Hey all I have bin with our a ric for a while and just purchased a 330 in jetglo. I played it through my Vox AC15 and It sounded really good to me. Then I went to a lesson and played it through some crate amp and the pick-ups sounded weak like there wasnt enough output from the pick-ups. I dont know if it was the amp or the cord from the lesson but it didnt sound right. Anyone know what it might be?
My guess is the amp. Have you played through this amp before with your Tele? If so, how was the output then? If it sounds good to you through your amp at home, then that would lead me to believe that's what it is. Congratulations on the new 330 by the way.
I'm using a Kustom 36 Coupe for my main practice amp, and if I remember correctly, when I plugged my 1967 Gibson ES-335TDC into it using the same settings as I use for my 1981 Rickenbacker 460, the Gibson sounded louder. That's what the amp's volume control is for!
Ok thats good news. I thought that Rickenbacker did hands on setups and tests before shipping guitars. I would hate to have to send it back after just receiving it. Its such a great guitar.
Generally speaking, if you plug a stock Gibson into an amp and set the volume where you want it, and then you plug in a stock Fender (and don't readjust the amp's volume), the Fender will seem quieter. Gibson's humbucker design has gives a little more oomph than Fender's single coil design, but both will give you classic tones. The pickups on your 330 are Rickenbacker's most modern high output pickups, while the classic 'toaster' pickups are Rickenbacker's vintage model pickup. You can buy aftermarket pickups that install in your Fender or Gibson type guitars. Some may have higher output, will distort more easily, and may be considered to be 'thicker' sounding, and some may have lower output to get a good clean sound and may be considered to be 'thinner' sounding. Your instructor may have installed higher-output pickups in his Strat.
If your 330 sounds good through the AC-15 then the guitar is probably juuust fine. That's a match made in heaven.