Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

[fabandgear]

I was refurbishing my brother Brian's '67 Beatle and took a pic of it with my Rick 365. This was my first Rickenbacker. I bought it in July 1979 as a present to myself the day I got out of the Army. Brian bought the Vox while he was a U of A student In Fayetteville, Arkansas. He loved my Rick and frequently borrowed it to take back to campus, so it turns out this was the very first guitar he played through the Vox. A few months later, he purchased a 1979 Rick 320 from a shop in Connecticut (appropriately called "Brian Guitars").

[grayn]

When I was a very enthusiastic bass player of about 15, I went up to London, with friends to check out the many guitar shops, in Denmark Street.
This was in the 70s.
All was going well until we walked into a shop and on the wall were 3 Rickenbacker 4001 basses.
Neither before nor since, have I felt such an ache, inside.
It was so out of reach financially but so beautiful.
4 years later I finally got one.
White with black pickguard and binding.
It was all I wanted and more and wowed folk, wherever I went.
Many years later I sold it

[zhivago]

I dreamt of Rickenbacker guitars for many years. I would see all these great bands play them on TV and think "one day I'll get one".

I bought the Rickenbacker book and tortured myself by reading it front to back and drooling over the photos. My attention was focused on the 620 body style. Visually it just clicked in my mind...

Fast forward a few years and a very good friend of mine bought an Autumnglo 360, followed by a Jetglo 330. This was the first time I had the chance to play not one but TWO Rics at the same time. I instantly loved both, but the looks of the 360 won me over. The colour, the binding and inlays, and of course, the sound!

This year has been my 40th on this earth and I decided to pick up a few instruments that I have always lusted after to add to my small collection of guitars. First was a sunburst ES345, then, I turned my focus to Rickenbacker...I looked at 360s and 620s unable to decide which to get, as I could only afford one.

While browsing ebay, I came across a 660 in Fireglo. The guitar just spoke to me through the photos. the price was good, but I managed to get a bit more off. The seller was a great guy. Mostly a bass player so he didn't play it much. After a few messages, I pulled the trigger and my 660 was delivered a few days ago. I am over the moon...it is such an incredible instrument.

Honoured to finally be a member of the Rickenbacker club

Here she is, my first Rickenbacker, made in 2008.

[lumgimfong]

After years of playing Pbasses, I wanted something brighter and punchier.
I loved my Blue Flower Pbass but needed something more powerful sounding.
Also, my left hand was straining at the 34" long scale, and after 10 or so years of playing Pbasses, it was starting to complain.
I thought I would look for something shorter scale.
I am only 5'8 and the bass always felt too big for my hands.

I remember I tried a Ric years before and wasn't impressed.
But I saw a brother at church playing his 4003 MapleGlo and I thought I would go to a local shoppe to try one out again.
I plugged in a Fireglo, Midnight blue, and a Mapleglo. They were all punchy and bright. I didn;t have to beat on them to get the punch and tone and clarity I wanted. They all sounded just like I had always wanted a bass to sound.

I got my Fireglo, and it is the best looking, playing, and sounding bass I have ever played.
It was very noisy with those higains and the stock harness, so I put in HB1's and new harness with two controls and selector(I like a simple setup) and one output jack(no need for ROS). Totally silent now.
So I guess that means my next Ric will have to be a 4004, since it has the controls setup I like.
I also took off the white pguard and added a clear one to see all that nice woodgrain and fireglo burst.
Another reason for a 4004 next time.
Pics here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm8RujNW

[andyenobs]

My first Rickenbacker was a Tom Petty Limited Edition in Fireglo. I waited 12 weeks for it the in 1991. I didn't really want a 12 string but Rickenbacker didn't and wouldn't do it as a 6 string. I had it set up properly and kept it right up to 2016 when I sold it for twice what I paid for it. What an idiot I was. Now it would be three to four times what I paid for it. I now have a 330/6 MG and a 660/6 MG. I prefer the real wood look to the painted. Apart from anything else if you are unlucky enough to pick up a dink it doesn't show on wood whereas a chip in the paint stands out a mile. I hope to get a 660/12 in the future but it is a bit harder now as I am retired. I have loved Rickenbackers since the first time I had a go on one in 1965. It was a 330/6 in Fireglo. Never forgot the experience.

[Honkytonkman]

First Ric I ever owned was a ’67 360/12. Bought it at the House of Guitars during a family visit to Rochester, NY, in the summer of ’88. Paid $1,000.00 for it, which was all the money in the world for 16yo me then.

But I had been dreaming of owning a Rickenbacker since a.) I discovered the Beatles, b.) decided I had to learn guitar, and c.) saw a picture of a Rickenbacker, all in the space of a week around my 13th birthday. As boys, some had posters of bikini girls or Lamborghinis on their walls? I had pictures of 360s and 625s.

I grew up in Northern Michigan, where in the 80s there simply were no Rickenbackers. When I was 14, I got a call from a guitar store I was friendly with because someone brought in a ‘60s 425 to be repaired, and knowing my obsession, they invited me down to see it. It was worn, missing maybe 30% of its finish. The Fireglo had almost no yellow in it, and instead went from blood red to a magic shade of pink-orange. It was simple, but felt so wonderful. Suffice it say, it made an impression!

I mowed lawns, worked at summer camps, saved money. Every summer we’d visit family in Rochester, NY, where my cousins grew up with those crazy HoG commercials. They knew I’d appreciate going there! I remember when we got there, along the north wall, stacked in glass cases, they had a ‘50s Combo 400 in black, a new McGuinn signature 370, and the ’67 360/12. I wanted a 12 string, and I figured I could either get a recreation of McGuinn’s ‘60s Ric, or an actual ‘60s Ric.

I kept that ‘’67 for about 5 years, but it had issues. It would not really stay in tune, and the truss rods were pretty hacked. I got kinda scared of it falling apart completely on me. I eventually traded it for something else, and so began the slow current of Rics through my life. A Jetglo 370 soon entered the fold, followed by a 325 V59. Those gave way to an ‘80s 630/12, and later a Sierra.

Funny thing is, as much as I love Rickenbackers (and I do love Rickenbackers!) they never really have gelled with what I do musically. I tend to like unruly sounding electric guitars, P90s, amps on the verge of losing it, etc. Rics are so beautiful, but for me, trying to get them to break up is to fight the specific, tight, focused thing they do. When I see Ric on TV or in photos, I still get an excited-feeling like I am seeing a rare woodpecker in the forest, but owning Rics for me has been a bit like being on a date with a gorgeous girl and just not having much in common.

Finally I decided though, that if Rickenbackers make me happy, that that was reason enough to own one. After a few years of being Rickenbacker-less, I decided to pursue my ultimate Rickenbacker fantasy: a 360 Capri!

Ah, but the Catch-22 with Capris, was that the less-expensive ones tended to be needy, and the ones that were rock-solid tended to be too valuable to really play and not worry about. The solution? I had Paul Wylczinski restore me one! It turned out wonderful! Its like a new Rickenbacker in every regard, except for it’s a model that has not been made since 1961. Sonically it is not really at the center of what I do, but it is always at the ready to offer that extra-jangle-flavor anytime I need it, and it truly makes me smile every time I see it.

Then something unexpected happened. I heard about a Cloverfield Green ’56 Combo 400 in a local store. I was not in the market, but I am always up for checking out a rare Ric. After about a minute of having this guitar in my hands, it just sort of hummed “m-i-n-e”!!

An early Combo 400 is kind of the missing link between Fender and Rickenbacker. Body thickness of a Tele. Weight of light, aged Tele (the good kind!) Nitro finish. But total Rickenbacker quirky! Full of new ideas for the time — some that caught on, like neck-through construction — some that didn’t, like the sax-strap disc and the pool-deck painted back. But unlike most Rics, as an instrument, this one is sonic anarchy. Resonant as hell unplugged, with a single bridge pickup that was originally designed for jazz hollowbodies. Musically, this guitar fits right in my wheelhouse, and it has become my go-to guitar for writing and creativity.

Now I am fantasizing about building a small collection of Rickenbackers. The Wylcsizski Capri and the Combo 400 are not going anywhere anytime soon, but next I may want to add a 12 string. I also want to track down a 425 like that first Ric I ever played. And since I like odd numbers, a 5th Ric would complete the picture… maybe something weird… a 430? A 381?

We’ll see where circumstance and muse may collide!

[bluewhale]

This is from my first post here, November 2009:

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Chris Squire's playing got me interested in bass, the 4001 in particular, and I still like to listen to him. My favorites from Squire (and Yes) are the albums "Tales From Topographic Oceans" and "Relayer." My main bass is a '78 4001 Burgundy. I am almost the original owner; the bass was a gift from my parents in May 1978, bought used.
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Today the '78 4001 is still my main bass, and I also play a 4004Cii, two 4001C64's, and a 381V69.


bluewhale