Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Robert,

Hundreds of thousands of Strat owners would disagree with your "look" comment. Some people obviously like Gibsons. But hey; each to their own I say. I like them all. To me both the Ric and the Strat are timeless classics. One is comparable to a Rolls Royce and the other is comparable to a Chevrolet.

Both are great guitars. Ric did something that no other big name guitar maker has been able to do. Resist the urge to make their products offshore. Ric only make theirs in the USA under strict QA/QC standards.

That's what I love about Rics. Their standards are high. That's why I could buy a used guitar sight unseen in relative comfort that I was going to receive a quality instrument.

I see your point Brian but the fact that hundreds of thousands of strat owners would disagree is kind of the reasoning behind why I shy away from them. I like feeling of 'exclusivity' that Ricks give you

I apologise if I ruffled your feathers - if someone came out and told me they didn't like the look of Rickenbackers, I'd be absolutley horrified!

(See thread where derranged girlfriend makes such comments...)

You're not alone Rob...I have never been able to make a Strat sound good. I know that they are great gtrs & some of my gtr heros use them (Robert Cray, Buddy Guy etc) & make them sound fantastic, but in my hands, they sound like a cowpat with pick ups. I suppose that I have been playing Rics for so long, that my playing style has adapted to get the most out of the Rickenbacker sound & I really miss that open E & G chime that I just can't get with other gtrs.

Brian: You are so right about Rickenbacker quality. No need to replace keywinds, pots and wiring as with other models.

Very interesting points made here which, to some extent, reminds me of a question I asked myself years ago. Does the guitar make the guitarist or the guitarist make the guitar?

Hey Robert,

if it seemed to you that you ruffled my feathers I apologize. You did not. Sometimes my writing style is a bit on the blunt side so I have been told. Rics are great. I love my Strats too. I can share my love around quite a bit when it comes to guitars. LOL

By the way David....I hope you are posting on the Fender site, asking if they can make a gtr that looks like a Fender but sounds like a Rickenbacker....

Does the guitar make the guitarist or the guitarist make the guitar? Hmmm. Rory Gallagher only played Strats and the odd Tele on stage. He played my Les Paul and conceded that it sounded better when I played it. Randy Bachman on the other hand has had been seen with so many different guitars on stage that I have lost count. Seems to me he can play anything.

Eric Clapton switched from Gibson to Fender and although his sound changed his style is still recognizable. I would have to vote for the guitar player first qualified by the fact that you must know a good guitar when you pick it up and play it. Personally I can tell you right off the bat unplugged if a guitar is going to sound good through an amp. I have bought and built many guitars that way. I have never seen a situation though where a quality instrument turns a mediocre player into an all star. Maybe someone else has a different experience, but again I say a good guitarist can make the best of any quality instrument.

Nice one Tony!

I'm the same Brian - a bit of a floozy when it comes to guitars!

The madonna comment was out of order, I liked the strat for a few Stone Roses things and of course U2.

The Strat sound is great, especially on the setting that combines the bridge and middle pick-up, that is totally unique, I know it instantly, that percussive, crisp sound, it is wonderful. However, I don't think Strats make great rhythm guitars, especially for open type of chords, and all Ric's make GREAT rhythm guitars. That is my opinion, but I have both, and I only play rhythm guitar, my Ric's get most of the work. However, for certain parts, that Strat chime is perfect, I wouldn't have it any other way !!

Yeh Steve, I should have mentioned that I predominantly play lead/rhythm guitar all rolled in together. That's because I played in a trio for a number of years where I sang and played lead and rhythm at the same. Sort of along the lines of Cream, Jimi Hendrix Experience and Led Zepplin.

Anyway I digress. A well set up Strat (or Gibson for that matter) will do the job very very well. Listen to SRV he played the same sort of style (but obviously better) on his beloved Strat and we all probably (unless you live in a cave in Afghanistan) instantly recognize the sound he produced. Very pleasing to the ear.

But most Strat players would not look at a Ric and expect to get a sound they could live with. And that is my point. My 350 in its current configuration does the job very well.

Good one Tony. God help me if I woke up and found my Fender sounding like a Rick.

But, like Brian said, "I like them all." I 100 % agree.

But lets look at all the artists that I'm sure we all love in regards to their guitars. Lets put the guitars in the context of performances and the artist that use them.

This isn't a who's who of who plays what, but more like WHAT they play with WHAT they play it with. I know there are a couple of photos of SRV with his early Capri and hell, there might be one of Hendrix for all I know.

So, what guitars do (did) the heavy cats play? Clapton, Gallagher, Hendrix, Gov't Mule etc.

All in all, to each his own for sure. But I belive y'all see what I'm saying. Do you honestly hear the Allmans playing "Mountain Jam " on Ricks? Or Derek & the Dominoes on Ricks?

As much as I love John Fogerty; even he changed guitars later in his life. (I know, I know, he still plays his Rick occasionally)

A good guitar player is a good guitar player. A damn good guitarist can make any guitar sound good. But look at the choices all the heavy cats made.

How many here on this forum has disdain been shown by other players because you're playing a Rick? It's happened to me, much to my amusement. It's because *they know* that you can't play "Miss. Queen" on a 330.

Anyway, Rickenbacker makes a fine instrument. I will say one last thing here, I have ALWAYS gotten a kick out of people in the crowd at bars or whatever and they come up and just tell you what an awesome looking guitar you got.

Ricks mesmorize, no doubt.

Yeh I get comments like. Holy s**t I did'nt know you could play that song on a Rickenbacker.

Too funny. It's got the looks and the bite. Watch out.

Y'know, if I wanted to sound just like everyone else, I'd use a Fender or a Gibson. But I don't. I'd rather sound somewhat unique. I'm not even talking Rickenbackers, here, as they're not my main guitars. I use Guild BHM guitars for 90% of my work. They sound like nothing else (except perhaps a Burns BHM). The rest is made up of Rickenbackers, guitars with lipstick tube pickups (Charvel Surfcaster, Danelectros, and an Ibanez Talman that has a KILLER neck pickup), a Hamer Special (P-90s), a Yamaha AES-1500 (loaded with Filtertrons), and the occasional Tele or Esquire. I had a Strat for years. It's not a bad sound. That's why so many people use them. But it's so generic sounding that I just get turned off when I play one. I do have an Agile Les Paul copy that's been loaded with Seymour Duncan Seth Lover pickups. Its... interesting. I have to really tweak my amp settings to use it, though. Which isn't very often.

And, really, unless you're going for an extremely specific sound (say, in a tribute act), there's no reason to get a guitar that sounds like everything else out there. Most people at a club could care less if the tone isn't spot on to what was played on the record -- hell, most of 'em won't even know all the words to even the most popular songs a band will play, let alone listen to the guitar.

Be happy that Rickenbackers have their own voice. That's a good thing in this age of generics and homogenization.

Kevin you thread killer. We were all having a bit of fun till you got serial on us. LOL

You must have been out of town or something have'nt seen you around for a while.

Yeh reluctantly I have to admit some of your finer points make sense. I still like to have the best of both worlds though. A head turner and an ear drum breaker. Love my 350

Brian: Would you mind providing information regarding your amplifier and effects that you use with your Model 350?