Living With a Rice Custom Guitar.....

[zombywoof]

I have had my Rice Custom Guitar long enough now to have played it in a number of different situations. This thing is a tonal Disneyland. Plugged into a '55 Twin with nuttin' but a little slapback echo added, the guitar's voice can range from a snarl to an eerie falsetto. And yeah, plenty of Tele quack and what I call a tempered twang. In open tuning, ya just dial in tones from Keef to a warm almost acoustic resonance.


In case ya'll forgot - here are some pic.

[morroben]

Someday..............

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by morroben

Someday..............

Me too!

Maybe 2007 will be my "someday."

[getbent]

I throw small bills and change into my Rice jar every day... I'm thinking mid summer for mine.

[TheViking]

i hear you guys
I am waiting for a lil custom rice crispy myself
gonna be loads of fun

[Wild Rice Chris]

Originally Posted by getbent

I throw small bills and change into my Rice jar every day... I'm thinking mid summer for mine.

I'm amazed with how well a savings jar works...I started saving for a new string bass a while back and now have one here on trial. I saved small money, but also threw in anything I got for selling gear and gig money since the spring. Traded for larger bills as I went along (less likely to spend those) and made sure that whenever I borrowed $20 from the fund I put back in $30.

[P-Zilla]

Originally Posted by getbent

I throw small bills and change into my Rice jar every day... I'm thinking mid summer for mine.

Hey! I have one of those! My next tele purchase will be a Rice Custom...

I wish I could just see yours in person Zomby. I bet it looks even more awesome in person and plays ten times as better!

[morroben]

I'll have to find a jar!!!

[Pete Galati]

I know this is probably a stupid question, but when you have a humbucker neck pickup, and a single coil bridge pickup, like that Rice Tele... when the switch is in the middle position, do you get some noise reduction from the bridge PU being RW/RP with one of the humbucker coils, or is that offset by the other hunbucker coil?

Nice Rice zombywoof, but that's an awfully short review!

Pete

[kp8]

nice~!

i'll get mine w/o all them flames .. and with a pair of single coil p/ups ... but really like that one. Rocking!

-k

[markothefish]

Man that is one sweet!!! guitar , I'd love one just like that ... What beautiful Workmanship . What kind of Humbucker is that in the neck?????

[JohnnyCrash]

The sight of that thing makes me cry. Pure beauty, zombywoof.

Lucky bastard.

[Seanycaster]

What kind of pickups are those zombywoof?

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Pete Galati

I know this is probably a stupid question, but when you have a humbucker neck pickup, and a single coil bridge pickup, like that Rice Tele... when the switch is in the middle position, do you get some noise reduction from the bridge PU being RW/RP with one of the humbucker coils, or is that offset by the other hunbucker coil?

Nice Rice zombywoof, but that's an awfully short review!

Pete

Hey Pete, the particular switchable magic on this guitar is that when the humbucker is tapped the low frequencies come from both coils and the treble only from the screw side. So in all honesty, I ain't gotta clue. Maybe Chris will chime in.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Seanycaster

What kind of pickups are those zombywoof?

The neck pup is a Truetone PAF. The bridge is a Van Zandt Vintage.

[Pete Galati]

Originally Posted by zombywoof

Hey Pete, the particular switchable magic on this guitar is that when the humbucker is tapped the low frequencies come from both coils and the treble only from the screw side. So in all honesty, I ain't gotta clue. Maybe Chris will chime in.

I just noticed the position of your switch! So it's more than a 3-position switch.

Chris seems to have a lot of wiring tricks up his sleave.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Pete Galati

I just noticed the position of your switch! So it's more than a 3-position switch.

Chris seems to have a lot of wiring tricks up his sleave.

Switchable magic. As best I understand it, the Superswitch Chris used is 4 switches on one blade - a 4-pole, 5-way design. The first switch puts the resistor into the circuit for positions 1,2 & 5. Two. 022 caps in parallel make the value .044, so the second switch puts the second tone cap into circuit at positions 1, 2 & 5. The 3rd switch selects when the bride pup is on and the Fourth selects the neck pup and splits it through a .1 cap. Not5 sure I understand it all but itis pretty crammed under the control plate.

[Pete Galati]

Too complex for me. I have a hard enough time dressing wires so everything'll fit inside a Tele.

.044 sounds like a good tone cap value. I was thinking of going with .040uf on PigglyWiggly because I still wanted to brighten the sound up a little. But I'm thinking of steal an idea from Terry Downs soon, and installing a mini-humbucker in the neck position.

Maybe not though. I'm kicking around some things that'd require starting from scratch.

Pete

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Pete Galati

I was thinking of going with .040uf on PigglyWiggly because I still wanted to brighten the sound up a little.

Meant to ask how is Piggly Wiggly going????? Really got hooked on that one -kinda like watching a good flick for 1 1/2 hours and then having the power go out 10 minutes before it ends. I need to know how it turns out.

[Pete Galati]

I had it out to play for a while this afternoon, and I realized I have to do a better job of cutting the nut slots than Warmoth did. It's still a little too much effort to do the 1st fret.

The sound's pretty close to how I want it by now. But I'm thinking I might get a set of Lollar pickups for it.

Last change I did was install a 1meg linear taper volume pot, instead of the audio taper one I used before. The linear tape pot behaves a little more like the pot in my '69 Tele.

I was never able to get it to the point where it duplicated the sound of my '69, but it's within range, and it's a decent enough guitar all on it's own.

Pete

[johnny guitar]

I am living with mine again too, and our relationship is "better than ever." I sold it a few months ago because I am nuts, but I just bought it back, and ordered another one. I am so lucky to have had a chance to get this one back in the fold. In fact, it is the fold.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Pete Galati

I was never able to get it to the point where it duplicated the sound of my '69, but it's within range, and it's a decent enough guitar all on it's own. Pete

I started out trying to have my '58 Tele duplicated after I could not find a Fender that could compare. Realized this was not going to happen. I had to just get over it and learn to start appreciating guitars for their own feel and tonal palette. That is actually what led me to a Rice and then a Linhof.

BTW, I actually think of the Piggly Wiggly as kinda a local legend. Maybe it is just cuz I followed its story of its birth (and rebirth)) but that guitar has taken on a certain sheen that many do not acquire.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by johnny guitar

I am living with mine again too, and our relationship is "better than ever." I sold it a few months ago because I am nuts, but I just bought it back, and ordered another one. I am so lucky to have had a chance to get this one back in the fold. In fact, it is the fold.

Hey Johnny, I almost bought that sucker. I ran into it on the Gear Page and recognized it. If I had not committed to the Linhof literally twenty minutes earlier, that baby would be sitting here as we speak.

Don't let that one get away again. Cuz next time I will snap it up.

Congrats (albeit a bit grudingly)

[beachkos]

Just have to say that my "Beachcaster" sounds and plays better and better each day - without a doubt, the finest guitar I've ever owned in 40 years of playing. The workmanship is perfect and I've received more compliments about the "Beachcaster" than any other guitar I've ever owned. Being a lefty, The Rices' did for me what Fender couldn't do ! Teamed up with my Twin, the "Beachcaster" is "Tele" heaven !

[johnny guitar]

Beach, what color is your finish? I am thinking of going with clear orange on the one the Rices are building for me (like Jujo's). Yours looks nearly like a solid finish. thanks, John

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by beachkos

Just have to say that my "Beachcaster" sounds and plays better and better each day - without a doubt, the finest guitar I've ever owned in 40 years of playing.

Beach, I do love that color. That one is a realy beauty.
Darn things are gems. As I said, even though I have had mine for months every time I pick it up I am still amazed at how good it looks, feels and sounds.
One of these days, you me, Johnny and all of us need to talk Rich and Chris into doing a RCG homecoming.

[beachkos]

John - it's a solid "orange" color that Rich tweaked until he got it to what I had in mind - the "jumping off" point for the color was Fenders "Capri Orange" from the International Series back in the late 70's - I wanted something a little bit more toned down from that "caution" orange and Rich put on his wizzards cap and developed what turned out to be "Dreamsicle" - here's a pic that gives a truer idea of the color - what doesn't really come across in the pics is the very lite touch of "white" as the primer which really "mellowed" out the orange color.

[beachkos]

ROAD TRIP !!!!! In the Spring, we should load up the cars with guitars, amps, coolers of food and drink, portable grills and such, and we all show up at Rich's house on a Saturday morning unannounced ! Heck, betwen spouses and/or girlfriends, kids, prospective buyers and party crashers, I don't imagine the crowd to be any bigger than about 300 people
"Ricestock 2007" ?
"Rice Festival " ?

[Pete Galati]

Originally Posted by zombywoof

I started out trying to have my '58 Tele duplicated after I could not find a Fender that could compare. Realized this was not going to happen. I had to just get over it and learn to start appreciating guitars for their own feel and tonal palette. That is actually what led me to a Rice and then a Linhof.

The Linhof looked pretty cool. I just looked for pics of in in your gallery, and I was kind of disapointed that I didn't see any.

BTW, I actually think of the Piggly Wiggly as kinda a local legend. Maybe it is just cuz I followed its story of its birth (and rebirth)) but that guitar has taken on a certain sheen that many do not acquire.

Piggly Wiggly's likely to be reborn a few times more. I'm just hoping I'll be smart enough to make the right move next so I'll know when to stop changing it.

Pete

[mojocasterman]

Those Rice guitars are pure heaven. What beauties... thanks for the pics guys :)

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Pete Galati

The Linhof looked pretty cool. I just looked for pics of in in your gallery, and I was kind of disapointed that I didn't see any.

Actually had not thought about. Just went and posted a bunch in Custom Builders (Non-Fender). I bought the Linhof based solely on my admiration of J. Black's talents as a craftsman. His work with Sadowsky Guitars and the early Fender Custom Shop is just unbelievable.

[Wild Rice Chris]

Zomby, your description of the electronics is right on.

None of you have had a Rice as long as me! I have the original Rice Custom, built in the basement with a hand router out of a shelf belonging to my grandmother, a piece of oak out of the garage, and parts bought at Guitar Center. It sports a pair of 1980 Epiphone humbuckers and sounds superb. The body was traced off of a Strum-N-Drum tele copy, then the cutaway was doubled. Of course, it is currently in pieces awaiting more time for a rebirth (mind if I borrow your term Pete?).

[Pete Galati]

Originally Posted by Wild Rice Chris

Of course, it is currently in pieces awaiting more time for a rebirth (mind if I borrow your term Pete?).

I borrowed it from Zomby! (now I've shamelessly borrowed your abreviation)

So far, he hasn't complained. Publicly anyhow.

Pete

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Wild Rice Chris

None of you have had a Rice as long as me!

And all this time I thought the "potty" guitar was the progenitor of the line (LOL).

[Wild Rice Chris]

Rich built the first toilet seat before I was born, using a hacked-up Strum-n-Drum neck, used toilet seat, Teisco pickups, and scrounged hardware. I think he painted the center board with magic marker. We swiped the pickups from that guitar years ago to mount in a semi-hollow. It's been in pieces for a while now (although I think I found another set of Teisco pickups for it and just haven't gotten around to getting it back together...).

Mine was the first to bear the name "Rice Custom" on the headstock (although that particular neck was swiped for another toilet seat guitar). It was initially fretless with a Dimarzio FRED in the neck position and no bridge pickup. I added a MIJ Jazzmaster pickup in the bridge, and eventually routed it for a Mighty-Mite humbucker. Thsi guitar has such a strong acoustic personality that it overtakes whatever pickups are in there. Oak back, maple center, teak top, heavily chambered. It is tight and punchy.

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread, "Living With a Rice Custom Guitar....."
Anybody have action pics?

[johnny guitar]

Here's some "ACTION PHOTOS" of me and my 16-yr. old boy (temporarily not in police custdy) playing my new (again) Rice Blackguard.

[sidneystreet]

Originally Posted by johnny guitar

Here's some "ACTION PHOTOS" of me and my 16-yr. old boy (temporarily not in police custdy) playing my new (again) Rice Blackguard.

That is a really sweet looking guitar! I love the color of the body, and the wear on the neck.

[mojocasterman]

agreed, gorgeous guitar...

[Wild Rice Chris]

Thanks for the pics John. Keep the kid out of police custody so you don't lose your jamming partner!

[Wild Rice Chris]

Originally Posted by beachkos

Just have to say that my "Beachcaster" sounds and plays better and better each day - without a doubt, the finest guitar I've ever owned in 40 years of playing. The workmanship is perfect and I've received more compliments about the "Beachcaster" than any other guitar I've ever owned. Being a lefty, The Rices' did for me what Fender couldn't do ! Teamed up with my Twin, the "Beachcaster" is "Tele" heaven !