250 El Dorado vs 650 Colorado - Battle of the Hummies

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panpanini
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250 El Dorado vs 650 Colorado - Battle of the Hummies

Post by panpanini »

Hi Everyone,

Looking for advice on the following.

I’ve been offered a 1992 250El Dorado, which is very interesting and rare in my country, however I’ve always thought that the 650 Colorado was the premium Humbucker Ric.

Basically, should I go with the 250 or hold out for the 650C? I’m not too hung up on rarity or cosmetics, I simply only need 1 Humbucking Ric, and I’d love to know how these 2 models compare quality & parts wise.

I’d be happing buying the better model if there is a clear winner.

As always, thanks for taking time to read this.
Neill.
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electrofaro
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Re: 250 El Dorado vs 650 Colorado - Battle of the Hummies

Post by electrofaro »

Having owned both, the 250 has a more of a regular, more traditional Rickenbacker neck, the 650 has the wider more modern neck. I feel the 650 is the more modern model though and doesnt have a bolt on neck (not that the 250 bolt on is instable or bad!)
'67 Fender Coronado II CAB * '17 1963 ES-335 PB * currently rickless
panpanini
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Re: 250 El Dorado vs 650 Colorado - Battle of the Hummies

Post by panpanini »

Hi Werner,

Thanks for the response.

Is there any difference in the pickups?
I know the 650's have a casing around the HB's but are there performance or output differences between the two?

Overall, would one model be suited more to hard rock/metal than the other, or is the main overall difference neck width?

Thanks.
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electrofaro
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Re: 250 El Dorado vs 650 Colorado - Battle of the Hummies

Post by electrofaro »

Given the 650s wider neck (it is slim, no baseball bat) I would say for hard rock and metal I would go for a 650 over the 250.
I cant remember any difference but will admit never having compared one after the other. I'm not sure if except for the cover and how they mount there is a difference between them.
The HB1s on the 650 are blade mini humbuckers (as I learned after taking a dead one apart) and I doubt the HB2s would be much different really

I recently uploaded a picture of the 650, in Burgundy, ultra rare for a 650!

Image
'67 Fender Coronado II CAB * '17 1963 ES-335 PB * currently rickless
panpanini
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Re: 250 El Dorado vs 650 Colorado - Battle of the Hummies

Post by panpanini »

Wow, what a stunner.

There is no doubt which model wins cosmetically!
Thanks very much for your help.
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sir_andrew_of_left_coast
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Re: 250 El Dorado vs 650 Colorado - Battle of the Hummies

Post by sir_andrew_of_left_coast »

I had a 260 (the newer version of the 250) and a 650 D. From a "playability" perspective, the main difference between a 250 and a 650 is going to be with the neck, with the 650 being slightly wider.

The humbuckers are the same. They are "packaged" differently... e.g., adjusting the pickup height takes place on different sides of the guitar... but (assuming the pickups and pots are in good shape) the sound/tone won't be significantly different between them.
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jdogric12
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Re: 250 El Dorado vs 650 Colorado - Battle of the Hummies

Post by jdogric12 »

What ^ these guys ^ said.

If you don't mind the large neck, go for the 650. The El Dorado may be "rare" but that does not necessarily translate into value. They are only selling for more lately because all musical instruments are selling for more lately.
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