Always Loved Rics. WTF? My Other Guitars Are Jealous!

Vintage, Modern, V & C Series, Signature & Special Editions

Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4

Post Reply
User avatar
ch willie
Junior Member
Posts: 136
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:13 pm

Always Loved Rics. WTF? My Other Guitars Are Jealous!

Post by ch willie »

I've loved Rics since I was a kid, got a 4001 when I was a teen, and finally at 58, a few months ago, I got a lefty 330--yes I'm a Soufpawww.

I've played Strats and Teles since 93. I've got a Les Paul, but I'm most comfortable on my Fenders.

Then I got the 330, and I've bonded with the guitar like no other in my 45 years of playing guitar. It feels right somehow. The sound is much more versatile than reputation allows. I can use it for many genres.

I'm amazed that any guitar could rival my Fenders--not a question of dollar value (mine are wonderful American Standard models with vintage pups), rather it's fit for my tastes and for the way I compose.

I also play differently when I'm on the Ric, and it feels like I can stretch out in ways on the Ric that I somehow never manage with my other geetarz.

Anyone else a Fender or Gibson person until the Ric?

Don't get me wrong, I still love my Fenders and Gibson.
All the world's a stage, albeit with mountains, plains, oceans, rivers, buildings, towers, animals, humans, plants, and Armour's Spam.
User avatar
jps
RRF Consultant
Posts: 37132
Joined: Wed Feb 12, 2003 6:00 am

Re: Always Loved Rics. WTF? My Other Guitars Are Jealous!

Post by jps »

ch willie wrote:Anyone else a Fender or Gibson person until the Ric?
The first bass I ever had was a late '60s Jazz Bass that my parents bought me in 1971. Not too long after that I learned about Rickenbacker through Yes, Deep Purple, and Genesis. Within a couple of years I bought my first Rick bass (Feb '67 4005WB in Jetglo that I traded the Jazz Bass for in the fall of 1973), Although I have owned many other basses (literally, Alembic to Zon) over the decades, I have always had and played Rick basses, and, later on, a bunch of guitars, too.
User avatar
Tommy
Intermediate Member
Posts: 676
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:49 am

Re: Always Loved Rics. WTF? My Other Guitars Are Jealous!

Post by Tommy »

ch willie wrote: Anyone else a Fender or Gibson person until the Ric?
Come on, Fenders are real good. The Tele and the Strat...you really don't need any other guitar.

Rics do what Rics do and we love them for that. Sure, you can play a Ric through a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, stomp on a RAT pedal and make that Ric sound like a death metal guitar, but would that make the Ric a versatile guitar? No. Ric's ring out, jangle, chime, provide glorious arpeggios...we love them for that.

But the Strat or the Tele can really take us into so many genres without the assistance of pedals or crazy amps. Those two Fenders are great tools.
User avatar
ch willie
Junior Member
Posts: 136
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:13 pm

Re: Always Loved Rics. WTF? My Other Guitars Are Jealous!

Post by ch willie »

Tommy wrote:
ch willie wrote: Anyone else a Fender or Gibson person until the Ric?
Come on, Fenders are real good. The Tele and the Strat...you really don't need any other guitar.

Rics do what Rics do and we love them for that. Sure, you can play a Ric through a Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier, stomp on a RAT pedal and make that Ric sound like a death metal guitar, but would that make the Ric a versatile guitar? No. Ric's ring out, jangle, chime, provide glorious arpeggios...we love them for that.

But the Strat or the Tele can really take us into so many genres without the assistance of pedals or crazy amps. Those two Fenders are great tools.
I'm with you on the Strat and Tele--I'd punch the man who tried to take one away from me. And yes, they are the most versatile guitars I've ever played.

I was surprised, though, at how much more the Ric can do than it's reputation says it can.

I write in the vein of McCartney, CSN, and Pink Floyd, etc--Strat, Tele, and Les Paul cover just about anything I've written.

I'm working on a song now with strings and horns, very different from anything I've ever written. The guitar is not the focus of the music, but it's important, and I've found that of my 4 electric guitars, the Ric is the one for the job.

That was a surprise to me; I thought the LP, with it's ability to get somewhere near but not close to the 335 sound, would be the one. The Ric is the right electric for the job--it'll double arpeggios from a 12 string Martin. The Ric is set to the neck position and is as warm as the LP but with more clarity (which is what the Ric is famous for): I hadn't imagined that the Ric would have such a full and warm sound from the neck pickup.
All the world's a stage, albeit with mountains, plains, oceans, rivers, buildings, towers, animals, humans, plants, and Armour's Spam.
User avatar
Tommy
Intermediate Member
Posts: 676
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:49 am

Re: Always Loved Rics. WTF? My Other Guitars Are Jealous!

Post by Tommy »

ch willie wrote:
I was surprised, though, at how much more the Ric can do than it's reputation says it can.
But there really are better guitars out there for various styles of music. Sure you can play rockabilly on a Ric...but isn't a Gretsch better for that? Jazz tones...I'd grab my Epiphone Casino with flatwounds over my Ric for that. Funk...obviously the Start or Tele, not my Ric.

I agree with you that the Ric is not simply for jangle pop. The Who, The Jam, Pearl Jam, Steppenwolf...the list would be long for players who used Rics to give a monster rock sound. I watch a live video of Pearl Jam doing a kickass rock song and there is Vedder or McCready playing a Ric. It makes me smile and it does buck the generally accepted idea that Rics are Beatles and Bangles pop machines.
User avatar
scott_s
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 600
Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2001 12:59 pm

Re: Always Loved Rics. WTF? My Other Guitars Are Jealous!

Post by scott_s »

I reach for my 330 most of the time as well, but that was sort of the plan all along. My $158 Strat copy and then the $250 Squier Telecaster were stepping stones to the Rickenbacker I'd always wanted since Peter Buck inspired me to pick up a guitar. :)

Guitars are mostly limited by the people playing them. Imagine how much poorer our music world would be today if people never played Telecasters and Stratocasters outside of the country and western swing music for which they were designed! :P
User avatar
ch willie
Junior Member
Posts: 136
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:13 pm

Re: Always Loved Rics. WTF? My Other Guitars Are Jealous!

Post by ch willie »

Tommy wrote:
ch willie wrote:
I was surprised, though, at how much more the Ric can do than it's reputation says it can.
But there really are better guitars out there for various styles of music. Sure you can play rockabilly on a Ric...but isn't a Gretsch better for that? Jazz tones...I'd grab my Epiphone Casino with flatwounds over my Ric for that. Funk...obviously the Start or Tele, not my Ric.

I agree with you that the Ric is not simply for jangle pop. The Who, The Jam, Pearl Jam, Steppenwolf...the list would be long for players who used Rics to give a monster rock sound. I watch a live video of Pearl Jam doing a kickass rock song and there is Vedder or McCready playing a Ric. It makes me smile and it does buck the generally accepted idea that Rics are Beatles and Bangles pop machines.
Absolutely! I write and record my stuff, and I try to use the best guitar for the song, whichever one that is. The only guitar I'm lacking for what I do is a Gibson ES--335 (I know all the gripes about them, but I've wanted one for many years, and only a 335 will do for me).

The Ric has added a new and useful dimension to my sound choices, not a minor part but something important.
All the world's a stage, albeit with mountains, plains, oceans, rivers, buildings, towers, animals, humans, plants, and Armour's Spam.
User avatar
Tommy
Intermediate Member
Posts: 676
Joined: Mon Sep 29, 2008 8:49 am

Re: Always Loved Rics. WTF? My Other Guitars Are Jealous!

Post by Tommy »

ch willie wrote:The only guitar I'm lacking for what I do is a Gibson ES--335 (I know all the gripes about them, but I've wanted one for many years, and only a 335 will do for me).
Have you considered the Epi Casino? It is not a poor man's 335.
User avatar
ch willie
Junior Member
Posts: 136
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:13 pm

Re: Always Loved Rics. WTF? My Other Guitars Are Jealous!

Post by ch willie »

Tommy wrote:
ch willie wrote:The only guitar I'm lacking for what I do is a Gibson ES--335 (I know all the gripes about them, but I've wanted one for many years, and only a 335 will do for me).
Have you considered the Epi Casino? It is not a poor man's 335.
I'm a lefty, and Epiphone hasn't made a lefty semi-hollow in quite some time. They're supposed to make a run of lefties in the new series--I believe these are American made, or at least in part. If that happens, I'll snag one no matter the cost.

I need something for the jazz pieces I write occasionally.
All the world's a stage, albeit with mountains, plains, oceans, rivers, buildings, towers, animals, humans, plants, and Armour's Spam.
Post Reply

Return to “Rickenbacker Guitars: by John Simmons”