NGD ...a bit late

merciful-evans · November 2019

Been away a few days break so this is a little late. Nevertheless...

Its a Ric 650D (Dakota). I already have a 650C (Colorado) so it was a strange choice for me. I would have chosen a Dakota or Seirra originally but they've been out of production for many years.

Lucky for me, no-one famous uses these guitars so that keeps them under the radar and prices a little lower. Also luckily for me, the seller, a nice guy from Ireland, was a collector of 650s and had owned 5 different models. He still has a 650E/F Frisco left I think.

The Dakota is 10 years old, and in unused condition. So you might say the former owner was a 'steward' of sorts. It arrived very cold & I needed to drop out the output jack & clean up the contacts for it to work properly. A few frets are also flat, as if leveled but not crowned. I will investigate further when I change the strings and do the remedial work.

It feels surprisingly different to the Colorado, being lighter and the neck feels less 'full' in the hands. Its also a natural oiled finish all over. By contrast the Colorado is completely encased in lacquer.

The body (wings) are walnut. I think the Colorado is entirely maple which accounts for the weight differential. The only other differences is a one piece through neck instead of a two piece.

Its raining today, so all indoor pics.

I included the close up of the Schaller bridge to show the string spacing adjustment feature. The roller saddles are on individual threaded splines. This permits each string position to be adjusted. The screw at the bottom is to lock the saddles tight (nothing to do with a trem) together. I recently bought one of these bridges for another project next year.

Most people find the 1 3/4" neck width too wide, (650s are not the customary narrow necked Rics) but I love a broad playing surface & it suits me well. Pickups are mini HBs, as full size ones would cut too deeply into the through-neck (the same thinking that went into the Gibson Firebird minis). They sound nothing like the jangley toaster pickups on other models. These sound similar to single coils.

I've done a quick temporary set up by slightly tightening the twin truss rods. Plays just fine. Sounds sweet.