330 or 360?

[360girl]

Hi Everybody,I've been gone for a while. I had to sell Blondie my 360 last year, and have been Ric-less ever since (hence the reason for my absence on the forum). Well, thanks to a surprise bonus, I have a chance to et an other one! But I'm at a loss. I've always been a 360 player. I can get one, but it will be a bit harder on me financially, than a 330. But, the 2 or 3 330s, I've played, didn't do much for me. part of it was the sound, and part of it was the necks. The neck profile didn't do it for me, like the 360's. But, I'm always open for changing my mind, if I have evidence that the necks aren't all clubby feeling, and I hear convincing arguments, that they can rock out as hard (in a heavy rock context - not jangle), as my old 360s did. So what say you? 360?, or 330? Do I go for price (a 330) or do I stick with the tried and true (a 360)?

Thanks,
Ellen

[ken_j]

Welcome back! The necks have varied through the years so the same year 330 may be very similar to a 360. Follow your heart and get what you truely want. I would try to play whatever you buy first to make sure it is the one.

[collin]

Ellen, the sound will be basically identical in both, the differences are mostly cosmetic.

Buy what you can afford, but you wont be disappointed either way.

[8mileshigher]

Welcome back !

My 330 has the most "clubby" neck of my several Rics, but I would not make a generalization that all 330 models are that way. You can probably try out several different 330 and 360 models and probably no two necks are exactly alike.

If price is a constraint, shop around for a second-hand one and go with your heart's desire.

Oh, and if you get a 360 you won't have to change your "handle" !

[doctorwho]

Welcome back!

As others have mentioned, the neck profile can be different depending on the year and model both. The ideal situation would be to actually play the guitar before buying to be sure that the neck suits you. Of course, we live in an imperfect world!

If possible, go to a Confluence where a variety of Rickenbackers are on display (and usually also playable).

[360girl]

Thanks for the feedback people! I may be trying out a few today at an area shop, that is the local Ric dealer. One of them that particularly interests me, is a used 75th Anniversary 360 in burgundy, that they're asking $1300 for. I also may just give a few more 330s a try.

[jps]

One of them that particularly interests me, is a used 75th Anniversary 360 in burgundy, that they're asking $1300 for.

If the finish is truly burgundy, it is not an anniversary model. The 75th anniversary instruments have a unique, to them, Dark Cherry Metallic (DCM) finish.

[doctorwho]

One of them that particularly interests me, is a used 75th Anniversary 360 in burgundy, that they're asking $1300 for.

If the finish is truly burgundy, it is not an anniversary model. The 75th anniversary instruments have a unique, to them, Dark Cherry Metallic (DCM) finish.

+1

I'll add that the DCM finish is opaque, i.e., one cannot see the grain of the wood through the finish, whereas the Burgundy finish is transparent and one can see the grain through it.

If the 330 in question is a 75th model, it's a good deal at $1300 (only 75 were produced).

[360girl]

One of them that particularly interests me, is a used 75th Anniversary 360 in burgundy, that they're asking $1300 for.

If the finish is truly burgundy, it is not an anniversary model. The 75th anniversary instruments have a unique, to them, Dark Cherry Metallic (DCM) finish.

+1

I'll add that the DCM finish is opaque, i.e., one cannot see the grain of the wood through the finish, whereas the Burgundy finish is transparent and one can see the grain through it.

If the 330 in question is a 75th model, it's a good deal at $1300 (only 75 were produced).

Good points. As it is, I'm kind of having second thoughts about the so-called burgundy Anniversary 360. I discovered upon further examination of the guitar's description, that it has damage from the flooding we had back in 2010 (where the shop is located in Milwaukee, got hit with flash floods, during a freak rainstorm, where that area literally got 8 inches of rain in less than an hour [I remember driving home during the storm, and seen a veritiable wall of black in front of me, as I headed northbound on I-94 - the funny thing is, where I live {in Greenfield, in the western part of the metro area}, we got hardly any rain at all!]). My concern is what damage was incurred on the body, and the electronics, from the flooding. I've asked for addtional info on the guitar, regarding its damage, and am waiting for answers. I have no problems with a little minor damage to the finish (as long as it's not hideous looking), but a whacked out neck, and/or electronics, is a different story altogether!

I may just end up going with an NOS 330 on the Pick Of The Ricks website, since I can't swing costwise, their NOS 360 at the present time.

[stringsncords]

Hey Ellen,

Personally, I like the look of the 360, but the feel of the 330 (but not necessarily the slightly-plain look. I was lucky enough to acquire the best of both worlds, which is a double-bound 1993 360/6 WB. I also have a 360/12 C63.

I suppose if double-binding was available on a 330, it would have won out, but the guitar I have solved everything.

If you like the more finished look, go for the 360 - if you like the classic Rick shape, the 330 is for you.

With the same Hi-Gain pickups, they will sound virtually identical.

Good luck, and let us know your choice!

Bob

[360girl]

Well, I got out of work early enough, to go check out the Rics at Wade's Guitar Shop, which is the local Ric dealer. He had three of them, that fit my budget. One was the Dark Burgundy 2007 360, which was listed as having flood damage, from the infamous deluge of 2010. Other than the finish (dark metallic burgundy), it definitely looked like an Anniversary model, since it had the gold anodized pickguard, and truss rod cover. The damage turned out to be peeling paint on the butt end of the guitar body, due to that being soaked in water, that got into the guitar's case. Since I didn't want to deal with re-finish hassles, I passed on that. The 2nd guitar that fit my budget, was a used Mapleglo 360, that was in great shape (it looked almost brand new). The third guitar was a brand new, Mapleglo 330.

I decided to listen to the suggestions I got in this thread, to give 330s another try. So, I ended up holding my own mini shootout between the 330, and the 360. I was surprised by the 330! It had a nice neck, and sounded good both clean and distorted. Ditto for the 360. After about a half hour of back and forth between both guitars, I ended up buying the 360. While the 330 had a nice neck (unlike the last two I played), the 360's was a tad nicer. Also, the 360 sounded a bit darker, than the 330, which was a definite plus to me. So, I took the 360 home. I was going to put a set of 11s on it, but it's late (I had to do laundry tonight, and I didn't finish it, until a short time ago), and I'm beat (I've been up since 4:30 AM). Thanks to everybody, for your input. Here's the guitar:

[stringsncords]

Congrats! The guitar looks great.

Nice thing about MG is that it always looks clean - doesn't show wear & tear like the darker shades.

Good job!

[8mileshigher]

Great looking guitar !! Congrats !!
Now, hang on to this one !

[360girl]

Thanks! Believe me, I intend to hang onto it. Sorry for the funky looking color on the headstock. I couldn't get my camera's flash toned down enough, to prevent it from false coloring the headstock. As you may have noticed, being a 2006, the guitar's headstock is the larger style (like my '94 Jetglo 360 had), and the body shape is a tad different, from today's models. I wonder if the larger headstock plays a role in the guitar's darker sound (it seems to sound darker than my old, 2009 Mapleglo 360 was, which had the smaller, present day headstock [which is supposed to be like the ones on the vintage models]).

[Rickissippi]

360