So why do you pick one Ric over another?

[360girl]

Convoluted or not, what a great story. I love happy endings. And may you & Blondie never part again.
JimK

Thanks Jim! Nope, Blondie's a keeper! She's going nowhere!

[HeavySoul]

For me I pick guitars based on what my influences use or have used in the past, so I'm interested in 330s because Weller, Marr and Cradock have or do play them.

[Ric N. Backer]

I've been pick'in my 4001C64 more than anything else lately.

[Fretjob]

For me on bass, it was always about the unique sound and a look that was as far away from a “normal” looking bass as possible. The apparent weight that Chris Squire could pull from his Ric accompanied by it’s ability to cut through and provide growl was exactly what I wanted to emulate. Plus, they are shiny. I used a standard 4003 for normal 80’s/90’s rock, but I do pull out the 4001CS for covering lemmy’s Ace of Spades.

[Jonesey]

One of my friends wanted to sell his fireglow 330 as he wasn't using it and I got it for a very reasonable price. I had wanted a Rick since I was 11 because of The Beatles and being introduced to The Smiths and Slowdive made me want one even more, so when I was offered one for £750 I just couldn't resist. One of the biggest surprises to me was how great it sounded with fuzz.

[bvstudios]

When I finally ordered my first Ric, I went right to the 370/12 in Maple. The third pickup makes it even more versatile than the 360/12. I have very short fingers (with one shortened even further in a Jr High shop incident), so the narrow neck of the 300 series suits me fine. I have no issues with the current stock pickups, and with the right settings, the jangle of this axe is impressive, to the point where I don't really think I need a Janglebox (although the jury is still out considering a verdict on that thought).

Like many, I was seduced by the MG 370's of the 1960s, but also like many, I had to wait another 30-odd years to acquire one. When I did, I chose the 370/12 over the 2-pup cousin because to my ears, the blend knob definitely has more effect (and is more controllable) with the 3rd pickup. I've been a 12str picker all my life (don't ask!), playing mostly accoustics, so I like to think that I am already part way to having my own "sound" as opposed to emulating Harrison, McGuinn, or Petty et al (although I do play MTM, Turn, Turn, Turn, Turn, and Hard Days Night when asked). Mostly, I use my Ric with a fair bit of reverb and chorus thru my Roland Jazz Chorus (JC77), biased to about 75% bridge pickup to play a sort of Folk-Carribbean blend on a lot of Jimmy Buffett, Rodney Crowell, plus some Eagles and Dire Straits..

Although it's still fairly new to me, I haven't regretted my choice for a second, and am getting more and more of a handle on it daily.

[tnelson]

I was talking to a friend about our neuroses over guitar geekisum and we were laughing at how ridiculous we are.
for me I like my 12ver to be a 360-12 with a round body and my 6 needs to be a 330 and I only like 2 pup models
Ive owned about every model including a 1970 381, but if you can only have 2 thats my pick

[paologregorio]

"Why pick one Rick over another"?

I liked the way the double bound 381 and 360 models looked. After that I could not buy any other model of Rick. My Ricks are all 381s or 360 WBs.

I also pick one over the other depending on which color finish best matches or contrasts with my stage attire for that night. . . .

[caliban335]

I purchased my 660-12 after learning that model had a 1 3/4" nut width. I'd tried 330-12s and 360-12s, but it was impossible for me to play them. The 660 has exceeded expectations. It's an excellent guitar in every aspect.

[Melma]

"Because we can't afford them all at the same time?"

Genius!

[Ain'tGotNoPokemon]

Because semi-hollow guitars aren't for everybody; I use a 620/12. I sold my 360 because we didn't gel together.

[8mileshigher]

Its great to re-read some of these posts from several years back...

"Because we can't afford them all at the same time?"

Genius!

from Kris' pearl of wisdom to 360Girl's interesting story of having sold and bought back both her original JetGlo and her MapleGlo .... great thread !

[Ain'tGotNoPokemon]

Its great to re-read some of these posts from several years back...

"Because we can't afford them all at the same time?"

Genius!

from Kris' pearl of wisdom to 360Girl's interesting story of having sold and bought back both her original JetGlo and her MapleGlo .... great thread !

She's lucky. I wish I could get my 360 back.

[trosse]

As the new guy I have to confess I know next to nothing about Rics. I can tell you more than you want to know about Gibsons (I own 4) Fenders(4) PRSii (I own 2 now but have sold a few over the years), but I hardly know anything about Rics other than friends have told me the necks on the 300s are narrow and tough to deal with.

Narrow necks...hmmm... the individual distance between the strings - string spacing - can easily be adjusted to match that of a Strat or Tele. I moved the string notches on my 360 bridge a bit towards the edges - and voila.

At the nut end the string spacing is almost identical to Fenders.

Generally Rickenbackers are the best build guitars you can get. Basicly hand build and always HIGH quality finish and wood work. It's a mystery to me why people still buy all those low quality Fenders and Gibsons - even the most expensive don't get near Rickenbacker build quality generally.

[electrofaro]

I sold my 360 because we didn't gel together.

Dating Ricks just doesn't work always work out

I think I've hit it lucky with my 360. Got her from a scotsman on faith that she'd be at least decent. I've yet to find a 360 just like her.
As for my 340, the sound is great, the center PU in my way...