I did not wake up expecting to think about the dude from Steppenwolf, but the John Kay signature Rickenbacker is beautiful. The little pickguard with a signature would have to be replaced, but if I had $4k to drop on a guitar right now I might do it, though not likely what with the A/C guy we just had to call out on a Saturday.
I always appreciated Talk Talk’s repurposing of the Pusherman riff, so I could totally rock one without any embarrassment. Born To Be Wild isn’t bad, though it’s obviously been picked clean of any of what charm it might have had before it was turned into a jingle.

I mean you can totally tell that this guy has had sex:



This led me into other off the walk Rickenbacker signature models - who knew Carl Wilson had one? I’ve always liked bands that had a Gretsch/Rick guy anyways.

FWIW there’s a dude in the UK named Harry White who does extremely high-end ric replicas. If you’re ever interested in something like that sig model but don’t want to pay collector markup prices on one. His stuff isn’t “cheap” per se but I think it’s reasonable for what it is.

mdc wrote: Sat Jun 07, 2025 6:58 pm FWIW there’s a dude in the UK named Harry White who does extremely high-end ric replicas. If you’re ever interested in something like that sig model but don’t want to pay collector markup prices on one. His stuff isn’t “cheap” per se but I think it’s reasonable for what it is.

Even Harry White couldn't build you a 381JK. The pickups are Rickenbacker active single coils and now basically unobtanium and the blend knob has been replaced by a 4 way rotary switch. That guitar is mental.

Manual excerpt explaining the various options: https://www.rickresource.com/forum/down ... &mode=view.

Doesn't it just have a pair of HB-1 humbuckers?
I would guess the 'active' circuitry is just a little buffer/preamp of some sort built into the guitar.

I've played one of these for almost 35 years now (jesus!). It's still amazing

man alive, wonderful

Earthquaker Sunn O))) Life Pedal is great. The Rat part sounds great, the boost sounds great (and seems to keep low end well, better than other boosts I've tried for bass), and the octave is cool to add in when needed. Basically can now use this on my board with just a tuner and I'm good to go.

adavidmackinnon wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 9:19 am

I've played one of these for almost 35 years now (jesus!). It's still amazing

Should have said earlier - gibson Chet Atkins Country Gentleman. Mine is an 89 and looks much more road worn than this photo. Its the only guitar I've ever bought new.

Started looking at the Harry White Ricks and that’s some pretty fancy stuff. I’m not about to buy one, but I wonder if an 8-string bass’s not an option.

adavidmackinnon wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 12:52 pm

adavidmackinnon wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 9:19 am

gibson Chet Atkins Country Gentleman.

That is amazing. Looks the business, 100%

adavidmackinnon wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 12:52 pm

adavidmackinnon wrote: Tue Jun 10, 2025 9:19 am

I've played one of these for almost 35 years now (jesus!). It's still amazing

Should have said earlier - gibson Chet Atkins Country Gentleman. Mine is an 89 and looks much more road worn than this photo. Its the only guitar I've ever bought new.

Yeah I don’t know why I didn’t conceive this existed not in orange. Love it