Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

If you want one, you'd better get one soon....

http://www.rickenbacker.com/us/new.htm

Wow, nice price jack. It looks like every Ric will be $100 more now. Better get what you want before the low ends are $2K !!

Also, ntice a few other subtle things that have been discontinued, namely most of the strings, and the T-shirts.

...It wouldn't be an April Fools joke now would it?

I really liked the look of the 380L. There's not many around. I'm guessing it will become a desirable guitar soon.

What a shame. I have a Laguna, and I really like it. Check elsewhere in the archive for my glowing comments. Hopefully, Rickenbacker is cleaning the decks for a newer but similar model. I'm sorry to see it go.

As for the price increase, I don't think it will have a great impact. I've never bought a Ric at MSRP. They're still a great value compared to other makes and models.

I'm sniffing an April Fool's joke.

On the chance it isn;t, a big disappointment. I was hoping they would make Lagunas in standard finishes and promote them heavily - that would address a *LOT* of the issues and eccentrcities that Joe Guitarist might have with Rickenbacker.

Wow, nice price jack. It looks like every Ric will be $100 more now. Better get what you want before the low ends are $2K !!

Very unfair comment, IMHO. It's the first price hike since 1999, a modest one at that, and not across the board.

See the "Recent raise in prices?" thread in the Basses forum, and JH's comment there.

I put the 380 out there as a response to various comments made by people over the years and I personally like this guitar very much. Unfortunately, those that made the comments apparently didn't put their money where their mouth was, so there hasn't been enough quantity to justify the extra overhead it adds to the production line.

Also, it occupies a niche in our line where I'd like our line to be a bit more active but with something a little different, so this clears the way for some things in the future.

Our dealers were told "MODELS 380L and 380L PZ HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED. This is reflective of changes in the marketplace and Rickenbacker’s strategy for new models."

The accessory deletions essentially reflected goods we no longer carried in stock anyway, in some cases in anticipation of new ranges of goods.

The price increase was similar in scale to those that our competitors have on an annual basis- except that we haven't done it for six years!

I'll continue to observe: Rickenbacker guitars and basses are bargains, being popularly-priced while continuing to offer superior handmade quality and exclusivity of ownership.

Call me a snob.

I too have a 380LPZ and really like it as well. However I did notice when they came up on Ebay they didn't seem to draw much interest or overly great prices. It also was I think, (not sure about the acoustics) the only model (LPZ option) with active electronics in the current product line. Too bad it didn't sell better. However it will be interesting to see what the future brings in new product(s).

Well, maybe the 380L discontinuation isn't such a glum thing after all. I'm really anxious to see and play the new models that will be released in its wake. Will it be a modern hollow-body in a similar vein? I hope so.

Dave wrote : "Very unfair comment, IMHO. It's the first price hike since 1999, a modest one at that, and not across the board."

I never looked at their prices until November of 2004, when I got my first. Your basic Ric 330 will now go for over $1500 retail, and $1100 will be about the best price you can get a new one for. An American Strat now goes for $930 on Musician's Friend !! That is insane. Clearly, seeing the quality of the Rickenbacker womrkmanship, in comparison to that of a basic Strat, justifies it, I guess. I mean, it's not going to stop me from buying ANOTHER one. Complaining about inflation is one of my hobbies, must be turning into an old geezer already ...

I think that you can do better than $1100.00 for a new 330-6.

Maybe not a whole lot, but $1100.00 is sort of an average price.

There is no comparison between belly-button Strats (no matter how "custom-shopped" they may be) and any Rick.

As a rule of thumb you can take, as an average, about 70% of the MSRP to get the price, sometimes even a little better. As an example a 330, listed now at around 1500, would go for about 1050. At least this is the experience I've had.

Steverok, the 4003 has listed for $1529 since 1999 and there are a number of dealers who sell it in the just-under-$1000 range. It will be no different with the 330 at $1519. There are RIC dealers out there who sell at approximately 35%-37% off list. For that matter, there are Fender dealers who sell for 35% or more off list, but they can't advertise it.

A better Strat comparison would be the 620, since it's a solid body. You'll still be able to buy it for about $900 through a number of dealers, and it has deluxe features (binding and inlay) that you don't get on the regular American Series Fenders. Of course that's not Fender's thing anyway, and I couldn't care less about binding and inlays, but the point is, the 620 is competitive with Fender's American Series. And Fender has been going up about 5% per year.