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Topic: early bakelite |
Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 12 May 2007 4:53 pm |
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This has come up here before, but is there a reference for early bakelite serial numbers? I'm working on one with just a volume control, no tone control. I know serial numbers on frypans have no good reference, they are all mixed up as production runs etc. I thought I saw something on bakelites early bakelites here some time ago. (??)
Regards BILL |
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Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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John Dahms
From:
Perkasie, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 12 May 2007 6:21 pm
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Strictly off the top of my head...
Prewar model B Bakelite Rics usually had serials beginning with "D" and the 1st 1100 or so were made in '35.
That's how I remember it, maybe someone can dig deeper, but, don't get too hung up on it. I never met an old Ric I didn't like. They do what they do very well.
_________________
Time flies like an eagle
Fruit flies like a banana. |
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Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Harry Sheppard
From:
Kalispell, MT USA
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Posted 13 May 2007 8:30 am
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Bill,
All Bakelite serial numbers begin with the letter C and are sequential with the lower numbers being oldest. I have verified about 85 Bakelite seerial numbers with pictures I have collected over the years. The earliest guitars have the open back Grover strip tuners with oval metal buttons and a single volume knob. Then they switched to the junky 7 sided individual tuners at around C300. The tone knob was added on the opposite side in 1937 just before they received the patent for the horseshoe pickup. They also switched to plastic dots in the neck vs. the earlier plated brass dots. This was at about C1300. The patent number stamp shows up at about C1450. Around C2400 they began to switch to plastic plates and put the tone and volume controls on the same side. They also outlined the frets in white. They continued this through the war and switched back to metal plates at C3100. The last bakelite with a serial number is around C3700. I think it would safe to say there are only about 3700 bakelites with the prewar features.
There are of course inconsistencies within the numbers but in general they follow this pattern. I am still adding numbers to narrow it down even more. Many guitars have also been modified over the years so you may the occasional early bakelite with a tone control. Some have no serial number which indiacates the neck was replaced.
Harry |
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Bill Creller
From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
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Posted 13 May 2007 11:02 am
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Thanks for the response guys. Harry, the one I'm working on is serial C983.
One interesting thing is the pickup winding, which has only 1514 ohms DC resistance.
It has the beautiful old Rick tone too. 
Regards BILL |
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