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Dylan

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I have a feeling they may no longer offer them? Lawsuit maybe?


 


http://www.rareelectricguitar.com/Tom-Delonge-es-333-sale_862.html


 


There is an old link, but they've defintely taken it down. Plus if you try to add it to the cart it gives you an error.


 


I think they are taking a big risk with the Rickenbacker stuff. Rickenbacker goes after anyone trying to make copies of their guitar especially if they put the plate on it that says "Rickenbacker". I know a guy who works for them personally and he said they basically sue anyone doing that.


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I love Rickenbacker guitars! It's a shame I can't afford one.

 

I wiped out my life savings in 1999 to buy Lennon's Ric 325. Still my favorite guitar. They are amazing.

 

The guys who own them are guitar snobs though. There is a Ric message board and anything that is posted that is slightly negative about their guitars is removed. It could be something as simple as "the low E is buzzing and I can't fix it". REMOVED.

 

They also sit in there and trash companies like Fender and Gibson for making the cheap mexican knockoffs. "Oh Ric will never, they have too much pride". All that garbage.

 

Notice how music stores don't put them on the shelfs? Its because the company is such a bitch to work with.

 

Im telling you though, they are a great investment. In 1999 I got my guitar for $1500, same guitar today is going for $3000.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I bought the Tom DeLonge ES333 from Rare Electric Guitars at the beginning of July and I got it at the beginning of August. The guitar is about what I expected. At about 3 feet away, it looks great. If you get closer and really look at it, the racing stripe and the black piping around the edges wasn't taped very well. I did upgrade and get the Gibson Dirty Fingers pickup (which I was hoping wasn't counterfeit too) and it sounds great. It's a hot pickup and just rips.

 

The communication was great with R.E.G. They sent me photo updates and responded within a few days of each email. I modified the guitar a bit, I had the back of the body painted solid white as well as the neck and the back of the headstock for a more uniform look. The downside is I don't know if the neck/headstock is one piece or a scarf joint. I also had them use a black truss rod cover too.

 

You can see pics of the process, guitar before they sent it and upon arrival here:

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The guitar played well for a few weeks, I even used it out at a gig with no issues what-so-ever. I thought for sure I'd have to have it set up, but the lead guitarist in my band, who does light setups and mods, said she was good to play. However, within the last week, the intonation has gone out. She tunes fine, but any chords played in the first 5 frets sounds off.

 

As I was looking at the neck of the guitar, I noticed a few small cracks where the neck meets the headstock. The paint is a flat/matte finish, so I don't know if it's cracking or if there's a bigger issue going on that's causing the intonation to go out. I bought a new black bridge, black grover tuners and a black pick up ring that I was going to have my local shop install for me, so I'll know more about the cracks when I take it in. I knew I was taking a gamble when I bought it, so let's see if it pays off.

 

I did email R.E.G. last week about the cracks and asked if they had anyone else have the issue and if they warrantied/guaranteed it, but being a Chinese company selling counterfeits, I'm not holding my breath. I did get a response stating: "I am sorry for the problem and thank you for your picture, I will turn your picture to our product dept to find out the problem and then I will give you a reply soon. Sorry again for the inconvenience.", which was more than I was expecting.

 

Here are the cracks:

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As for them not being listed on the site, my understanding is that Gibson is giving them some pushback, so they pulled them, but you can still order the guitars if you email them directly.

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What finish did they use? Nitro finishes crack and check if exposed to cold then warm environments. I wouldn't have thought they'd finish their guitars that way but that might be why.


 


http://www.fender.com/news/finish-checking/


 


If you check out some pics on Google you can see what it looks like. I know another fakes website claimed they finish in nitro. If they've done that with yours that's probably all it is.


55Allgoldchecks.jpg


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I'm not sure if it's a nitro finish or not. The cracks aren't deep, they just look like the paint settled and cracked. That's what I'm hoping anyway. Other than being transported to a rehearsal or a gig, it hangs on the wall in my office, so the temperature difference hasn't been too drastic. But since the finish is the flat/matte, I don't know if having a poly coating would have stopped it. Only time will tell. Again for $600 with the pickup and shipping, I can't be too picky.

I'll keep you guys posted on the process when I get it back from the shop or if R.E.G. emails me back.

 

~Matt

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I got a response from R.E.G. last night about the crack in the neck:

"I am sorry for keep you waiting, i have contacted with our luthier about the problem you mentioned, the crack is caused by the heavy pressure , dear sir, we are wondering if you put some heavy stuffs on it? The neck of the guitar is one piece, it has crack because of the pressure."

Since I got the guitar, it either sits in my Gator hardshell case, on the wall on a Fretrest hanger or is being played. I haven't put any pressure on it. We'll see what my local shop says. Hopefully it's just surface damage.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hey guys,


 


I got the guitar back from my luthier yesterday and had a chance to use it at rehearsal last night. She sounds good. I replaced the bridge, pick up ring, tuners, upgraded the pot to a 500k pot and had the guitar set up. She sings now. All in all, the parts ran me about $50 and the set up was $80, so my total investment on the guitar was $730.


 


My luthier did tell me that the frets around 20-22 buzz a little but there wasn't much more he could do about it without doing a refret. I don't play that high anyway, so I'm not that worried about it.


 


~Matt


 


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I got mine awhile ago.


So far, I've changed out the toggle switch cap + washer. The tuners. Truss Rod cover. Tailpiece and the strap buttons.


 


I have the rest of my parts ready for it, which include Slash pickups, new toggle switch, new nut, new bridge, new volume+tone knobs, 500k gibson pots, orange drop caps, new output jack.


 


Overall, it's a FANTASTIC guitar. Love it to death. The holes they drilled are a pain in the ass though because they were poorly positioned.


It does use Nitrocellulose Lacquer. I can confirm that


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  • 1 month later...

i'm just going to throw this out there, these guys make junk. but the basic beginner/novice guitar player may not really notice. anyone that has played quality guitars will know the difference. the quality of the parts they use are low which will result in poor tone/sustain/playability you name it. all in all, if you want a guitar that looks nice-ish thats just going to hang on the wall, go for it. if you want something thats decent enough quality i would stay away from these guys. they are so cheap because they cut every corner imagineable. you're better off just buying a guitar and modding it to suit your needs. or save up a little more and buy some custom stuff through warmoth.com


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Personally, I haven't seen firsthand, with my own eyes, the production of any of guitars. All I can do is trust the manufacturer uses the materials they say the use. But in this case, i knew I was taking a gamble. The price was right and I put my chips on the table. I swapped out all the electronics and hardware for quality pieces, so the only thing that is from the original Chinese guitar is the wood. So far, my gamble has paid off.


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