Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

jakeisjake · Post by **jakeisjake** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 5:17 am

yes. that's what i heard, too.

it's kinda funny. i asked about tracking updates (it still says it "left the sorting center january 6, 2016")...they said "when it reaches its destination, the tracking will be updated".

kinda funny

AWSchmit · Post by **AWSchmit** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 6:05 am

I wonder if they meant via points rather than destinations?

jakeisjake wrote:yes. that's what i heard, too.

it's kinda funny. i asked about tracking updates (it still says it "left the sorting center january 6, 2016")...they said "when it reaches its destination, the tracking will be updated".

kinda funny

jakeisjake · Post by **jakeisjake** » Wed Jan 18, 2017 7:55 am

that would make sense.

however, in an email a couple of days ago she said it was in customs.

i'll just have to relax.

Fiddy · Post by **Fiddy** » Thu Jan 19, 2017 3:35 am

Maybe CITES related?

jakeisjake · Post by **jakeisjake** » Thu Jan 19, 2017 8:59 am

tribi9 wrote:Maybe CITES related?

who knows?

i'll just have to relax

(that's what i keep telling myself!

)

jakeisjake · Post by **jakeisjake** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 11:21 am

man! i was hoping to get my guitar before President Trump was inaugurated and placed tariffs on chinese made goods!

AWSchmit · Post by **AWSchmit** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 12:12 pm

jakeisjake wrote:man! i was hoping to get my guitar before President Trump was inaugurated and placed tariffs on chinese made goods!

Can of worms, Mike.. Can. Of. Worms....

jakeisjake · Post by **jakeisjake** » Fri Jan 20, 2017 3:34 pm

AWSchmit wrote:
jakeisjake wrote:man! i was hoping to get my guitar before President Trump was inaugurated and placed tariffs on chinese made goods!
Can of worms, Mike.. Can. Of. Worms....

truth!

jakeisjake · Post by **jakeisjake** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 9:03 am

Mea Culpa.

so, on a whim, i entered the tracking number from EMS into the USPS tracker and it said my guitar should be here tomorrow. i should have tried that earlier.

looking forward to it.

jakeisjake · Post by **jakeisjake** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 11:21 am

the guitar arrived today.

Pros:
fit and finish is very nice.

i ordered it in a matte finish (new and shiny isn't my thing). it looks great. very smooth and creamy...with a very nice fireglo. the binding is beautiful (altho more in the con section about it), it isn't stark white...it's more of a cream color. because it's a matte finish, there's some squiggly little lines in the finish that would probably buff out (altho that would shine it up, right?). the biggest happy surprise for me was the inlays. i didn't like them at all in any of the pics i saw (of mine or others)...they seemed very bright and white. but in person, they are subdued and go very well with the guitar. there's binding on the neck and the frets go over the binding (unlike my Gretsch)...

visually, the toaster tops look good...a tiny bit taller than the toasters on my 330 (altho i don't know if my toasters are authentic or not). there is no gromlet or pad beneath them, they are screwed right to the body.

i dislike the tail piece and planned to switch that out from the start (especially since i changed the strings...what a pain!).

it plays great.

neck is slightly wider than my Ric (but i don't mind the narrowness of Rics like some do). nice and smooth and feels good in my hand. the short scale surprised me (i guess it shouldn't have, since it's a Capri...but i wasn't thinking about it). the neck itself is a good 2 inches shorter than the 330 (and the body is much smaller).

it is light!

when i picked up the box i wondered if they forgot to put it in there...it is very, very light. obviously, the smaller body, etc makes it so.

over all, the sound is good.

sounds very much like my Ric. when my kids come home from school, i'll do a little blind hearing test to see how much they really sound alike. i think the Rick is louder (but that may be bc of the height of the pickups.

Cons:

frets are sharp. not a killer...but you can feel them.

the tail piece and tuners feel very cheap. i'm not convinced they are even real metal. you know that cold feeling you get when you go to tune and grab the tuner? it doesn't feel that way. as i said, i will change out the tail piece to a trapeze when i get a hold of one.

as was pointed out in a picture earlier in the thread, the ramp is slightly uneven. it's not awful...but it is uneven.

the knobs are pretty junky. i'd love to get a set of oven knobs (if anyone knows where to pick some up for a decent price, LMK). and they are set up differently than a Ric.

it is not exactly the shape of a Capri. i'm not sure exactly what it is...but something is slightly off. i think, maybe the bottom could be a little more round (the bottom i mean where the strap button/jack is).

quality wise, it is somewhat comparable to my 330. but, nothing compared to the 620-12 i had; but the 620 was an amazing instrument that was 3 or 4 times the cost. the 330 is a bit of a beater and is a little banged up.

i am pleased with it...i'll take some pics and a vid in a little bit.

jakeisjake · Post by **jakeisjake** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 11:26 am

one more negative: the binding cannot be seen from the front of the guitar, only the side. i'll show you what i mean in a pic.

mediocreplayer · Post by **mediocreplayer** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 1:30 pm

ha! Congrats. That seems to be a pretty forgiving review. Very much looking forward to the video and pictures!

jakeisjake · Post by **jakeisjake** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 7:05 pm

first some pics:

jakeisjake · Post by **jakeisjake** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 7:09 pm

Fiddy · Post by **Fiddy** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 7:17 pm

The neck pickup should be lower.

OffsetGuitars.com

Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

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Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?

Re: Chinese Rick saga... join me, won't you?