Steve Van Zandt's 660/12 w/ Springsteen on CBS last nigh

fendertweed2 · Post by **fendertweed2** » Sat Mar 01, 2003 6:21 am

Anyone see the Bruce Springsteen concert on CBS last night?

I had forgotten it was on and stumbled in halfway through. I have to admit that I didn't expect a lot but it was as good as many Springsteen shows I saw in '73-85, which to me was the peak of his performing. He is less physically athletic in his early 50s but he's a better singer and the band was great.

Steve Van Zandt used what looked like a Jetglo 660/12 on several tunes and it rang through like a bell on both rhythm and lead, confirming the conversation I had offline with one of our fellow members in which he said he thought the 660/12 was the best sounding 12 out there, with the sustain & chime the solid body gives it. I can't disagree w/ that.

Cheers,
Jon

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Sat Mar 01, 2003 1:39 pm

Yeah, I saw that show, too. Now I wish I'd kept my '91 Jetglo TP 660-12!! Oh, well,if I get another one sometime, apparently they have thinned the front/back depth and radius in some way. Sounds like a good deal to me. BTW, what can a new 660-12 be had for these days?

scottb · Post by **scottb** » Sun Mar 02, 2003 6:54 pm

Don - I just got my 660/12 about 10 days ago. It was $1295. They were going for pretty much the same price at 3 or 4 places that I checked out.

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Sun Mar 02, 2003 9:27 pm

Scott;
So yours is new? Have you ever played ones made back beyond a couple years ago? I ask as I'd like a comment from an owner of a new one,since Rick has reportedly started thinning the front to back profile/radius on the necks. How would you charachterize the difference/improvement in feel between new and older necks? I'd welcome a comment from John Hall as well, since he's likely to know what kind of machining parameter changes were made at the factory.

scottb · Post by **scottb** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 5:09 am

Sorry Don, this is the only 660 I've ever played so I can't compare the neck to earlier models. Mine was made in Sep. 2002 and from what I've read here, the neck may have changed in October.

russmanuel · Post by **russmanuel** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 8:16 am

Don,
I've got a late 90's MG which measures 40mm at the nut and 48mm at the 12th. Depth is aprox 18mm all the way up.
No way to compare but "feel" is closer to my 80's Les Paul than anything else.
Russ

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 10:13 am

Russ;
When speaking of the 660-12, nut width is Never the issue, it's the Depth of the neck. Is your LP by any chance one of the "Classic" models? like the ''60 Classic"? I can relate based on that comparison. Those Do have a thinner
profile than most LP necks, and I personally like those best.If new 660-12s are anywhere in that neighborhood dimensionally, I'd consider getting into another of these guitars at some point.

russmanuel · Post by **russmanuel** » Mon Mar 03, 2003 8:55 pm

Don,
My LP is a "Heritage Series Standard 80" with a pretty average neck. These are chunky ,not like the vintage late 59 and 60 necks which were more along the lines of a 59 Dot (335)
I would describe my 660 as chunkier than the " 60 Classic" model LP although it would not be by much. The only real issue I've ever had with the 660-12 is the tension at the first few frets which takes some getting used to. I recently went back to Rickenbacker strings as the Pyramids compounded this for me. Perhaps it's the shallow headstock angle but you really have to be eating your Wheaties to play the 660-12 all night. For what it's worth , I've been a regular 12 string user for a long time (Adamas,Martin) and although they are more difficult to play , the 660 stands alone in this regard. The sound however is not attainable with any other guitar.