An awesome new design from RIC.

[paologregorio]

Well since most rickenbackers hang on the wall in collections..

Mine certainly don't. They all get played and gigged.

Mine also get played at jams and gigs.

I gig almost exclusively with my Ricks, and I don't play gently. . .

[whojamfan]

I gig almost exclusively with my Ricks, and I don't play gently. . .

No he doesn't, anybody who thinks these are just wall art needs to check out Paulie rockin his!

[antipodean]

Play the snot out of mine

Is that an invitation?

[Hotzenplotz]

... Try not to get too amped up for new Rickenbacker models as it's likely not going to happen. There's a reason the forum is so sleepy nowadays.

IMHO that is one reason for the sleepiness.

And for me there are some other reasons:

Joining and enjoying another (acoustic) guitar forum I must say that the RRF is a great place where You can praise the brand - but to criticise it is more than dangerous. In other places You can criticize much more the work of the factory - in a grown up way, of course!

Do the test, write some "non-positive" lines like these now:

Some - and mostly the same - people feel they have to "protect" the RRF and the brand. In this case do not mean the mods and admins!
Personally I call these protectors "brand/ forum taliban", sorry.
And the knockout argument is alway the same: We have to thank RIC for the support here, amen. Well, normally I do that by investing some of my money in Rickenbacker products. - Isn't that loyality enough?
That criticism is not to hurt somebody. It is to improve a product, a customer's feedback! - No interest?

And to say it straight and clear:
I will not take part in discussions with Ben Hall anymore. Receiving nasty PM's from him during an objective discussion and no possibility to answer personally and directly is not my way of communication.

Sorry, Ben. Yes, it was already more tan a "few month" ago. And I was not the only one that received such PM's...
That was the day my brand loyality broke. Until yet I bought a bunch of guitars from Your father's factory.
As a fact: I will never buy one again from the moment You are the CEO.

So I decided to save a lot of time here and to spend it in that other forum.

What a pitty! There are many great people here, I learnd a lot, had fun, great discussions and insights. John Hall's explanations and his knowledge are real treasures, for sure, too.

But real discussions? Nope.
Now I think this mental one-crop agriculture is showing its results more than the years before. - I am really sorry about, really!

I hope we can reach that necessary evolutionary stage step by step to keep this forum alive.

[sloop_john_b]

Sascha, I understand your frustration, but I think most folks who post here are aware that this is a "fan/enthusiast" forum. Any forum with direct participation from employees of the company it celebrates will naturally not tolerate much negative discussion. The Ernie Ball/Music Man forum is another much like this.

The wonderful thing about this forum is that it is a great resource for information, if you're looking for hard facts such as production dates. It is, however, not a good resource for unbiased information on Rickenbacker guitars & basses, and I don't think it pretends to be either.

If you really have a bone to pick or are looking for product reviews unfettered by "fanboy-ism", there are many excellent forums for this. Some of my favorites include BeatGear Cavern, TalkBass, The Gear Page, and Offset Guitars.

[deaconblues]

Well said John.

Sascha, it's a double-edged sword...there are fewer people on the forum now, but there's more freedom to post what you want. A few years ago, a post like that would have been deleted and you would have been in danger of being banned.

A lot of the old RRFers who got sick of the fan-boy stuff went over to BGC. Why do I stay? I don't know, I guess I'm a masochist or something.

[Hotzenplotz]

Thank You, John for understanding me in general.

What I mean is that more or less zero tolerance concerning critical comments.

An example:
The white 330 LE with a "discussible" shape of the pickguard. It was nearly impossible to say that for some people this guard appears out of shape.

For me, personally, it is plain ugly. I did not comment it until yet. Some tried to express that and earned harsh comments - altough it was said in a friendly way, respecting all the forum rules. - A simple opinion about a simple pickguard is already too much?!

The RRF is THE Rickenbacker forum, IMHO. So a bit more space for a wider range of opinions would be nice and - if wanted - a benefit for the factory.

All in all I can live with that, no problem. My intention was to show where the mentioned sleepiness comes from, also.

[Hotzenplotz]

...

Sascha, it's a double-edged sword...there are fewer people on the forum now, but there's more freedom to post what you want. A few years ago, a post like that would have been deleted and you would have been in danger of being banned.

I know!
And there was a reason why I was waiting nearly two years to write these lines. Maybe my timing is right, maybe not.

[rkbsound]

Thank You, John for understanding me in general.

What I mean is that more or less zero tolerance concerning critical comments.

An example:
The white 330 LE with a "discussible" shape of the pickguard. It was nearly impossible to say that for some people this guard appears out of shape.

For me, personally, it is plain ugly. I did not comment it until yet. Some tried to express that and earned harsh comments - altough it was said in a friendly way, respecting all the forum rules. - A simple opinion about a simple pickguard is already too much?!

The RRF is THE Rickenbacker forum, IMHO. So a bit more space for a wider range of opinions would be nice and - if wanted - a benefit for the factory.

All in all I can live with that, no problem. My intention was to show where the mentioned sleepiness comes from, also.

The "factory" is not interested in opinions here, as they have so overtly stated, many, many times. This is not a knock on the factory - as John B stated, this forum is not so much of an opinion forum as much as it is a place to gather and discuss information about Rickenbacker guitars. The BGC is a great place to discuss opinions and wish lists, because it can be done without retort. I really do enjoy this forum a lot, but this post is about as far as I would "push it".

[deaconblues]

In all seriousness, the reason I stay on the forum is because on the whole it's a great community with a lot of very helpful people. That was true even during the "Taliban" years.

[Petenbacker]

Alright, easy lads, the hang on the wall comment came from scanning the register and noticing some vast collections listed. This is true of many other brands. It did however create some interesting discussion. Yes I am a new member and I must be patient or at least accept that one of my favourite brand American guitar makers will perhaps never create a new or ground breaking design again.
Also rick lovers,I believe our German friend has a good point regarding constructive criticism. Perhaps forum is the wrong name for this special site and could be changed to appreciation and adoration. Enthusiasts maybe?
Sincerely Pete. P.s. still adoring my rics in a world of Chinese guitars.

[johnhall]

The "factory" is not interested in opinions here, as they have so overtly stated, many, many times.

This is an absolutely true statement. I am the only one at the company that still reads and participates here. I guess that since I'm the oldest, I've managed to grow the thickest skin and don't take it too seriously.

[whojamfan]

Play the snot out of mine

Is that an invitation?

You are welcome to play them at any of the SCARF/RRF jams we have here in SoCal on a semi regular basis

[antipodean]

Play the snot out of mine

Is that an invitation?

You are welcome to play them at any of the SCARF/RRF jams we have here in SoCal on a semi regular basis

Thanks Mike! I'll try and schedule a trip to sunny SoCal when one of the confluences is on, and when I can afford the air fare!