Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

General Rickenbacker discussion

Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4

tcsmit29
New member
Posts: 58
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2011 12:01 pm

Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by tcsmit29 »

Hey all, I though it would be interesting to hear everyone's story about how they got started with their first Rickenbacker guitar. I will start...

My first Rickenbacker was a 1988 325v63.

As I grew up, I was exposed to lot's of Beatles music. My dad was a huge Beatles fan and had played in a cover band in his late teens. I started playing guitar at the age of 12 on an el cheapo Harmony acoustic. My dad taught me a few songs from his cover band days, like Day Tripper, Feel A whole Lot Better, Gloria, and Midnight Hour amongst others. As I got better on the guitar, I told my parents that I wanted to get an electric guitar. I wanted a Rickenbacker due to the Beatles connection, but I wasn't even sure if the company was still around. This was pre-internet :D . My mom called a local guitar store in Augusta, GA to inquire about the Rickenbacker company. They gave her a number for the company, she called them up and they sent us a brochure catalog/price list. They also gave mom a number for a music shop in Atlanta which was the closest Rick dealer. When I looked at the price list, I was heartbroken because I wanted the 325v63 which had a list price of around $900. A lot of money in those days. I considered other models, the 320 was a little cheaper, a jetglo 610 would look close enough perhaps. But I really wanted that 325. I didn't know it at the time, but my mom ordered the 325 from the Atlanta dealer and was informed that there would be a long wait for the guitar. She paid it off on an installment plan and the guitar actually came in sooner than anticipated. I think the she paid around $750 dollars for it. I got it for Christmas that year (1988). Best Christmas gift ever! I loved that guitar and have been obsessed with Ricks ever since. There hasn't been a time since then that I haven't had a Rickenbacker in my collection of instruments.

Sadly, I sold that 325v63 around 2002 or 2003.

What's your story?
amplituden
New member
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2017 10:24 am

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by amplituden »

Hi there

First post!

I have been obsessed with guitars since I was a teenager ( now 43 ) and have owned lots of them.

Perhaps 5 years ago I had 5 or so nice electric guitars and I felt like it was kind of overkill for someone that plays the odd show now and again. I thought about pairing down to just having two, that way I could get some variation and if I was playing live I would have a backup.

So I was down to 2 electric guitars (Both Jazzmasters) and a P-bass.

I quit the band I was playing bass in due to time constraints and my friend materialized with an offer.

My P-Bass and my '78 Fender Champ for his 2001 Jet-Glo Rickenbacker 330. I had to do it!

I love it, this guitar has really sparked my interest in playing and learning again. I play through an old Reverb-o-rocket and just the Rickenbacker and a clean boost I can get such a cool variety of sounds from nice and clean to nasty.

This threw off my guitar fengshui so I sold traded my 2nd Jazzmaster ( built out of parts ) for a Fender Blues Junior plus cash so I have a little amp to play at home again.

Cheers.

Jeremy in Toronto.
User avatar
cassius987
Senior Member
Posts: 4702
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:11 pm

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by cassius987 »

I absolutely hated it. I had dreamed of a 4003 for some time and got a used one on eBay that sounded like wet dirt slapping a rock. I wasn't experienced enough to troubleshoot and fortunately the seller let me send it back. Looking back, my guess would be the action was set way too high and this killed the string dynamics. When I got my second Ric it was night and day... That time I was in love. The stock tone was pretty much Paul d'Amour's Undertow tone, which was exactly the point.
PunchyStrummer
New member
Posts: 61
Joined: Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:06 am

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by PunchyStrummer »

Got my first 330 a few months ago, from 1988. After a while my morbid curiosity got the better of me and not only did I take off all the parts (to examine how to remove and put them back if I ever needed to), I wanted to try swapping the pickup positions around but I failed miserably on the soldering and it's now at the shop to be put back together...

I even removed the masking tape from under the pickguard :( - good thing new tape can be put on again!

330s are tough beasts, I'm sure it'll survive this episode none the worse for wear :D
Rick-en-back-er. It's just so fun to say, let alone play.
User avatar
woodyng
Senior Member
Posts: 4454
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:11 am

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by woodyng »

It was about 1973,i was a huge Yes fan,(and Steppenwolf before them),so i was really very intrigued by these German guitars. :wink:
I bought what was likely a ‘71-72 neck-through jg 4000,modded with a black pickguard and added neck toaster pickup.
It was a wonderful bass,and the chap i bought it from begged me to sell it back to him when he got a gig as the bass player for a very well known band. (Black Oak Arkansas). So,i only had the bass for something like 8 monthes,but it was the beginning of a lifelong romance/obsession with Rickenbacker basses. I’ve always had one in my stable,(sometimes it was the stable!),I currently have 6,5 of which are 4004 models,my favorite.
The pic is of the original,and a more recent photo....
Attachments
50D332BE-A606-4895-A688-AB5451049626.jpeg
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37132
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by jps »

Do you have any photos of the bassist from BOA with the bass?
User avatar
wim
Intermediate Member
Posts: 1486
Joined: Fri Oct 31, 2003 1:37 am

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by wim »

My first rick was the 74 4001 in my avatar. Big love at first sight, I'll always keep that one.
I've since played many 4001/3/4 basses but none of them come even close.
At that time Rickenbacker guitars were very hard to find in shops over here.
User avatar
Tommy
Intermediate Member
Posts: 676
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:49 am

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by Tommy »

College graduation present.

A hefty gift card to Sam Ash from girlfriend, used cash presents to pay for the rest. I had only been playing guitar for a year...I went straight for the 12 string Ric when I had enough dough. The guitar of my dreams and I had it after just one year of playing.

Image
User avatar
Kiddwad57
Intermediate Member
Posts: 728
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2011 7:59 pm

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by Kiddwad57 »

Here's a pic...
Turq Ric.png
Don't let democracy end democracy.
User avatar
woodyng
Senior Member
Posts: 4454
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:11 am

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by woodyng »

jps wrote:Do you have any photos of the bassist from BOA with the bass?
I have one of him (Andy Tanas) at his home with it (pre-mod) before he became BOA’s bassist.
(also showing a cool Sunn rig.)
I had a Sunn Solara head around this time,not sure if it was part of a transaction with Andy.
Attachments
825C4CD4-10CC-443C-884C-F0C66F083DEA.jpeg
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37132
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by jps »

Cool. 8)

The only Sunn gear I have owned was a 2nd version Concert Bass amp in the later '70s (I used that with a '60s sealed cab Traynor YT-15 with EVM-15L drivers in it), and a 1969 Sorado cab that I got in the early'00s that I ran my Walter Woods Super into (I put Eminence Delta 15s in that cabinet). Chris Pappas has that cabinet, now.
stringsncords
Intermediate Member
Posts: 700
Joined: Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:58 pm

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by stringsncords »

I was 14 when I saw the Beatles in Philly - I always wanted a Rick (George Harrison's 12- string), but none of the music stores in Philadelphia had them.....I played a Les Paul in my band for 20 years, got tired of the sore shoulder and bought a strat, and traded the Les Paul for a 360 V64 12- string. Alas, the guitar of my dreams was really hard to play due to the very small (for me) neck and string spacing. A friend had told me about a new guitar store in South Jersey called "Pick of the Ricks", and the rest is history....I traded the 12-string for a 6-string Liverpool, and I've done many transactions with Chris Clayton since then; I now have a wonderful collection, and my obsession with these wonderful instruments has come full circle.
User avatar
jdogric12
Rick-a-holic
Posts: 10853
Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:00 am

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by jdogric12 »

A '91 360/12 FG in '96, read the classified ads in the local newspaper for several months and pounced when one finally came up for sale with the $800 I had saved from working part time during school.
User avatar
jch
Intermediate Member
Posts: 851
Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2007 10:23 am

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by jch »

1989 360/12V64 ,bought new a couple of months before my 19th birthday,I still have it too,its going nowhere.
User avatar
jacolyte
New member
Posts: 66
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 8:40 pm

Re: Tell me about your first Rickenbacker...

Post by jacolyte »

my very first bass was a 4001 bought for me by my mom when i was 16. i was just at the stage where i was outgrowing kid music (alice cooper, kiss) and listening to adult music (rush, yes, genesis) instead and, since it was geddy lee and chris squire, it had to be a rick. i wanted a black one (like geddy) but, when my mom took me to guitar trader in red bank, new jersey, they had a mapleglo, and there was no way i had the patience to wait. i've always been super thankful that i had a professional quality instrument to learn on; i feel that it saved me years of frustration and really gave me a jumpstart. i put a lot of practice time in on it; it was pretty beat by the time i sold it to a coworker a few years later. here i am with it, failing miserably to look as cool as the cover of 2112:
anthem.jpg
jacolyte
--
- 4003 x5, 4003S x3
- other stuff
Post Reply

Return to “Rickenbacker General: by Howard Bishop”