Hi all. First post here. Been lurking a bit for some insight on this Combo 450.
My cousin bought this 450 with the original case at a yard sale for a song, and inlisted me to do a refinish in black nitro. I've since disassembled it and stripped the old revarnish job (including the fretboard) to the bare wood. Sealed it and sprayed the Reranch black nitro and cleared the whole thing. I'll detail all the hardware while waiting for the paint to shrink. After color sanding, polishing, and assembly, I'll post some glamour shots of the final project. Hopefully I'll suprise him with it in a week or so.
Thanks for lookin"

Hey, JG--that is looking really nice. Write me off-list if you need a new pickguard--I've got a couple tucked away.

Here are some shots of two C400s that I've restored (same body, single DeArmond pickup). The JG '57 went to Canada a few years back, and the Cloverfield Green '56 is my own...

JG '57 C400:







The '56 C400, before:





New pickguard in front, original in rear:



Completed restoration:







These are simple guitars, bandsaw and router instruments. But they have terrific playability, a nice tonal range, and strong sound!

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Rickenbackers: I love to play them. I enjoy the challenge of working on them. I love the way they sound.

Nice restorations JJ.Thanks for the pics. I almost want to leave the scratch plate off of the back. Seems like it would be a shame to cover up most of that neck thru. But the screw holes aren't filled, and I already have a single ply guard cut out.
I'll keep the extra PG's you have in mind. Thanks for offering.

Good luck with your restoration project, jet- glow combo. Congratulation on you first post as well. It's very fitting that your first post was replied to by Jingle Jangle, he's the Rickenbacker luthier extraordinaire. Some of his work is showcased under Ric Restoration, as you will see his result speak for themselves, he also build acoustic from scratch some of them are show!

Isn't that green C4oo,of jj's just so cool! We will a wait your glamour shots when all the work is completed

The back plate on the C400s took a number of forms and had a number of finishes. My Green C400 had no back plate, but was instead finished in a thick coating of gray enamel that had horsehair embedded in it for a scratchproof, non-skid finish.

Why non-skid? Because a slippery guitar hanging from a single-point saxophone strap would be a skittish critter to tame while trying to solo "How High the Moon"!

That plated ring on the back of the bass tulip petal is the center of gravity for the guitar, and the sax strap attaches to it with a "T"-shaped fitting.

I fitted a back plate to my C400 which was flocked with gray flocking and fastened to the body with small brads. Although my guitar uses a conventional strap (as most eventually did), the ring on the back remains, as it has the serial number stamped on it! The flocked back plate works very well to keep the guitar in place.

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Rickenbackers: I love to play them. I enjoy the challenge of working on them. I love the way they sound.

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Well, it took me a month and a half, and I painted it twice because I'm picky, but I finished the 57' Ric Combo 450 for my cousin just in time for Christmas. He gets to see and play it for the first time among the family at our annual X-mas get together next week. I'll have to take some pics of him playin' it. In the meantime, I'll let everyone here get a look see first!

More pics...

...Combo 450 pics, thanks for looking...

Well, I presented the refinished Ric to my Cousin John this week, and after seeing the look on his face when he opened the case, and seeing him play it again was real satisfying for me. Glad to get it back to him for Christmas!

Nice job there J-GC, very cool small guitar. I'm sure your brother was wrapped in see it restored. It will be a real blast from the past to play

What does it sound like???