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Topic: Vote String Master Or Prewar Rick.Backelite |
Andy Alford
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Posted 9 Jun 2001 2:46 am |
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| Which one is the very best,the holy grail of steel guitars?Which one would you like to own?If you own both or either of these guitars what do you love about yours? |
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Sage
From:
Boulder, Colorado
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Posted 9 Jun 2001 11:30 pm
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| I think that some instruments end up getting to the same place that some players do. The question can be answered the same for those who get to the highest level of their art- YES, it is the best. Yes, he or she is the best. Beyond that it is personal preference. |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 10 Jun 2001 2:26 am
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| The holy grail would have to be a triple necked bakelite with pre war pickups and a 24 1/2" scale.Each 8 string neck would have 2 pickups and a blend control. Of course it wouldn't have any heat related tuning problems and would only weigh about 20lbs. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 10 Jun 2001 10:32 am
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| the ric is the cutest! |
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Mark Durante
From:
St. Pete Beach FL
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Posted 10 Jun 2001 2:03 pm
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The old double post  [This message was edited by Mark Durante on 10 June 2001 at 03:23 PM.] |
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Mark Durante
From:
St. Pete Beach FL
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Posted 10 Jun 2001 2:21 pm
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Cartwright,
If you have one of those for sale I'll give you $200.00 cash for it right now 
The holy grail would probably be a Bigsby but as far as the question goes, I prefer the tone of the horseshoe PU to that of the also great Fender PU's. Leo's designs are hard to beat though.[This message was edited by Mark Durante on 10 June 2001 at 06:53 PM.] |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 10 Jun 2001 3:03 pm
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| Holy Grail = Sierra Laptop 8 with a Horseshoe Magnet Pickup [This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 04 June 2003 at 08:46 AM.] |
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Bobby Lee
From:
Cloverdale, California, USA
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Posted 10 Jun 2001 5:56 pm
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| I love my Sierra Laptop, but most non-pedal gigs really do require two necks (for me, anyway). I play a Stringmaster, but if I had a Rick D-8 I'd probably use it more often than the Stringmaster. I like the Rick sound better. |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 10 Jun 2001 8:17 pm
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My 4-neck Bigsby is the greatest for a western swing kinda jig! Especially, if I know that I'm gonna have to play a substantial number of instrumentals.
If it's a soft, easy going mellow type of gig, more listening than dancing, then my 7-string Rick or dbl-8 Rick will do nicely.
All around....playing for whatever comes my way, greatest versatility....I'll stick with my dbl-10 Emmons shove & jerk. A great sound, ease of playing, accuracy and total versatility. Ahmen.
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Bob Stone
From:
Gainesville, FL, USA
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Posted 11 Jun 2001 5:19 am
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Good luck getting a straight answer on this one.
I own a pre-1937 Ric Bakelite 6 and a '56 Stringmaster double and both are great guitars. Which one I like the most depends on the context. The Stringmaster is a lot more versatile, though. No tuning problems either. And I like to play standing. But there is something about that Ric sound that is really special. |
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Ricky Davis
From:
Bertram, Texas USA
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Paul Crawford
From:
Orlando, Fl
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Posted 12 Jun 2001 7:52 am
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Impossible question. Which of your children do you love the best?
Living room observations to my ear:
My Rick has the fattest tone and will take a high (E6th) tuning better than the Fenders.
The trapizoid pick up Fenders have that razor clean sound that would shred lettuce and cuts through anything.
The later Fenders have a mellow rich sound and the tones blend smoother at low volume making it ideal for that rich, swing sound but short on single note riffs compared to the hotter traps. |
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Ed Mooney
From:
Evanston,IL
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Posted 13 Jun 2001 1:51 pm
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Ricks for rock and Hawaiian.....the sustain and fat tone.
Fenders for the whiney Country and/or Western sound.
I've had and sold 3 Stringmasters....I wish I had one of them back.
Ed
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Jim Landers
From:
Spokane, Wash.
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Posted 13 Jun 2001 4:13 pm
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I have two Stringmasters and two pre-war Ricks, and ever since this topic was posted I have been taking turns playing each of them. The Ricks and Fenders are totally different sounding instruments, kinda like choosing between apples and oranges.
It's a tough call, but if I could only have one or the other I think I would keep the Ricks. In my opinion they have a cleaner sound and better overall tone than the Fenders, especially for Hawaiian music.
That's just my opinion and I'm sure there are a lot of people that would think just the opposite, but then what the hell do they know. 
Jim |
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Gerald Ross
From:
Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
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Posted 14 Jun 2001 7:37 am
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I like the Rics for a number of reasons.
1. String spacing. The Rics are wider than Fender. Easier slants. More room between strings for fingers.
2. Single note melody lines on the Rics sound fuller to me. Lot's of single note lines in Hawaiian music.
3. Overall tone of Ric fuller and more mid-rangy. I like this sound.
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Gerald Ross
Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 15 Jun 2001 5:09 am
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| For Rock, Blues & Hawaiian I prefer my Bakelite Rick for many of the same the reasons Gerald noted. Besides tone, the Bakelite steels are a prime example of superb industrial/visual design; they're a joy to look at and hold. For Western Swing, Jazz & Country music, nothing I've heard beats the warm, glassy, shimmer of a Fender steel ... and I much prefer the direct-string pickups to those found on Stringmasters. Leo Fender thought mid-range tones were "fluff" and purposely designed his steels & solid bodies to emphasize treble & bass. When I used to own a triple neck Fender custom, I used to walk past it and strum the strings just to wallow in the rich, impossibly long sustain - and that's without it even being plugged in! [This message was edited by Andy Volk on 15 June 2001 at 06:11 AM.] |
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Paul Graupp
From:
Macon Ga USA
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Posted 15 Jun 2001 11:19 am
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When I first began on a D-8 National my teacher was Johnny Vaughn from Norman OK. One night he took me along on a gig he had and after one break he literally put me on the bandstand behind his Fender T-8. Scared and shaky kneed as I was, I can still remember the sound that I was making. I could not believe it was me doing it, it was just too classy. My next guitar was a Fender 1000 and a Pro amp w/15" speaker and later a
Twin Reverb. I'd become a Fender Fanatic !!
Regards, Paul |
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