Anybody try a 380L?

theclasher92 · Post by **theclasher92** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 9:53 am

Hey, I'm new here, and I was looking into buying a Rickenbacker. I've been looking at 360's (which I've picked over 330's now), and I've been interested in a 380 because of the piezo option, but none of the places with Rics by me has one. I'm more attracted to the finishes on the 360's, plus it's cheaper, so I'm kinda leaning towards it, but has anybody played a 380? How does it compare to a 360? Any response would be appreciated, thanks.

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 12:34 pm

Matt The 380 is pretty much the same guitar as a 360, the body carving being the major difference
They are both Maple construction body and neck with the Rosewood finger board. The sound of the guitars amplified are very identical.

beefandbones · Post by **beefandbones** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 12:53 pm

According to the official web site, the 380L has a maple fretboard, an oil-finished walnut body, a wider nut, and humbucking pickups. All of those things differ from the standard 360. I think that if you want one with a piezo pickup on it too, you should look for a 380LPZ. Haven't played one, though, so I can't comment on that aspect. Seems like a cool guitar, though!

dale_fortune · Post by **dale_fortune** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 3:52 pm

My Appologies I've mistaken the 380 model for the 381's that we used to build in the 70's. A world of differences. To set myself straight I know very little about the 380.

theclasher92 · Post by **theclasher92** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 4:26 pm

Thanks for replying, yeah, the 380 has a walnut body with standard humbuckers. And yeah, the 380L PZ is what I've been looking at, just left it out of the subject title, oh well. From what I've read about it, people say that it doesn't have the classic "jangle", which could be a good thing, but that's part of the reason I'm looking at Rics. Could that be because of the walnut body or the hums? Could you put toasters on it to get the jangle? I dunno, but yeah.

xcoyle · Post by **xcoyle** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 6:07 pm

The wider nut is a big difference on the 380L. If you were going to play Jazz or a lot of leads, the 380L might be better. If you are more of a chord player, I would go with the 360. I just bought a 650A with the wider nut (the neck is like a Louisville Slugger), and in a few days it threw of my "finger memory." It's not drastic, but I don't want to switch back and forth between the different neck widths.

vicw · Post by **vicw** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:41 am

Even though I really like the narrow width of a normal Rick neck (all my acoustics also have less than 1 3/4 widths) I have had no problem adjusting to the larger 380L neck. I don't know if it's the larger fingerboard radius or what, but I can play .011s comfortably on this guitar and they feel like .009s. The Rick humbuckers are really fine. Comparing them side by side to the alnico filtertrons in my country gent (strung with Pyramid 10s) I like the 380L way better, and it's much easier to play up the neck (TI 11s). What's really cool about this guitar is the sound you get by mixing just a little of the piezo in with the humbuckers. It has a really clean sparkly sound but with fantastic bass presence. Not really classic Rick jangle, which to me means a Rick 12 string.

mdbuck · Post by **mdbuck** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 11:36 am

I have a 380L PZ and like was said above mixing the pickups with a little piezo makes it very sparkly and airy. Using the piezo by itself is also interesting although I don't prefer it this way. I like to adjust the p/u's to the piezo for a fuller sound. It sound great this way and does sound simular to a plugged in dreadnought.

In addition, the volume/tone knobs are set up to accomidate the piezo. It is controlled by the back two knobs while the front two knobs control the hums. The blend knob works the same as any Ric with the blend control for the humbuckers. It also can be used to blend with the piezo.

As far a neck sizes go, I would compare the neck with my Fender 12 string accoustic (F 330) in the upper neck position. The 380 is the same width and thickness from that point all the way through to the body. As far as adjusting to the neck size, I came equipped with adjustable left hand

(I play right handed) so I have no problem adjusting to neck sizes on most geetars.

theclasher92 · Post by **theclasher92** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 12:05 pm

Michael, one of the negative things I've heard about with the 380L PZ is that the blend knob only blends the piezo with the humbuckers, and that you can't choose how much to mix the humbuckers themselves. But you said you can, I really don't know cause I haven't played it before, but yeah. And how is the electric sound by itself? How is it compared to a 360?

mdbuck · Post by **mdbuck** » Sat Nov 27, 2004 6:50 pm

Mixing the hums is a little different than a
regular 360 because you only have one set of volume/tone knobs. In this combination and depending were the blend knob is set, the humbuckers are at a neutral or even blend, right in the middle. This leaves only the blend knob to determine whether you want more bridge and less neck or vice versa. The range is not as wide as with a 360 so, you never completely turn either pick up off (there's always a little left of either) but, you can do this with the switch.

The 380 is also equipped with a dual jack set up so you can bypass the piezo. However, you still only have the one set of knobs to control the pickups. I think since it has this set up, I wonder why the guitar wasn't set up to accomidate the regular feature of the 360 controls. This would probably eliminate the blending question. (Mr. Hall?)

Be that as it may, it still has a wide range of tonal control from muddy to bright. But comparing it to a normal 360 I don't really know. I have a 366/12 (1967) which once had the converter comb but, I would not want to compare even this 12 string with the 380 because of the difference in pickups. The 366 has single coil or vintage pickups. Completely different animals. If I had to guess though, my guess would be that a 360 with hi-gains would be simular in sound to the 380 in tonal output.

theclasher92 · Post by **theclasher92** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 6:06 am

Hmm, okay. So even if you use the pickup selector to go straight with the humbuckers, you still only have one volume and tone for both? I dunno if it's possible to have the controls switch, but I think that'd be awesome.

mdbuck · Post by **mdbuck** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 6:59 am

I think it is appropriate for the controls to be set up the way they are for humbucker/piezo jack side. However, the jack side for straight humbuckers would be great if all the control knobs worked in the same way a regular 360 works. This would enable a player to minipulate the controls like a regular 360.

It would be nice for one of the experts to chime in here and maybe explain why or how this can/can't be done. Some one like John Hall or Kenny Howes. What do ya say guys. Hint hint, knudge knudge.

xcoyle · Post by **xcoyle** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 10:29 am

I was just reading that Ed Roman slims down the 380L/650's necks. The fact that I agree with something on the Roman site, makes me have to rethink my entire life.

jps · Post by **jps** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 10:45 am

Have you consided becoming a Tibetan monk?

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 12:59 pm

Haven;t certain people been burned by the Roman Mod in the past?