1999 FACTORY-BUILT 700C/6 IN FIREGLO—NEW NECK, TOP, AND REFINISH

We were contacted by a Rickenbacker acoustic owner who had trusted his rare Fireglo 700C to a repair person on the East Coast who spent a lot of time removing the neck for a reset before realising that he was in way over his head. Our customer found us in a Google search and contacted me. WE agreed to preliminary terms and scheduling, and he shipped his provide and joy off to our workshop here in Modena.

I inspected the pieces and it became obvious that a new fretboard was required as well as a neck reset. I also advised that the top be replaced, as over a couple of decades it had warped due to issues with changes in humidity, despite the guitar having been cased most of the time.

NOTE: If you plan to keep your acoustic guitar in its case, you MUST include a humidifier in the case, preferably a humidistat with a digital readout. Check it monthly and replenish the liquid to keep the level at about 50%.

Back to the story: Our customer agreed to a re-top in Engelmann Spruce, and a matching refinish of the top only. However, once we began to refinish the top following all of the neck and structural work, we decided to refinish the back and sides, too, due to many scratches and dents, and to respray the pattern in a more subtle pattern than the typical “Clownglo” of its build era.

(“Clownglo” refers to a strange spray pattern on Fireglo Rickenbackers which displays a pinkish center section with a 30cm band of deeper red around the edges of the top and back, with very little blending of the two areas. Most Rickenbacker aficionados regard this paint scheme as unattractive, and I as a painter of 60—yes, 60!—years’ experience can’t help but agree with this consensus.)

So, the entire body was stripped, sanded, and sealed, and a nicely-gradated, less pink Vintage Fireglo finish was sprayed, clear-coated, sanded, buffed, and polished to a fare-thee-well.

The results are shown below, in photos taken in the customers’ back yard. Not a month goes by that I don’t receive an email from the customer expressing how well the guitar is playing-in, and how its voice is maturing. I’m very happy that he’s so happy!