Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

There are other great guitars that never really cought on besides Ric and Gretsch, just to name two, G&L, and Mosrite. Now G&L is much more popular than Rickenbacker or Gretsch, but they are not near as popular as you would think a guitar of that quality would be. I have a G&L Asat and it's heads abouve any Fender I've ever owned or played, Leo Fender said that G&L's are what Fenders used to be before CBS destroyed them and the name. And Yet how many superstars do you see playing a G&L??? The only one that comes to mind right now is Brooks&Dunn, it's even hard to find a G&L in a music shop!!
The other great guitar that nobody played was Mosrite, I can think of only the Ventures, and Buck Owens that played Mosrite's, Johnny Ramone does'nt count because he played the Jap version Mosrite that was not, nor is it now affiliated with the real Mosrite of Calif.( which by the way is nomore) Many very knowledgable people claim that Mosrite built the best electric guitar of them all!! It's said that Semie Mosley was the best electric guitar maker of all time, and the worst buisnessman of all time!!?? And yet these fine guitars faded into obscurity, while many inferior guitars flurished,why? By the way I would love to hear John Hall's opinion of Semie Mosley, I'd bet he even knew him, I had read somewhere that Semie Mosley served his apprentiship while working for Rickenbacker!!?
Paul

Actually INXS's bass player... Gary Beers I think his name is... he plays a G&L P bass. His has a P pickup and a humbucker. The rest of the band has Fenders and Gibbys.

All of the music I listened to in the early teens was all 60's and 70's stuff. It was The Beatles with "Hello Goodbye" that caught me. I saw the promo video while my dad was recording it and said "This isn't bad." and "What an ugly bass!" I got hooked on the Beatles.. I listened to Sgt. Pepper every day for like a year. I memorised how the bass went and hummed it every time. Then I got into Pink Floyd. I found out that Roger used the same kind of bass early on. That meant something to me. When I asked for my first bass I said I wanted a Beatle bass... then I changed my mind. "Dad, I want a Rickenbacker." "Nat, those are hard to find.. they went out of business." LOL!! I ended up saying get me anything and got a P bass copy.

Every band I listened to had a Rickenbacker bass in the low end department at some time. Then he got me into Rush.. I HAD to have one then. I saved up my money and spent $950 on my 4001 on ebay. Sure, that's alot, but I wanted it and I love what I got. It was money well spent.

I showed off my bass to my friends and they never said "those aren't cool" or "that kind sucks!". They all said "I want one!" and "You suck!" My friend that had a MIM J bass played my 4001 at my place once. He said something like "Wow... these sound great! I really like Rickenbacker!". But before he played he he tried to convince me his MIM J was better than my 4001. HAHAHAHAH! Good times.

I think that the only Rickenbacker my friends ever really saw was mine. That makes me proud.

I still see Ricks on TV every now and then. Usually on the new music channels. I get excited when I see a 4001/4003. I always saw "Sweet!! A Rick!" I usually stop and watch, even if they suck.

I was 'poo-pood' at a shop yesterday for being a Rick freak.

'Why?' he asked.
'F*****g why not?' I asked.
'Get an LP or Strat' he said.
'I have!' I said.
'Much better than a bloody Rickenbacker!' he said.
'Get stuffed!' I said

.... and walked out with my money still in my pocket.

What a ******!
A 4003 can out do a P bass or J bass... any rick 6 stringer can out do any gibson or fender.

Horses for courses, Nate. I really love playing my Srat, Tele and Gibsons but I don't love them the way I do my Ricks.

Sometimes a Fender or Gibbie is more appropriate - like when you're trying to lay out some Floyd or AC/DC. Mind you, the Ricks don't to a bad job just the same!

I went to three music stores yesterday and I bought stuff at two of them. One had a beautiful Line 6 Variax natural acoustic hanging on the wall. When I asked the sales guy about the price he pulled it off the wall, played it, took me to the counter, played it, gave me the price (which was very good), played it, told me how much he likes them, played it, asked me if I wanted to buy it on the spot, played it, and seemed disappointed when I said I'd think about it (while he was playing it). Not once did he ask me if I wanted to play it!! If he had treated me as something other than your common or garden 'dufus tyre kicker' who would be in awe of his ability he would have sold it!

Ok.. I agree with you about the AC/DC and Floyd.. Floyd doesn't sound right unless the guitar player os on a Strat and the bassist is on a P.

Wow.. he shoulda let you play it. Howard, what do you do for a living? You see to get a new guitar every two weeks! I'd love to live like that! I'm stuck with a year in between each purchase while I save up my cash.

Howard,
When that idiot at the music store started to poo poo you for liking Rics you should have commenced to "tune" him up real good. Then you should have taken one of his precious LP's or Strats and made it into a bowtie around his neck!! And the other idiot who would'nt let you play the guitar, I would have politly told him that I was in the market for a guitar, not a show from a 3rd class guitar player as I was walking out of his store. Oh and Howard, how about giving Nate a job so that he can get a few more guitars.
Paul

Hahahahah! Preach on!
yeah, I really need money. I want to refin and refret my 4001.. undetermined amount of money... I want to make that bass into a geddy tribute.. about $300+. I want a 4003 and Mr Rath to make it a 5'er... maybe with a J pickup in the mute spot. $1300... I want a keyboard... decent.. maybe $400 used.

I need a job.. Lol.

Oh.. I need a car too!

I think the very thing that makes Rickenbackers the great guitars they are is also what holds them back from the masses: the lack of celebrity endorsers. Since Rick doesn't shell out the big bucks it would take to pay even one big name artist play one of their guitars, they can better spend that money on more important things and more importantly, keep their prices reasonable.
As for Ricks being versatile, I have played metal on them since I bought my first one in 1991. It might interest some forum members to know that I traded in a 1983 cherry sunburst Les Paul for that Rick. The Rick was better than the Paul in EVERY way. The funny thing is, even today, when I take my fireglo 360 to a gig, someone ALWAYS comes up and asks me about that guitar. The most common thing people tell me is that they have never seen one up close before. When they get a chance to play my guitar, they just can't believe how well it plays and sounds, and mind you, my 360 is just a stock, off-the-rack model, nothing special about it. The closest thing Gibson makes to compare a 330 or 360 to is an ES-335.....and a cherry red 335 I saw hanging in a music store last weekend was priced at $2,300!! A 330 or 360 are much better constructed than an ES-335, and they cost a lot less to boot. I actually played that ES-335 while I was in the store and there is NO WAY I would ever trade my 360 for it. I am actually getting ready to purchase a new Rick 330 to use as a backup for my 360, if that says anything about my love of Ricks. My heavy metal approved Gibson Flying V will be going up for sale to make way for the Rick!

Seems like Rickenbackers in the United States are more obscure than in Europe despite being very good value for money compared to their rivals.

Compared to other US made guitars ie Gibson 335 the Rickenbackers are a bargain. Don't forget that there are few well known European makers over here nowadays so theres no competition this side of the globe.

I've noticed that Rickenbacker have never had large amounts of adverts in guitarist magazines compared to the main US guitar makers either, because they are backordered most of the time maybe? Fender & Gibson have their cheaper far east lines to sell also.

Good to see that Rickenbacker won't endorse any new trendy players who would just play / pose with a Rick because they got a well paid contract to advertise the brand.

>Good to see that Rickenbacker won't endorse any new >trendy players who would just play / pose with a Rick >because they got a well paid contract to advertise the >brand.

You mean like Susanna Hoffs?

I think with Ricks it just boils down to playing what you like. I can get "My" tone out of whatever guitar I play.
I love Ricks so I work with them to get the sound I want.
I also get it from Nation Glenwood 98s, or even a "Burst".
Ricks have a certain flair that no other make has.

I think it really boils down to what your first "guitar heroes" were playing. At least for me, and a lot of the other posters here, it seems like it was a case of hearing the song, seeing the guitarist, and thinking, "Man, I need one of those."

And undoubtedly availability is another major point. Gretsch was out of business for a decade (two decades, if you count the Baldwin era); Rics just weren't in the stores. Even when I bought my 360-12 in 1980, and living in Los Angeles, I still couldn't find one to play. I had to order it from a retail store and it took about 3 months to get to me.

But, Fenders and Gibsons have always been there. And, those manufacturers took a tip from the car maufacturers -- get them started in a cheap model (a Pontiac) in the beginning and they will most likely stay loyal thru the years and eventually buy up to a Cadillac. When I go into a GC, especially around this time of year, you see a lot of parents in there looking at "Junior's First Guitar" and they're probably going to be looking at an EPI or SQUIRE Player's Pac for $150. Not to say that Ric or Gretsch should come out with their own cheapie low price models (altho Gretsch has to a certain extent, with their Korean line), that is just not their business model.

Anyway, I suspect Ric is not hurting much -- they've got a highly regarded product which is completely back-ordered and pretty much SOLD as soon as they bolt the hardware on.

I'm in the IT business, Nate. However, my income from that wouldn't come close to allowing me to indulge myself to the level I have this year. An inheritance has given me that ability, although I did buy my first two Ricks using my regular income (and a bit of credit).

I wonder what Gibson or Fender would have paid for George Harrison and John Lennon to endorse their brand? Even though in later years they did play them, it was the early "Rickenbacker" Beatles that sold me!
2 of the highest profiles in Rock Music History played Rickenbackers! What does that tell you??
How good does that Rick(330?) look in U2's recent film clip! That might make todays kids pay attention!
Which music shop bagged Ricks Howard?, might have to pay them a visit!(with a sledgehammer)