Ric SB AL

This baby was built for a friend who loved Rics and wanted a Travis Bean. At first it just looks very Rickenbacker, but it's construction and sound is far from it.

It is completely hand made and was a great combination of solid body guitar and aluminium neck.

This one is a prototype and likely only one to be made of this type.

Aluminium necks continue to fascinate me for their strength, weight and tone are, in my opinion, much better than timber and they never warp or twist.

The basswood body is thick and solid, although light and very resonant. The slash F hole is running right through the body and has been called a handle by some !

The ultra thin aluminium neck is designed and made by me at the workshop here and then cast in aluminium. The neck is hollow with a web running up the middle for strength and for something for the fretboard to attach to.

The headstock is hollowed out to save weight and give the distinctive slanted T look. This is also a small owed to Travis Bean. It is finally polished to a chrome finish and the fretboard is applied.

The pick up is a HOT Tym Mosrite single coil and it's finished off with my favorite bridge for sustain and tone, the wraparound.

The simplicity of this guitar is at it's heart. One hot pick up, one volume knob, two output jacks and that's it. It has screaming highs and sustain from the aluminium neck with plenty of mids and lows from the timber body. It's not a subtle guitar in looks or sound.

These may be offered in the future with a standard timber neck as I love the concept so keep an eye on these pages.
  Look here for more pics.
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