"Rickenbackers are only good for playing clean"

ricardo_vicente · Post by **ricardo_vicente** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:27 am

Thought that would get your attention! And it is just this perpetuated myth that provoked me to conduct a little experiment ...
It's been discussed over and over on these boards, and all Rickenbacker owners know what a great all-round rock guitar his/her guitar is; whether it be equipped with Hi-Gains, Toasters or Humbuckers. Yet for outsiders, the Rickenbacker will always be that strange jingly-jangly niche guitar.
I recently recorded a quick demo of a song of mine and used my Rick 330/6 for both guitar tracks, both of which were quite heavily driven.
I posted the track at a forum to which I regularly contribute and, as well as inviting the usual comments on the song, I asked the members to listen carefully and try and identify the guitar.
They then had to register their vote for one of the following of my electric guitars ...

Rickenbacker 330 (Hi-Gains)
Gibson SG Classic (P90s)
Gibson SG Standard (Bare Knuckle Riff Raffs)
Gibson ES-347 (Bare Knuckle Stormy Mondays)

Now, the forum is a very small community and after two days, I only had a total of 5 votes but, predictably, not one single member thought the guitar was my Rick 330.
These are all major gear freaks and reasonably knowledgeable guitar enthusiasts. Maybe the most astonishing thing is that a couple of these people have seen me play live and know that my first choice guitar for gigging is my 330, and that I play very few songs with a clean sound.
Amazing! It seems the mechanism that determines that most non-Rick-owners, when hearing a dirty/driven guitar sound, will immediately rule out the possibility that it is a Rickenbacker is very much alive. After all: "Rickenbackers are only good for playing clean" (insert 'roll eyes' smiley here)

ken_j · Post by **ken_j** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 4:12 am

Richard would you consider a link to your demo? These results don't surprise me even though we all know better.

ricardo_vicente · Post by **ricardo_vicente** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 4:36 am

Hi Ken,
The recording itself is nothing special. Don't expect much. Just a first demo of a song idea with its fair share of bum notes and timing mistakes.
The guitar is recorded reasonably well though and sounds good to my ears.
Here's the link anyway ...
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=532103&songID=4921706

This is what the 330 sounds like with the band ...
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/songInfo.cfm?bandID=532103&songID=4516861

robbo63 · Post by **robbo63** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:04 am

Those clips are outstanding, thanks for sharing! I use my 330 (toasters) similarly. Out of curiosity, what did the people on that other forum tend to think the guitar was? I hadn't (knowingly) heard the hi-gains before, I might just have to think about getting a new Rick now!

ricardo_vicente · Post by **ricardo_vicente** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:16 am

Hi Robert,
Thanks for the praise.
There was one vote each for the two SGs and the rest went to the ES-347.

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:44 am

I wonder whether anyone listening to the Smithereens' leads thinks that they are done on something other than a Rickenbacker?

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:26 am

I always play my Rickenbackers when I'm clean...

will_nesbitt · Post by **will_nesbitt** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:01 pm

My 620/12 stringer had quite a tastey tone to it when I used it to record me playing metal. It was distorted using pro tools on mac, but even using just my Boss MD2 (mega distortion) pedal, it has a good tone for metal. It also sings it's heart out when playing solos. I prefer it more when it's distorted. And I prefer it more than pretty much every other guitar

jimk · Post by **jimk** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:11 pm

Personally, that "Rics only play clean" stuff suits me fine. I rather find that sound quite refreshing.
Jim

admin · Post by **admin** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:18 pm

There are many here who feel the same, James. Welcome to the RickResource Forum.

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 2:21 pm

I find mine sounds so good clean that I don't want to use the overdrive.
But hit that button on top of the red box & you'll know why they're called Higains!

jimk · Post by **jimk** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 3:46 pm

Man, I just can't wait. I'm saving up my pennies, and I'm really going to go for that jingle-jangle sound. I've heard some wonderful sounds coming from what I think is a 360 12 string run through a compressor. Ah....heaven!

P.S. Thanks for the welcome.

Jim

ken_j · Post by **ken_j** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 3:19 am

Richard thanks for the links. I especially like "Love Me Till the End of Time". Both are well done.

Welcome to the forum James.

ricardo_vicente · Post by **ricardo_vicente** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 4:38 am

Thank you for the kind words, Ken. We had a lot of fun recording that song.

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 5:10 pm

When I got my first of two Ricks, way back when, I played mostly clean stuff w/ a touch of chorus. But over the last 8 years or so I don't think I've played either guitar clean. I love the razor sharp dirt they can give me - defined tone that growls.