string single and multi-neck Rick steels have 7-string pick-ups. Get under the magnet there and check it out....7 pole pieces. I wondered why the 8th and 7th strings never really cut it on these guitars until I discovered this; they're sharing a pick-up pole piece! Oh, they sound great but the bottom end could have a bit more zip and this is the reason for it.

Mark Davis · Post by **Mark Davis** » 24 May 2001 3:42 am

Thanks again for the extra tip Eric I had no idea the 8 string Rickys only had 7 pole piece pickups.

Guess I'll stick with Fenders. I know how they sound no surprises there!!

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 24 May 2001 6:44 am

looks like an old one to me...

Bob Stone · Post by **Bob Stone** » 24 May 2001 8:17 am

That's most definitely an 1-1/4" pickup. Sacred steeler Chuck Campbell has one like it, but with enamel plates, strings-thru-body and there is no comparing the sound to my patent pending 6-string with 1-1/2" pickup. Chuck really liked his 8-string, but his jaws dropped when he played my six.

Cartwright Thompson, who has owned serveral Bakelite Rics over the years, told me that was a typical reaction. So Mark, you didn't miss out on a really great guitar.

J D Sauser · Post by **J D Sauser** » 25 May 2001 11:08 am

Sorry, I should have been more specific about the necks:
Yes, 10 string guitars had a completely different neck; it was made of cast aluminum. The string spacing is similar to a B7 and they're very playable.
The mentioned guitar that sold on e-bay has a 1-1/4" pick-up (post-war pu). You can always recognize it by the plated frame that's all around it. The earlier 1-1/2" pu's only had two little tabs on each side as an attach to the body.
I don't know of ANY pre-war B8's (which does not mean....). One reason I would tend to believe that none would have been successful is that the neck was too weak. B-models from 1940 on had a metal reinforced bakelite neck.

Mark Durante · Post by **Mark Durante** » 28 May 2001 7:32 pm

Looks postwar to me. The case is typical late 40's.
I have five necks of mid fifties 8 string rick pickups,(two D-8's and one S-8), and they all have 8 polepieces.
It looks like the bobbins might be the same as the six strings though, as the 1st and 8th polepieces are at the very edge of the bobbin.

Andy Alford · Post by **Andy Alford** » 30 May 2001 5:34 am

Remember that after the war some Ricks were made with pre war bodies but with new parts It is a maze when dating these guitars.One of the best Ricks that I ever heard was a after war with the white plates but with a pre war body.It also sported a pre war name plate but I am sure that it was after the war.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 2 Jun 2001 8:14 pm

One of our own convinced Rickenbacher that 7 string guitars were going to be the way to go so they had a bunch of pickups made up waiting to be installed. So when 8s became popular they just stuck em on. I have a D-8 with 7 string pickups, I also have a pre-war 10 with the aluminum neck and to my ears, it doesn't sound as good as the pre war 6.

Eric Stumpf · Post by **Eric Stumpf** » 3 Jun 2001 3:53 am

......Thank you, Chas. You've restored my credibility.

Mark Durante · Post by **Mark Durante** » 3 Jun 2001 5:07 pm

Chas,
That answers that. It seems logical that they would do something like that, using up existing stock at first until they started making new 8 string pickups in the late 40's or early 50's.