The versatility of digitally printed vinyl cannot be overstated; the only real limits are one’s imagination.
“These days just about anything can be wrapped,” asserts Jason Yard, marketing director at Mactac. “If an object is flat or has a moderately curved surface, [it can be wrapped] in digital graphics for an entirely new look.”
Earlier this year, Yard collaborated with Mactac Technical Marketing Manager Chip Ficyk on a unique project that backs up those claims—rejuvenating one of Ficyk’s prized Rickenbacker guitars with a distinctive wrap of digitally printed graphics.
Tribute to the WWI Ace Pilot
“I designed [the wrap] as a testament to Eddie Rickenbacker, the World War I flying ace, who was also related to one of the founders of the Rickenbacker brand,” says Ficyk.
The guitar face now features a bright red, white, and blue hat in a ring, the original insignia of Rickenbacker’s U.S. Army 94th Aero flying squadron, against a camo-styled background. Colorful patriotic stars, printed as decals, adorn the guitar’s control knobs as finishing touches.
“The guitar looks and plays great,” says Ficyk, an amateur musician. “I am a big fan of the sound you can only get from a Rickenbacker guitar.”
The project was actually an attempt to repair and hide damage to the guitar’s finish that had occurred years earlier.
In from the Cold
Ficyk has always played in bands and first acquired the guitar, a Rickenbacker 330/12 model, brand new around 1991.
A semi-hollow, body electric twelve-string, the guitar originally featured a maple body and neck with a clear “conversion” finish to show off and highlight the wood’s natural grain.
And that’s how the guitar looked for years. Then, one fateful winter day in the late 1990s, Ficyk headed out for band practice with the guitar in hand.
“It was one of the coldest days we’ve had in Ohio,” he recalls. “I took the guitar from the extreme cold outside directly into an overheated room without giving it a chance to acclimate to the temperature.
“Right before my eyes I could see cracks starting to appear in the finish along its surface. It was like watching a crack on a windshield grow in slow motion.”
Despite appearances, that crackled surface did not change the twelve-string’s distinctive tone, and he continued playing it.
Years later, Ficyk bought another Rickenbacker and set the original aside, cannibalizing some parts from it to customize his newer model.
Then, when he thought about selling the twelve-string, he entertained serious thoughts of redoing its damaged finish. If left untouched, those cracks could undermine its appeal and value, even though playability wasn’t affected.
Over the years, Ficyk had noticed how musicians he admired like Paul McCartney and Paul Weller of The Jam had transformed their Rickenbacker’s with custom paint jobs.
“That got me thinking of things I might do,” he recalls. “But the problem for me was finding an artist who could do the work, and the cost—easily several hundred dollars.”
Special Requirements
When Ficyk saw a picture of another guitar with a Union Jack affixed to its face, he realized he worked with the potential solution every day at his job. Mactac’s extensive line of media products includes several vinyl films for digitally printed graphics.
The creative options they allowed were tempered by the special challenges of Ficyk’s intended use however. Since his Rickenbacker is a semi-hollow body guitar, Ficyk was concerned a body wrap might impede the instrument’s sound.
“I needed something that would take away as little of its resonance as possible,” he says. “I went to Jason and told him that I needed the thinnest material we have.”
Years ago, a customer had contacted Yard about the best material for a planned line of guitar wraps. His recommendation for Ficyk’s project was an updated version of the same material he recommended back then: Mactac Bfree BRUV GVC929BFD in its IMAginB free line of gloss white films. “There are other films we could use, but they are too thick or add too much weight,” Yard says. “This is the best at conforming to changing shapes.”
The pressure-sensitive vinyl is designed for wrinkle-free installations where the media must readily conform to the irregular shape of an object.
One of the distinguishing features of some Rickenbacker guitars is their shape. Unlike many other brands, the face of models like the 330 is not flat, but tapers back from the playing surface so the sides of the body are lower than the top.
Ficyk and Yard also discussed the pros and cons of adding a protective laminate. Ficyk describes himself as an aggressive player with a strong downstroke, so he wanted to protect the graphics as long as possible. Yard recommended Mactac PERMACOLOR RAYZor Lf3648G laminate film to ensure durability of the graphics.
Ficyk took measurements of the guitar face to one of Mactac’s in-house designers. Together they refined his ideas for the graphic tribute to Eddie Rickenbacker into a design that would work with the contours of the body.
Then the job was printed on a Mimaki JV-33 printer, and the laminate was applied.
Easy Installation
All the electronics had to be removed from the guitar before the wrap could be installed.
Once the conversion finish was wiped down with alcohol, Yard went to work.
“The biggest challenge was getting the design positioned exactly right, then laying it down was pretty easy,” he says. “Toward the bottom, I had to apply a little heat around the tailpiece to get it to conform. I also ran a little heat around the edges.”
In half an hour, the guitar boasted the new and more colorful look, completely concealing the cracked finish underneath it. Ficyk took the Rickenbacker home, put it all back together that night, plugged it in, and started strumming away.
“I could not tell any difference in how it sounds,” he reports enthusiastically. “The whole concept works. It looks great!”
For now, he’s given up thoughts of selling it. And, as he plays the guitar around town, other musicians are taking note. “They can see how wrapping an instrument gives them a lot of possibilities,” he says. “This might catch on.”
By Mike Antoniak
All photos: Mactac.
