I have a request. Pretty simple. A question: What's great about the Rics? I know among the Gretsch-heads there are several other guitars that are still very highly regarded. Tele's and Rickenbackers, primarily from what I've observed. Tell me about Rickenbacker guitars. Their sound, playability, reputation, and cost. I went on the MF and SamAsh sites and both said "email for price" on all their Rics. Please, just fill me in on these very pretty-looking guitars. Thanks.
Never played a Rickenbacker - Very curious about all the fuss.
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- Rated: 12 ↑
Aug 2, 2008 11:27 p.m. straycatkid:
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- Rated: 58 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 12:04 a.m. yettoblaster:
In my experience, the popular Rickenbacker models have a die-hard fan base and the ones I've owned have been fine guitars.
They tend to be a bit pricey, along the same lines as the American made re-issue Fender Strats, etc.
They are built well to a vision of their creator, and Rickenbacker is still a family owned corporation like Martin, vs other brands.
Mr. Hall, the owner, doesn't seem that interested in competing with every whiz-bang guitar company with a roster of creepy looking endorsees. Instead, they build them like they've always built them (strange, they even offer "reissues"), with up to eleven coats of hand rubbed lacquer, if I read their ad copy right?
The popular models played by Tom Petty, et al, are known for a certain jangly sound that jumps out in thick mixes.
The ones I've owned (330/6; 330/12; 425v63; 610; and an old beat 300 series they don't seem to make anymore) were competent guitars capable of getting most of the sounds needed by a gigging guitar player.
The popular models have somewhat narrow necks and flat frets, are usually 24 fret necks ("gibson scalelength"), are generally lacquered fingerboards, and premium electrical components and hardware.
The 12 string electrics are featured on a bunch of hit records (think Byrds), and sell a lot of guitars for RIC.
My 610 had better sustain and a different neck than my others, but lacked the unique experience of playing a semi-hollow (routed out) like a model 330. My 425v63 was an extremely short scaled (20.4") Beatle type guitar with a high fun factor, but a bitch to keep tuned with or without the strange tremelo.
I like 'em, but don't have any Rics presently.
If I wanted a electric 12-string, I would only get a Rickenbacker version. They have a unique sound.
As six-stringers, I don't have a niche that needs filling with a Ric right now, but that wouldn't keep me from getting another. They're very cool in their own way.
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- Rated: 48 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 12:06 a.m. BillyZoom:
The build quality is very good, they're very resonant, and they have pickups that soound just like the old Gretsch DeArmonds.
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Aug 3, 2008 12:41 a.m. AndyJ:
Crap, I just wrote a lengthy reply and deleted it. Okay, here goes again . . .
This is kind of hard to answer. To me, it's like critiquing poetry. Either you dig a piece or you don't. I'll do my best to break it down, though.
Sound: Jangle, plain and simple. Whether it's a 12-string or a 6 (I have a 360v64/6), there are no other guitars of which I'm aware that produce the famed Ric Jangle. If that tone trips your trigger (and for some, it doesn't) it is pure bliss. Some players knock Rickenbackers b/c: 1) They aren't known for their great sustain. That is true, and if I were a lead player, I might be more concerned with that, but I'm not. 2) They are not very versatile. That point I do dispute, as I've played blues, rockabilly, rock, folkrock, 60's pop, and some jazz on it, with pretty favorable results. True, if you want to play speed metal or 70's Les Paul generated "hard rock", it 's probably not the guitar for you.
Playability: They are very well made--I believe they are for the most part handmade. To me, my Ric is still the most natural feeling guitar in my hands. I seem to be able to play anything on it comfortably. However, that may be more due to the fact that my Ric was my first "real" guitar and I essentially learned my electric chops on it rather than due to the guitar itself. The action on Rickenbackers is usually pretty low and they fret like butter. Some players don't particularly like that the fret board is heavily lacquered (I guess they find it a bit sticky), but that hasn't present a problem for my style of play.
Price: They have gone up over the last year or two, as demand has far outstripped supply. Rickenbacker, for being such a well-known brand (Thanks, Beatles), is a pretty small operation and I guess they intend to stay they way. Consequently, the wait on some of the more popular models is a year to 18 months. However, I believe for the most part prices are comparable to the Pro-line Gretsches, but they don't have "budget models' akin to the Electromatic line--I think the 620's and the Dakota models can be had for less than $1500.00, used.
I don't know if that sheds any light on the matter for you, straycatkid, or if it sounds like a bunch of opinion and/or BS. Maybe some of our more technically savvy members of the GDP who play Rics might chime-in.
(edit) Had to add a pic:
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- Rated: 212 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 12:14 p.m. Proteus:
I'll just reinforce that, above and beyond any other considerations, nothing else really sounds like a Ric.
I've had my 360/12 for 13 years, and can't see ever replacing it with anything else. I have another electric 12, but it doesn't sound like the Ric. Rickenbacker uniquely puts the octave string in each pair beLOW the root string, which helps to provide that unique sound.
The look of the 620 series REALLY appeals to me, so I bought one in midnight blue. The construction quality was impeccable, and the action, as the guys have said, was amazing. The neck was an unusual combination of narrow and chunky, almost squarish in profile, but was perfectly comfortable. In the end I liked the guitar but didn't love it (I DID love looking at it). I couldn't find any magic in it I couldn't do without, so I sold it.
I'm in the camp that finds the semi-hollow 330s and 360s to be "right." I had one of those for a few days, cross-shipping it from a US seller to an antipodean GDP member, and found the inimitable Ric sound in it. I did some recordings with it, and when I listen to them I realize that, indeed, nothing else sounds quite like that.
SOMEthing like a Jet with Dynasonics – or a cross between that and a closed Tenny with Hilotrons, but a bit janglier and more "delicate," for lack of a better word. Shimmering, translucent, harpily textural. Or something.
It's probably a defect in my aesthetic sensibility, but I just don't care much for the SHAPE of the 330/360. Reckon I'll get over it though and someday have a 6-string.
If you're sensitive to very narrow necks with closely-spaced string spacing, watch the specs on the models closely. Most have among the narrowest nut widths available on electric guitars.
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- Rated: 15 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 12:30 p.m. AndyJ:
proteus said: It's probably a defect in my aesthetic sensibility, but I just don't care much for the SHAPE of the 330/360. Reckon I'll get over it though and someday have a 6-string.
That's interesting b/c for most people the "cresting wave" body style of the 600 line doesn't appeal. Personally, I like them both. In fact, if I were to get another Ric (and I probably will some day), I'd get a 660 (not sure, if a 6 or 12). The 660 differs from the 620 in that the neck is wider.
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- Rated: 212 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 12:41 p.m. Proteus:
Just wish the 600 series came in a hollower format. I didn't think neck-through construction flattered the pickups.
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Aug 3, 2008 1:01 p.m. AndyJ:
Dremel, anyone?
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- Rated: 41 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 1:07 p.m. dubkitty:
it's probably important to note that the six-string 330/360 series Ricks had one of the most recognisable/important sounds of the post-punk/indie rock era, most notably the black 360 that Peter Buck still plays and which is the total sound of all the REM albums preceding Green, where he brought in the Les Paul for the "Orange Crush" sound. and let's not forget Johnny Marr's Rickenbackers in the Smiths.
to me, Rickenbackers seem "plunkier" than most electric guitars, probably due to the bridge design, and they're notoriously difficult to set up properly due to the double truss rod. one wants to find a guitar tech that has experience with Ricks.
the "e-mail for price" thing is due to the company's obdurate refusal to allow retailers, especially online ones, to advertise a set price point...they're one of the few manufacturers to still have such a policy, though Gibson apparently prohibits smaller retailers from advertising prices (c.f. the Dave's Guitar sponsor site).
i'm still kicking myself in the arse for not snapping up the used 330 i saw a year ago at the Guitar Showcase Swap Shop...good guitars disappear from there in less than 24 hours.
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- Rated: 22 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 1:22 p.m. gretschiam:
It doesn't look like I'm able to post a photo, but my Ric is the 360/12 made famous by the Byrds. It's really the same model George Harrison made famous in "A Hard Day's Night", but it was the follow-up body design.
I agree with everything that's been said. It's a very special guitar that I frankly don't use that often. But a 12-string has a very full and warm sound.
Two things I didn't notice in the preceding posts: Rickenbacker puts the heavier string on "top" (when you strum down, you hit the lower octave first), which makes it sound different than most other 12-strings, and mine has the marvelously-named "Ric-O-Sound" feature: it has two guitar jacks- a standard jack and a stereo jack (the "rick-o-sound). Start with a warm, gorgeous-sounding 12-string and then mix it into two amps with a little delay and you have an orchestra. Really beautiful.
The only Ric 6-string I've ever had is the John Lennon 3/4 scale model. Also beautifully made, it's a bit less versitile.
But like a Les Paul Custom, an American Standard Strat or a Gretsch front line guitar, you can't go wrong with a Ric. You just need to recognize the limitations.
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- Rated: 7 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 1:35 p.m. partsman:
Again, Waaaay to technical. Look, Rics are like The Head cheerleader/Prom Queen back in highschool, Only differance, they are as nice as they look. For Me, I feel about My 325,Like I do about my wife, "Till death do us part"!
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Aug 3, 2008 1:45 p.m. Wishinfora(nother)Falcon:
BZ said: The build quality is very good, they're very resonant, and they have pickups that soound just like the old Gretsch DeArmonds
Is that Hi Gains or 12k toasters?
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- Rated: 12 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 2:36 p.m. straycatkid:
Wow, I go to work and come back to this? Thanks so much for all the replies, guys. I'm nowhere near able to be in the market right now but I'm definitely interested in trying a few out now. Nice to hear that they're all American-made, too.
Gotta try one out now..
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- Rated: 42 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 4:05 p.m. JC:
I love Rickenbackers,got 2 360V64's but they're not for everyone, so do try before you buy.
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- Rated: 74 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 4:17 p.m. bonedaddy:
I think I've pontificated the many virtues of a Rickenbacker enough around these here parts to make everyone sick
I think I like Pete Townshend's description best - he likened them to violins, more so than guitars. Due to how delicate they were (his phraseology is in the Rickenbacker book). At any rate, I really, really like Ricks. If you can deal with the narrow fretboard, you can't go wrong, really.
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- Rated: 27 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 4:45 p.m. Jimbodiddley:
I certainly like the famous jangli-ness of Ricks, but I also like the players who use them more aggressively - like Townshend, and the raw, punchy sound that Paul Weller got in The Jam.
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- Rated: 61 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 5:57 p.m. Bear:
Rickys and Mosrites just have necks that are too narrow for my very large hands. A B7 in the first position is nearly impossible for me to play and have all of the notes clean.
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Aug 3, 2008 6:04 p.m. Beatles6120:
Bear said: Rickys and Mosrites just have necks that are too narrow for my very large hands
My problem exactly. I just sold my 360. As seen with the "Real" Guitars. No but seriously, I loved that guitar wasn't pratical for my sausage fingers
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- Rated: 47 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 7:12 p.m. Timthom62:
+1 to dubkitty for the use of "obdurate", (the best one-word description of Rickenbacker's marketing plan I've ever heard.)
My first non-Fender, non-Gibson guitar was a '60s Ric 325 that I found in a pawn shop. Still sorry I ever let that one go. There is just nothing that can capture the non-Duo Jet side of the early Beatles like a 325.
A 325C64 and a 360/12C64 are still on my GAS list, but with average wait times of 18 months (last time I checked), they're nowhere near the top.
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- Rated: 58 ↑
Aug 3, 2008 8:25 p.m. yettoblaster:
Yeah, this place is better than "it pays to increase your word power!"
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Aug 3, 2008 8:34 p.m. seppi65:
My 330s don't have nearly the sustain that my Strat has, nor even my 6122, but have much more attack. Still, they're perfectly acceptable for leads (don't ever let anyone tell you they're just for rhythm playing) - just leads with a different color.
I find the neck on the 330 to be the most comfortable for my hand (I'm not blessed with long graceful fingers). The vintage frets are a little less forgiving than the medium-jumbo frets on my Strat, but the muscles in my hand never cramp up when playing a Ric neck like they do with some others.
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- Rated: 32 ↑
Aug 4, 2008 1:35 a.m. cyclopssam:
major edit made in the USA, they play well the neck's just a little too flat for my liking then there's the sound, i call the anger banjo sound just never could warm up too(others call it chime) ,my loss i guess?
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- Rated: 41 ↑
Aug 4, 2008 9:40 a.m. dubkitty:
thanks...when i was a kid i used the dictionary for recreational reading.
there's something admirable, if a little frustrating, about Rickenbacker's stance in the modern industry. they basically say "here's what we do; here's what we think it's worth; if you don't like it, fine; if you like it, get in the queue. we're not going to compromise our quality for unit volume, and we don't have to advertise." it's more reminiscent of makers of automobile racing engines/parts or of high-end sports cars. you don't really get to bargain on the price of a Lamborghini or a Roush motor, either.
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- Rated: 41 ↑
Aug 4, 2008 9:43 a.m. dubkitty:
I think the 620's and the Dakota models can be had for less than $1500.00, used.
dude, i could have gotten that 330 for eight hundred bucks. always a bridesmaid, never a bride...
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- Rated: 27 ↑
Aug 4, 2008 1:25 p.m. Jimbodiddley:
So what's the story with the pickups in Ricks? Toasters, hi-gains - what are the options?
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