330 has landed - Whoa! i think i'm in trouble!

golfo · Post by **golfo** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 1:58 pm

well - it's here! my first rick - a fireglo 330 (from mf). arrived today. here's some of my first impressions:

pull the case from the box - the covering on the basic case even has a different feel - almost like cloth (i didn't dote on it too much - where's that rick?). the latches on the case - different once again. unsnap... lift, and... there it was!

color - most intense red i think i've ever seen. offset nicely by the variegated (sp?) pinkish in the middle, dark toward the edges and up to the ends of the bouts (horns). the wood has some nice figuing, particularly on the back where there's quite a few 'eyes'.
i'm just looking at it with awe as i grab it from the case.

weight - heh! this thing is much lighter - and thinner - than i expected. pretty darn light. and BIG! kind of like a demonic gibby 335. i'm starting to wonder how this is going to feel strapped around my neck. so i fit on the old strap and put 'er on and, dagnabit if it ain't comfortable to boot. fits nicely right wherre i like - riding high up on my middle. and - what's that smell? is that the guitar? yep - nothing like i've smelled on an electric (or acoustic for that matter). not sure i like that part yet.

the neck - well it's nicely shaped for me. not at all wide, as i expected, and well-rounded around back. action is pretty low out of the box. frets are nicely finished. neck is well-grained and darkly stained rosewood with that shiny nitro. i have to say that nitro is not my fave - i sold a great copper tele '52 reissue because of the nitro (too sticky). i'm going to get used to this one, i hope.

sound - i plugged it into my tech 21 tm 60 and hit that first chord clean with a bit of reverb and - i'm a beatle! (well - well you know what i mean). there's that characteristic sound - nothing like it in my experience - hearing it and/or playing it.
i start to play around and one of my first realizations is that you can really fingerpick this thing and it stays really clear - doesn't muddy at all. the chords - loud or soft - remain clear. you can hear top, middle, and bottom pretty equally. not what i'm used to with my fenders. they are clear but tend to have registers that don't blend as well as this rick seems to. i play up the neck and realize that way up top, it's not sustaining like i expected and deadens out when i bend. i think it needs an adjustment - it might be fretting out. i mean - these high notes - i think - should really hold and ring out on a bend - right?

anyway - i'm going back to play. this is a really great guitar! i see no reason why this baby can't do it all. i tried blues, country, as well as rock (which i knew it could do). and heh - the tone controls really work!! the blend knob is really a great little tweaker from my initial stabs at it.

yeah - i think i may need another one of these - and that's why i'm a bit troubled. oh well - GAS is what it is.

thanks for listening and for all your help with my earlier requests for info - pix to come later.
geoff
ps - btw - i'm getting use to the smell = and it's pretty good.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 2:06 pm

Congrats, Geoff!

When are you getting your 12? Soon, I hope!

ozover50 · Post by **ozover50** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 4:10 pm

Good on ya, Geoff. I was stoked when I unpacked my 330FG. I totally agree with you on the 5th knob - it's great! Hi-gains or toasters?

I love the smell of Ricks in the mornin'!!

golfo · Post by **golfo** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 4:22 pm

howard
hi-gains - everything totally stock.

paul
soon, i hope (my wife is going to kill me!)

geoff
ps - and the 12 will be a 660!

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Wed Apr 13, 2005 10:46 pm

I noticed the smell too! No other guitars smell anything like that. Sometimes I'll just wedge my nose right into that sound hole and......so when did you say you were getting the 12 Geoff?

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 3:59 am

Congrats.... It sounds like love at first jangle to me!

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 4:34 am

Give the fretboard lacquer a little time before you make a final judgment. It initially bothered me too but after a week or so I'd forgotten it was there.

Just an FYI - the blend knob is just another neck volume knob that doesn't cut out completely. I know some people prefer using it to the main knob, which is I guess a matter of personal preference.

I'm using a Vox tonelab modeller, AC30 patch, low gain. I love how you can get grind and grit by digging in, and sparkly clear when playing lightly. At any volume. It's a great match for a 330.

The inital post made me fondly recollect opening the case meself - thanks!

golfo · Post by **golfo** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:43 am

heh
went to work today and couldn't get the 330 off my mind. came home, picked it up and played it unplugged for a while. like it alot! plugged it in and liked it even more - way more. it's really not like my other guitars (2 amer ser strats, a '72 tele deluxe, a muddy waters tele, and a sqier '51). the sound has a 'ping' or brilliance/presence that i don't hear in my other guitars. i discovered if you put the neck pup on and crank the blend, it boosts the volume there and drives the sound very nicely. jazz on steroids (well... maybe not).
so i called one of the rick dealers to enquire about a 660/6. i sold a guitar and was able to pick up the 330 with the proceeds. i have another for sale and was going to warehouse the dough to see what came sniffing 'round the door, gear-wise. but now i'm thinking about the 660. the dealer i was steereed toward has a 660/6 and i'm really starting to cave. it has the toasters, a wider neck (no problem - i fingerpick my 1.75" martins all the time), and that funky 600 series shape.
GAS is insidious, isn't it? here i just got a beauty and i'm thinking of doing it again - immediately. where/when will it ever end?
whoa - i am in trouble!
geoff

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:51 am

One word for you, Geoff:

660-12, not 6!

steverok · Post by **steverok** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:54 am

If you're going to have an acquisition syndrome of any kind, it may as well be with guitars. I know people who have a similar disease with regards to landscaping. If I'm going to have a self-inflicted disease, why get dirty ? I already have a MG 330 and a FG 360/12 VP, and I crave a JG 360, now that is sick.

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:55 am

"where/when will it ever end?"

Geoff...
Where?.....A dozen or so more!
When?.....Never!

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 10:57 am

Paul....technically that's not one word. That's one word AND a load of numbers!

golfo · Post by **golfo** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 11:14 am

paul
you think 12 string, eh? i've never played a 12-string electric before (never played a rick before yesterday - ha!). why 12 and not another 6 with the diff pups? i'm just afraid the 12 is a bit too 'specialized' an instrument. am i wrong about this? do you play leads with them? is it a really super-satisfying rhythm instrument - one that has no equivalent? educate me here some more, please, before i over-buy (heck - i'll over-buy anyway).

tony - right... and right, again!
geoff

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 11:34 am

The 12 is not too specialized and will give you IMMENSE variety and creative freedon. We've got guys who play slide on 'em!

People are initially intimidated by a 12, but it is such an amazing tool.

Can you play leads? Yup. And it is THE MOST satisfying rhythm instrument to play, especially a Rick 12. Magic!

Did I put in enough caps?

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Thu Apr 14, 2005 11:35 am

If you don't like it (and you will, believe me!) you can recoup all or nearly all of your investment, especially in a 660-12.