Last week I won an auction for a Rick 650S sierra, now I've just received an e-mail where the seller says that he noticed that one of the pickups is dead and he have just ordered a replacement one from Rick, and he wants to know if it's ok with me.

considered that I have paid 1000$ for it, even if I'm not ever likely going to sell it, do you think this will affect the value of the guitar?

should I just go on, ask for a discount or drop it?

thanks in advance!

I have this very same guitar and had to replace a pickup on it. I believe a guitar's value lies in its being able to be played. With one dead pickup it's only half playable. I would want the pickup replaced.
Ricman

Thischarmingman

If you have the other pickup installed, as long as it's the same as the original then it ''should '' not effect it's resale value. I still would like to hear some more opinions on this. If you do still want the guitar,,,,,,then ask for some discount. I believe as there will be a delay and the guitar has to be worked on, also the guitar is not perfectly as described, you in fact have bargaining power. I believe you do have the right to renege on this item. You may in fact renegotiate a better deal in your favour. The seller must wear all costs with the pickup replacement. If you buy it without the pickup or it's installation , then in that case,,,,,,,,you should get the price much lower~

You hold at least 3 Aces in this deal now!

thanks,

anyway the seller is acting honestly as he has offered to wear all the additional costs.I have been lucky that the pickup gave up when the guitar was still in his hands!

I wrote a mail to the Rickenbacker customer service so hopefully I will get soon an authoritative and final opinion to solve the question, by that I will decide if it's the case to ask for a discount or what would be wise to do...let's just hope they will answer!

It does affect the value... or will later. Even new guitars become vintage as time goes by - and then it will have a missing part so to speak - even the parts was replaced years ago. But of course it can be necessesary to replace a part - but if so it should be replaced only with parts from the years matching the manufacturing year of the guitar or as close as possible - an the original part should be kept as should the paper work.

Personally, I never think of the resale value of an instrument when I buy, it, as I never buy a guitar with the intent of getting rid of it. However, the sad truth is that any distinguishable replacement part does upset the collector market. Further, although a part that is functionally identical to the original shouldn’t upset a musician, many of us have started to buy into the same nonsense that an instrument with 100% original parts, is somehow a far better (and therefore more valuable) tool for making music than one with replaced knobs or hardware.

Personally I'd be grateful that the pickup failed just before the sale, rather than just after. Then you'd have a non-original instrument, and have picked up the tab for the new pickup. I guess the question is this. Are you buying the instrument as an investment exercise, or to play? If your main reason for purchasing it is resale value, you’d be better of leaving it in the case. If not ask yourself this: If the seller had simply replaced the pickup before sale, without telling you, would you have noticed? Would the instrument have sounded or felt different? If the answer is no, its value should be the same to you, and that’s the only value that counts.

PS Ask the seller to include the"dead" pickup. There are a lot of reason why a pickup might produce no sound, but not be, in itself, dead.

Yes .....try to get the ''dead'' pickup as well!

thank you guys.

anyway I'm a Rickenbacker lover, not a collector, in fact I've stated " I'm not ever likely going to sell it” already; anyway I guess that every guitarist in the world, in my situation, would have wondered the same questions am I wrong?

The 650 pickups as far as I know, are potted, that means that no repair is possible.

I’m far tranquiler now though, since an expert at rickbeat.com told me that “Replacing a pickup with an original replacement pickup because the old one is broken will not affect the value at all. It is always the condition of the finish and wood that is most important, the hardware is not important as long as it's an original. At least when it comes to the modern Ricks like the Sierra.”

If you are never likely to sell it... hmmm then some day one or another is about to inherit it - and it's way funnier to get a guitar worth $6,000 than $3,000 (double the fun actually )

I'd get it and have the electronics thoroughly inspected by a competent tech before tearing out the pickup. Who knows, maybe the problem is a faulty switch, wire or connection? You'd assume that the seller would know, but we've all read of buyers getting fantastic deals on guitars that had only a simple problem.