The Beachcaster has arrived !

[beachkos]

Well, it arrived yesterday and was certainly well worth waiting for ! Rich and Chris Rice really "nailed" the look and sound that I was going for. The Beachcaster is a testament to their skill, knowledge, and craftsmanship ! To say I'm thrilled with it would be an understatement !
The Beachcaster weighs in at a comfortable 7 1/2 pounds. The body is ash, with a medium C maple neck and fingerboard, with a 9.5" radius at fret 12 -Carved bone nut 1 11/16" - Gotoh Vintage tuners -Vintage Vibe pick-ups -CTS 250K pots- .047 tone capacitor - cloth wire throughout - 6 saddle modern Tele chrome plated brass bridge - Oak Grigsby 3 way switch - chrome dome knobs and aged pearloid p/g - it's got a great classic look, feel and sound ! "Tele" heaven !!!!!! A great job by Rices' who took my concept of what I was looking for and turned it into reality !

[sean79]

Very nice... but it looks like they must have had their templates flipped the wrong way; it looks backwards.

[Stuco]

Very nice! I especially like the name beachcaster

[zombywoof]

...in Newburgh?

CONGRATS BEACH, she surely is a dazzler. The Rice clan never ceases to amaze me. I know what kinda perfectionist Rich is with finishes and that is one gorgeous color. And Chris, darn kid is some kinda wizard or something. Seems all ya need now is Annette and Frankie.

Big Question - now that ya have your fine new Rice Custom, will the Avengers rise from the Where Are They Now files and pummel us with some righteous Rock & Roll????

Again, fantastic guitar.

[Marshall Thinline]

I like it!!!!
The color is cool.....not the same old same old.

[beachkos]

Zomby - gotta remember I'm a transplanted Long Island Suffolk County kid - I can't say for certain, but one day The Avengers may arise like Phoenix from the ashes ! Thanx all for your nice comments ! Regards, Gary

[Mad Axe Man From Hell]

Looks pretty dang swish...I must say. Its a bit orange which isn't totally to my personal liking, but I can see why people like it so much, especially now :P

[Arlo]

Woohoo I like that color!! Nice job from the Rice's! Have fun and send us some samples!

[Buckocaster51]

that's nice. Matching decal to boot.

Do you know what color they used?

(or have we been down that road before?)

[Rich Rice]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

that's nice. Matching decal to boot.

Do you know what color they used?

(or have we been down that road before?)

Yep, I used ORANGE. Real Orange.

[TheViking]

Cool
That guitar looks like one mean lil beach boy

[johnnelles]

Love the finish.

[Bones]

Well Beachkos, as a current resident of Suffolk County, I must say, very nice!!

[Wild Rice Chris]

Turned out very nice. How are you liking the Vintage Vibes? I was very impressed, but I admit to not being able to hear the true experience (what with being right-handed and all).

[zombywoof]

[QUOTE=Wild Rice Chris]Turned out very nice. How are you liking the Vintage Vibes? I was very impressed, but I admit to not being able to hear the true experience (what with being right-handed and all).

The only shame is that many of us never get to thank you and Rich in person.
Hey Beach, ya up for a road trip???????

[csapo]

Man, that looks great. Congrats beachkos and the Rice's.

I'm starting today to save my pennies to order a Rice guitar.

[beachkos]

The Vintage Vibes really nail that "classic" Tele sound. Remarkable clarity in the middle and neck positions and great "twang" in the just the bridge position. The tone and volume dials are very accurate and allow you to dial in exactly what you're looking for. I had the Twin dialed in for what I consider the best Twin setting for me, with a 6,6,3,6 Bright off, Reverb 4, and worked the dials on The Beachcaster. The Beachcaster and the Vintage Vibes rock with the best of 'em ! I'm very impressed with the Vintage Vibes and of course, thrilled with The Beachcaster.
Maybe we'll have a Rice-TDPRI jam/reunion at Rich's house each year .
I'm sure we could keep the crowd down to about 200 or so .
BTW - Belated Happy Birthday to Rich's better half.
Regards, Gary

[tele-martini]

Sweet looking axe. I think the pick guard and color match work well. Congrats, I hope you get many years of enjoyment from this beauty.
Cheers,
martini

[Tremolux]

A friend and I were guests at Rich's place a couple weekends ago for some finish consultation and when he showed us the Beachcaster I exclaimed "Wow, that's awesome! Is it Capri Orange?"

Well, he explained it's not exactly Capri Orange but we still it could not get over how cool that guitar looked. Beachkos, you're a fortunate owner.

Rich, by the way, clearly deserves the growing reputation he has among players. He not only makes excellent guitars but his generosity toward fellow guitarists is really amazing.

I took a mid-70s Strat to him that weekend with the explanation that the previous owner had sprayed it black, with pretty nasty results. I was hoping Rich could professionally refinish it for me, based upon what I had read about him here on TDPRI. Instead, had his suspicions after examing it. He took out some acetone and rags, and after applying considerable elbow grease to a portion of the guitar, he revealed that the home-made spray job had apparently been done right over the factory original black poly finish.

I obviously have some work ahead of me to finish the job, but what a guy. He accepted nothing more than a handshake for his trouble.

Thanks again, Rich!

Anthony in Chicago

[beachkos]

Thanks Anthony for the nice comments - My starting off point for the color was the Capri Orange, but I wanted something a little more toned down than the Capri and Rich truly nailed the color for me - it's called "Dreamsicle Orange" - throughout the course of the build, Rich, Chris, and I shared well over 50 e mails covering all of the aspects of The Beachcaster - Rich and Chris devoted a lot of time to myself and The Beachcaster making sure it was right, down to the smallest details. Both Rich and Chris are very dedicated and absolutely wonderful people to work with.

[dogggone]

Beachkos great looking axe!
Truly an orginal. Hope you get to enjoy it for many years and gigs to come.

[Jorge]

Cool color!

[Seminole90]

Very nice tele. Congratulations to you and the Rices!

Regards,
Rob

[beachkos]

Thanx again, to all, for your wonderful comments ! The guitar has far exceeded my expectations ! Thanks again to Rich and Chris at Rice Guitars for taking my "concept" and making it "reality".

[robmc_68]

Thanks again to Rich and Chris at Rice Guitars for taking my "concept" and making it "reality".


Hey its a really nice looking axe but shouldn't it really be called a "Ricecaster"?

[beachkos]

Originally Posted by robmc_68

Thanks again to Rich and Chris at Rice Guitars for taking my "concept" and making it "reality".


Hey its a really nice looking axe but shouldn't it really be called a "Ricecaster"?

It technically is called a Rice Guitar - the Rices' don't market a "Ricecaster" to my knowledge - their logo and info is on the reverse side of the headstock and the "custom" info is inscribed at the base of the neck - as far as what appears on the front of the headstock, when one pays "x' amount of dollars to have a guitar custom built to ones specs, the one who puts the sheckles on the table is entitled, within reason, to have whatever they'd like inscribed on the front of the headstock.That's why it's called "custom".

[txspreacher]

Originally Posted by robmc_68

Thanks again to Rich and Chris at Rice Guitars for taking my "concept" and making it "reality".


Hey its a really nice looking axe but shouldn't it really be called a "Ricecaster"?

Well, like Gary said, it's a Rice Guitar, because the Rices built it. They graciously provided the service of a paint-matched headstock decal, and if the designers/builders of the guitar didn't have a problem with it, neither should anybody else. Now - let's all get back to droolin' over yet another AWESOME Rice Guitar!!!!

[6942]

Real nice.....even for a lefty!
Don't knock Newburgh, N.Y. people.
My father's family live there.
They even walk upright!!
Steve

[txspreacher]

Originally Posted by 6942

Don't knock Newburgh, N.Y. people.

Is that what is commonly referred to as "Upstate New York"?

[beachkos]

not only do we walk "upright", our knuckles don't drag on the ground anymore either :) Actually, being from Long Island originally, my view of New York state always ended at White Plains - Westchester and Putnam counties were always "upstate" to me and anything north of there might as well of been in Canada :) However, as the "burbs" of the city spread northward and westward, Newburgh now finds itself more of a bedroom community and suburb of the city than being "upstate" - only about 50 miles north of the Apple - close enough to enjoy all it has to offer and far enough away to be insulated from it's downsides :)

[txspreacher]

All of us walk upright in East Texas, now. The whole knuckle thing is about 50/50........

[Wild Rice Chris]

Oops, I just realized that those are Alpha linear taper pots, not CTS. They worked better with the VV pickups and left-handedness of the Beachcaster. The post on left-handed wiring reminded me. Too much solder-fumes...

[beachkos]

Thanks for the update Chris - obviously I've been too busy playin' it to take it apart to double check the "parts list" - "The Beachcaster" is an instant classic and sounds and responds better than other guitar I've owned. Thanks again to you and Rich for a fine instrument. !
Regards, Gary