Doing Things Wrong

RIP Neil Peart

I was so into Rush when I was a teenager. Not one of those people who followed them around, but I saw them several times in the eighties. That's why I have this thing:

1978 Rickenbacker 4001 'BurgundyGlo'

It's still in very good shape, especially for its age - neck straight, double truss rods fine, front unblemished. The zinc bridge blistered-up and the nickel tuners turned black, so I replaced them all with real Ric parts. I also added a Ric 330k switching pot to give it the 4003 sound, wired upside-down from the usual way on a 4003, and full electronics shielding. The all-red 'BurgundyGlo' finish is rather rare, most red ones are bursts.

Here's Rush at the top of their game
Widely regarded as the greatest pizza deliveryman of all time

now

The new paint is dry enough to handle, so I re-assembled the headless bridge. It is sitting on top of the piece of scrap wood that I screwed it to while I was painting it. That gives you a good idea of what the hammered paint looks like if you lay it on thick enough. The bridge is smoother because I sanded between coats. I also rubbed some of the shine off it. By the time I get back around to this, the paint will be rock-hard. I had to do some careful scraping to get the saddles to fit back into the tracks.