RIC 330-12 vs 360-12

gt5litre · Post by **gt5litre** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 3:25 am

I had a 67 330-12 got rid of it to pay wife's medical bills. What are sonic diff's between the two? I am thinking of vintage pickups. How do the vintage RI pickups to the HI-Gains? I do not have a local dealer who stocks any Rics nor any used to play in the area. I live in the Ozarks of Missouri; way out in the boonies.
Any assistance would be appreciated. Have great week

Brent
gt5litre

lshaia · Post by **lshaia** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 5:52 am

Hi, Brent. Under subject 5.20 of the following link John Hall talks briefly about the differences between the 330 and the 360.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/music/guitars/rickenbacker/

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 6:25 am

Welcome Brent. I am hoping you will get a lot of responses from those who own both models. A great question. Lindsay has kindly provided the link. Here are John Hall's comments on the subject.

"Well, the 330 is a bit more acoustic, and that is reflected
somewhat in the plugged-in sound. The 360 has quite a bit more
wood at the edges, while the 330 is routed out quite a bit
more. This is just a guess, but the interior air volume of a 330
is probably 15% greater than a 360, and only some of that comes
from having a fully developed lower bout. It's not a huge
difference but it IS noticeable."

[John Hall, [email protected], 1/14/2000]

melibreits · Post by **melibreits** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 11:58 am

Brent, I have both a 330/12 and a 360/12 and there is a little bit of difference in the sound, but it is not a huge difference. The 330 is just a little bit fuller and more resonant-sounding; the 360 is a little bit janglier. Although part of that may be due to the strings; I have a set of Pyramid flatwounds on the 360. They sound wonderful, but they sure are hard on the fingers! Niether of my 12-strings have the vintage pickups, although I have a couple of other Rics that have them, and they sound wonderful (my 1967 360/6 is my personal favorite). However, both of my Ric 12-strings are great guitars, and there is certainly nothing wrong with the hi-gain pickups on them.... I am sure you'll be happy with whatever model you choose.

riffmeister · Post by **riffmeister** » Thu Oct 23, 2003 5:23 pm

Brent, I was RIC 12-string shopping recently and had a chance to play several 360's side-by-side with hi-gains and vintage toaster pickups. I found the toasters to have more mid & upper mid presence than the hi-gains. The toasters sounded a bit more "raw" and "lo-fi" and the hi-gains sounded a bit more "refined" and "delicate". With both pickup types, however, there was no mistaking that magical Rickenbacker sound. I could be happy with either type.