Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

If you want a hollow body and a wider neck go for the 380. If not then the 660 or a 650 are your other 2 choices. I too prefer the wider necks.

Yeah, actually, I was looking at that one for a while, especially since you could get a piezo on it, but I called a guy, and he said it'd take at least 3 months to get one cause Ric's piezo dealer went out of business or something. I suppose I could get one without a piezo. My only worry about a hollow body right now is that it might not be able to get some of the harder rock tones I might want. Can anybody comment?

Mat, think Paul Weller from the Jam It can rock!

The is a used one in the free classifieds at Mike Parks' site:
http://www.the-music-connection.com/ads/sale.html

Rick 380 LPZ"Laguna"
Ad Number: 607 Date Posted: 11/10/2004
Contact: Marc Hall
Telephone:
E-mail: [email protected]
Web Site:


Description
Slighty used Rickenbacker 380LPZ. Excellent condition. Piezo
option. Humbuckers. Walnut finish w/ gold hardware.

I think, having owned both, that the 330 and 360 aren't all that different in terms of versatility. The 330 has sharper edges and simpler features (which I prefer, aesthetically) and I think it gives the 330 a more 'rock' sort of look. But it's just what you prefer. Some people kick it with a 360 and that's cool too. Radiohead use both, for example.

As for whether they can do harder rock tones - do the Who, the MC5, Fugazi, Radiohead, or Sleater-Kinney rock hard enough for you? Even Jimmy Page, Slash and Nikki Sixx played Rick 12-strings now and again. The narrower fretboard on 330s, 360s, and 620s etc make playing really bendy stuff a little difficult, but they can certainly kick out the jams. Depends on how you play them, and what you play them through.

Thanks for the link Ken, I e-mailed the guy.

One question I have is the neck on the (Epiphone) Les Pauls are 1 11/16 inches wide at the nut, while on the Ric 300's, they're 1 10/16 inches at the nut. Why are Les Pauls reputed as being great lead guitars, and Rics labeled as rhythm guitars? 1/16 of an inch isn't that much. Plus the tele's I looked at are .06 inches wider. I mean sure, that helps, but come on.

Well, as a thick-fingered friend of mine used to say, 1/16 of an inch can make a big difference.

My fingers have a 'memory' for where a string should be in relation to other strings. Yours, too, probably. That's why I can switch chords without looking at the fretboard. (I know, I'm a show off!) Seriously, this sounds elementary, I know, but if you don't finger the strings correctly, then you've got a flubbed note or chord. And sometimes, depending on the guitar and the player, 1/16 can be a lot.

Once you get used to a guitar's string spacing, it's usually no problem, but people with bigger fingers might prefer a 380 or 650 just for that reason.

I know I get totally screwed up when I switch between my 330 (1 5/8) and my G*bs*n Flying V (1 3/4)! But then I get used to it again. And anyway the V's getting the axe, so to speak, in favor of another Rick.

Oh, and I'd say that ignorance is the reason Ricks are labelled 'rhythm' guitars.

There is no better sound in the world than a nice fat ringing open chord on a Ric. No other guitar can replicate that sound & I think it is probably for this reason that Rics have been labled 'rythm' gtrs. Quotes from the Likes of Tom Petty at the front of The Ric Book don't help either. However those of us that play our Rics for lead know that this is rubbish. I can prove, just by listening to my album, that Rics sing as well as ANY other gtr when soloing. My other guitarist uses a Les Paul & my Ric, (one of my 360s or my 350) not only competes, but most of the time out does!

Just an academic question, but how does the neck radius on a rick 330 compare to a typical LP? That may have something to dowith the bendability issue

I think that bendability is more a question of action height rather than neck radius. I bend every second note & nearly always have to raise the action of a new (or used) Ric. The strings have to be high enough for your bending finger to slip under the adjacent strings. It is hard to bend on a super low action, which is probably why lightening fast players don't bend (I know there is always an exception to the rule).

Gibson has a 12" radius. I beleive a Ric is smaller. So if you are string bending and your action is too low you can easily ground the string out on a higher fret as you bend to a higher point of the radius on the fret. I guess this goes for any radius. It is really evident on old Fenders with the 5" or 7" radius. I never had any trouble string bending either of my Rics (360V64 and 610). My issue is that I would mute strings that I wanted to play on certain chords due to 'my' playing style. Although they had the same specs the 610 seemed to have a narrower neck. I hope the have the opportunity to try a 650 out in the near future. I played one a few years back but haven't found one recently to try. I know I would like a 660.

Hmm, okay, so how good are the lead sounds from 660s (6 strings)? I've heard a lot about how good the 660/12's are, but despite the wider through-body neck, I haven't heard much about the 6 stringers. That'll probably be the biggest factor in my decision.

I don't have a 660, but I do have a 350 & a 360 with toasters. As you know, the 660 has toaster p/ups on it. My 360 with toasters has a very R'n'R sound to it, but a lot thinner than my hi-gain equipped 360s. My 350 rocks, but that has three toasters. I too am interested to know what a 660/6 sounds like, but I would have though that you would be better off with hi-gains. With these, you can really rock it, or you can back off slightly for that classic single coil jangle.

Would the solid/semi-hollow body (alone) make that much of a difference if I had the right pickups on for my sound? Cause I like the warmth of hollow bodies, but the punch of solids.

A friend of mine had a new 620 which I always found a touch 'harsh' compared to my thinlines. Having said that, I have a 450 which is just as warm as my 360s, but it is nearly 30 years old & the p/ups have mellowed. The 360 is the most comfortable guitar in the world to play, it rocks or jangles, depending on how you play it & it looks cool as mustard. You can't go wrong!