the bracing on the front, figure
out how the necks were attached
. . . that sort of thing.
What is your attachment to
Rickenbackers? Why them
as opposed to Fenders or
Gibsons?
I don’t know. It’s a real funny
thing. When I was playing gui-
tar in high school and college,
my dream guitar was a Fender
Jaguar [laughs]. I just loved
the look of them. I have also
loved Rickenbackers since I first
played a friend’s McGuinn-style
360/12 in 1965. I was blown
away by how easily it played
compared to the Fenders and
Gibsons I had been playing.
The action on it was unbeliev-
able—especially considering
it was a 12-string! To me, a
12-guitar had always meant lots
of string tension that hurt your
fingers. It seemed to me to be
the ultimate 12-string guitar,
so it was still in the back of my
mind when 2004 rolled around
and I got back into guitars.
When I finally got one, I was
impressed by the mystique it
had about it and how it felt old
and new at the same time. It has
a feel that no other guitar has.
Since then, I have owned lots
of Fenders, lots of Gretsches,
and a few Gibsons, and noth-
ing has quite the spirit of a
Rickenbacker guitar. It has that
historical connection for me.
A Honeyglo Rickenbacker 350C63 restored by Wilczynski.
Note the added F-hole.
Do you build Rickenbacker
electric guitars?
Nope. I do not have a license to
build them, but I do quite a bit
of rebuilding and restoration of
Rickenbacker electrics. The oldest
one I worked on was from 1956. I
restore all the models, right up to
refinishing new ones in colors that
are not available from the factory.
