I bought a 1975 Rickenbacher. I cant remember exactly which model right now, im at work and cant look, sorry. Its in pretty rough shape. I bought it as a collector thing, not an everyday player. The paint is bad and the frets are very worn. Electric wise it is fine. Will restoring this ruin the value and coolness of it? I dont know that I will ever sell it but would a restoration ruin any value? I know some things are better fixed up, some are better left rough. Thanks in advance for any help or advice.

Pensnut

I’m not up on values of 75 Rickys, but I think as a general rule, restoration of a musical instrument can be a bad idea if value is a concern. Most collectors like everything as original as possible including scratches and nicks. On the other hand, if it is a keeper and a player, I have no problem putting an instrument into the condition I want it to be in to play including replacing or adding parts with non-original equipment. Value has little meaning to me if I never mean to sell it. If you're not sure if you'll keep it, but still want it playable, do as little restoration as necessary to bring it into usable condition and try to keep all repairs as original looking as possible.

And keep any old parts you replace. The golden rule of instrument rehab is make the repairs reversable.