360 vs 370

[faustus]

I am out looking for a 12-string 360, but i am beginning to like the look of that extra pickup on the 370.
I already have a 360-6, and i love the sound of it.

So, 360 vs 370 pro's and con's?

[beatlefreak]

The extra pickup can be in the way when you're trying to play.

[Clint]

I think the extra pickup would be more useful on a 6 string, rather than a 12 string guitar. How useful would depend on how you wire it up. Whether the pickup gets in your way, or not, would depend on your right hand technique.

[faustus]

I don't think the pickup would get in my way. I fancy the look of the 370, is there any extra possibilities with that third pickup?

[beatlefreak]

The middle pickup is wired in parallel with the neck pickup, Additional tonal possibilities would require rewiring.

[faustus]

Aha, so how do you rewire? Sacrifice one tone-knob in favour of a volume-knob?

[beatlefreak]

That would be one way to do it.

[faustus]

I always have my tone full-on so i guess that would be the best way. I don't like visible modifications...

[Clint]

That's how I have my 350 wired. Neck pickup's tone control is now the volume control for the middle pickup. That makes the most sense to me. Like you, I never use the tone control and that knob is the closest and easiest to reach. Many people modify the 5th knob for this but I actually use the blend control a lot, so this layout is working fine for me. There are several ways to wire it up though, so if you like to play with soldering irons...

[faustus]

So, in theory: Re-wireing the middle-pickup would compensate, more or less, for the weaker sounding bridgepickup of the 360?

[Clint]

I don't know, my bridge pickup doesn't sound weaker.

[faustus]

Toasters?

I got original hi-gain pickups on a 1981 360 btw.

[chuck_king]

I have a 340 and I find the middle pickup getting in the way. Lots and lots of people have three-pickup Ricks and love them, so it's not universally considered a problem, but it's a real issue. Exactly the kind of thing that you should play before buying, but that's not an option too much of the time with Ricks, especially uncommon ones like 370s.

It also sounds different, with the two pickups wired together at the neck. As many people have said, it is possible to re-wire the guitar to get almost any possible combination you can imagine, but taking advantage of those extra tones on the fly can be cumbersome---unless you wire two of the pickups together, one of the pickups will only be available through a knob. I guess I'd say, before spending the extra money and going to the trouble to re-wire everything, it would be helpful to know if the additional tonal options are anything you would ever actually use. (Actually I find the sound of the middle and neck pickups wired together to be fairly cool.)

[britinvasion]

I've never had a problem striking the 3rd pickup. I love my 370.

[faustus]

That's a beauty!

Since i live in Sweden i am doomed to order a new Rick from the factory, or buy one of Ebay. Trying before buying is not possible.

Well, small issues with equipment have a tendency to grow in time. Think i'll play safe and get a 360/12.