I think, on mine, the humbuckers are a little "dull" (on the clean sounds) in comparison to, say, the Gibson 490r/498t 'buckers.
However, by adding a lot of mids in various amps I get a reasonable clean sound out of it. Distortion-sounds are nice, especially with the neck 'bucker.
From a design point of view the trapeze just doesn't do it for me.
The entire guitar has curves (even the bridge has some subtle curves) but the trapeze just looks odd to me on the Ricks. I mean even the cut out isn't parallel to the angled leading edge or curved at the top.
May I say the design of the trapeze is too masculine/workman-like compared to the rest of the guitar?
Just my opinion, and I don't like to modify my guitars in any way, so ... it stays as it is, although I thread the strings from the bottom rather than the top to make it look "neater".
Which leads me to another thing.
Why, oh why, didn't they design the trapeze so that the ball end of the strings simply dropped down onto the trapeze?
All they would have had to do is enlarge the diametre of the holes slightly and lengthen the groove so that the strings would lock into place as they tighten.
I think it's very important to have a guitar's color match one's initials.
Would I be correct in guessing that you earn your living in a left-brained occupation such as accounting or engineering?
For three decades plus a couple of years, I earned mine on the triangle of art, business, and engineering, as an industrial designer. The design of musical instruments has always fascinated me.
I grew up with an innate sense of what appealed to me and what did not, and it was never tied to any sort of rational judgement or decision. Now I teach design at university level, and I encourage my students to stand back, turn off their overworked and overly-stimulated brains, and just observe and react to their designs and those of others.
The design of stringed instruments has been a passion of mine ever since I bought my own first electric guitar in 1964, at the age of 16. I gravitated toward Fenders (Telecasters in particular). It was partially Californian mystique, partially the amazingly intuitive blend of the old and new looks that Leo (a radio repairman completely unschooled in design of any type) somehow put into that instrument. Stratocasters of all types (and Fender lists over 80 in their latest catalog) left me cold and continue to.
A year later--1965--I played my first Rick 12 string. But I did not own my first Rickenbacker instrument until I was 56 years old! Now--sixteen months later--I have an even 13, of which 3 are 12 strings, and none are what many consider the "classic Rick"--the "new-style" 360 shape.
All that is preamble to the following:
To be naive about design, as Leo Fender and Freddy Tavares (with his own "Offset-Waist" design) were, for the most part, and still create a line of classics, is an amazing and puzzling achievement.
To some extent, the same can be said of Rickenbacker. Whoever came up with the signature Rickenbacker body shape--the spanish guitar double oval, cutaway by the unmodified fat ellipse with the horns left un-rounded--also created a line of classics. When Roger Rosmeissl joined up, bringing his own German luthiery training and experience into the fray to fine-tune the line and update it, the main look had already taken hold.
It does seem to me that, where a good deal of Rickenbacker's charm lies, design-wise, is in the naivete of some of its details like the trapeze tailpiece. That piece of steel is diametrically opposed, visually-speaking, to the elegant jewelry of the "R" tailpiece.
To see a lineup of Ricks; one with a Kauffman, another with a trapeze, still another with an Accent, another a B-5, another the "R", is to see myriad solutions to only two problems of function, but what a rich visual feast!
What grabs me about Ricks and continues to hold my attention is their quirky design, unique construction methods, odd combination of practical features and wholly non-functional embellishment, and juxtaposition of state-of-the-art and old-fashioned in an instrument with its own handbuilt tradition and personality, at the same price as an American-made bolt together Fender, less money than a mass-produced Gibson and about half the price on average as a Professional line Gretsch.
Then there's that sound...
So I tend to not be too critical of characteristics such as which direction the tailpiece is strung. And I don't hesitate to change my guitars to make them a bit more personally-suited to me. But that's just my own take on the fun and headiness of this experience.
Welcome to the Gang!
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
Welcome Manuel, looks like great DNA in your family.
As you may have guessed from the above post, Mr. Wilczynski is one of the "go to guys" on the forum. Usually after reading a Jingle Jangle insight, I want to disconnect my keyboard and throw it away.
Well said Paul. I was under the impression you were born holding a Rickenbacker, a short scale hopefully.
Would I be correct in guessing that you earn your living in a left-brained occupation such as accounting or engineering?
My first degree was in architecture Paul, which is design oriented but which is, in many cases, moderated by engineering which in itself can also be described as an art (albeit driven by numbers and known physical constraints). For example, F L Wright achieved his famous cantilevers by using copious amounts of steel hidden by, initially, a timber superstructure.
So I guess I could be one of those that dances around the right and left hemispheres looking for a holistic approach.
In the case of the 350v63 above, in between the others, the trapeze appears to me to be the odd-part-out. It strikes me as if one engineered a utilitarian item that fulfilled a need and then implemented it on various instruments without further refinement in acknowledgement of those instruments.
One could say it was an elegant solution to a required function, but to me it seems to be in conflict with the rest of the composition. You see, F L Wright for example, went to great lengths to "disguise" the utilitarian steel beams so that they wouldn't clash with the rest of the work, whereas Mies was quite happy to show these same utilitarian components and make them part of the design. Interestingly I appreciate both solutions - each appears to be an integral whole and fits within the design intent of the designer. It would be difficult to say that those works were designed by a "committee", you know what I mean?
This is not a criticism of the guitar, just my observation of a part on it, but I have felt this way about it for many, many years. So much so that I initially procured an older 350 with the "R" tail, in mapleglo, but unfortunately could not find one to my liking.
Manuel, I believe neither Wright nor Mies (Nor Gropius, nor Meier, nor...) had it completely correct. I give Wright points for taking the humanity he never had and putting it into his buildings, however.
I was a Wright scholar for about twenty years and rovided the seed donation for the Hollyhock House Library in LA back in '81. One of my college friends back in Chicago lived in a portion of the Avery Coonley House. FLW has always fascinated me as a person and designer.
I believe that we both hinted at something that would be appropriate to emphasize at this point--great things are most often the product of one visionary talent with enough strength of character to see it through to completion.
The Studebaker Avanti remains a timeless automotive design of the postwar period. It was shepherded by one man (Ray Loewy). The Edsel was a colossal flop, designed by a committee to a marketing team's mandate. Did we learn a lesson? Nope. We went on and on to give the focus groups more and more influence.
Rickenbacker, Fender, Gretsch, and Gibson, all bear the marks in their early days of the involvement of singular genius. Only one has continued on that path. The influence of Rickenbacker has gone on, completely disproportionate to its physical size and financial clout. For this alone they have my admiration and loyalty, but there is the personal connection to the company's philosophy and spirit and the feel of each instrument that communicates this, that keeps me more than just hangin' on and playing!
Speaking of hanging on, you yourself deserve kudos for making a living in a very tough profession!
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
“I say in speeches that a plausible mission of artists is to make people appreciate being alive at least a little bit. I am then asked if I know of any artists who pulled that off. I reply, 'The Beatles did.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
. That's an awesome sample you've got there! 