Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Today I tried out a Montezuma Brown 330 with toasters. This is an absolutely beautiful guitar, and today would be my 3rd time visiting it. But alas my hands have no love for the neck, and my ears no love for the toasters. I want to love this guitar more than anything but i sadly i can't.



In addition to this guitar, i also tried a Turquoise 360 with Hi-Gains. Keep in mind i had my heart set on a 330 with Toasters, but when i took this guitar off the wall it played like nothing i've played before. The thing i can't stand is that one of the best guitars i've played isn't what i thought i would like the best. The colour, the body shape, and the hi-gains. I absolutely HATE to love this guitar, but there is love there. sigh



Am I crazy to hate this guitar that my fingers and ears love so much? Are any of you locked in a love hate relationship, or do you think all Ricks are beautiful?

p.s. Just as a side 4 out of the 5 ricks in the store with the Monty Brown didn't sound that great....so maybe its the stores fault. The only 1 of 5 that sound really awesome was their 330/12 from 1966...i was floored by the tone.

Hi Sam (and everybody, this is my first post),
I don't think you're crazy, this sounds exactly like the story of my first rick (so far). I kept going back to play the same 330 FG, and although I loved the way it looked, it just didn't feel or sound exactly right so I couldn't pull the trigger. I finally convinced myself to buy it anyway, but when I went back to the store hanging next to the 330 was a 360 in midnight blue with black hardware. Probably not the greatest color combination they've ever come up with. But when I took it down and played it, it felt like it had been made for me. So I bought it on the spot, and it's the only guitar I've used for the past 7 years. Pretty or not, it's definitely distinctive. And it still sounds great.

I like the 330 neck, but I love the 360 one!

Chalk and cheese to me.....

Welome to the forum, chaps!!. Hope you like it here. I reckon chrome hardware suits the blue much better, but very nice, just the same!!

Capsule Music in Toronto...is THAT why they've been "hanging around" for so long. But then again, sound is, like everything else, subjective.

And expensive.

I've never tried a 360. I thought the only difference to a 330 was the body shape and cosmetics - how does the neck differ?

Jeff welcome, and i love your story. Makes me feel less bad about not liking the 330.

Capsule Music is a cool store with some neat finds, but I find that my overall experience there is never that good. One time I commented on how they have a nice selection of Ricks, and the guy responded "If you look harder there are other stores in Toronto that carry Ricks too"...so much for being friendly. And another time, yesterday in fact, the guy answered his cell phone as he was assisting me get setup with an amp (of which 50% don't work in the store). Oops sorry I didn't mean to rant.

I always thought the necks were the same too , but the 360 i tried felt chunkier, and easier to move around in my hands.

Btw Jeff that Rick colour combo looks cooler everytime i look at it. Please post more photos

There's only one solution to the dilemma.

Buy both!

Failing that, go with the Turquoise 360 - sounds like you will be happier in the long run.

I love black 'n' blue too.

I have found that ALL guitar stores in Toronto feature, for the most part, unfriendly, patronizing staff.

Why is this?

Sorry that I'm not Eddie Van Halen. No doubt he'll walk in at any moment now.

Capsule Music is frequented by the big boys; Coldplay recently bought a guitar or two there.

And where are these mythical stores in Toronto that stock Rics????

Capsule Music is the only one i know of that consistently has Ricks in stock. If you find em some place else its usually from a trade or something. Long and Mcquade is an authorized dealer of them but, i've never seen any in their stores. Actually now that i think of it.... I've never seen a non-used Rick in Toronto.

Hey thanks for all your suggestions. Post more of your odd-ball Ricks. Id love to see more non-traditional colours

Interesting... Sam, what about the toasters compared to the high gains did you not like?

As for me, I've always much preferred the 360 body styling over the 330. The late great George Harrison not withstanding, the 360 has more of that CLASSIC look..... great body styling. As for the turquoise color, yukaroo.

I'd also be interested to hear about the differences in neck and feel between the 330 and 360.

Just goes to show how tastes differ. I agree that turquoise is "yuckaroo", buckaroo. But only on that tubby 360.

On a 381 or 350 or 330 or 320 or...it looks terrific.

IMHO, of course.

Sam,

I also discovered that I prefer the feel, tone and playability of the 360 to the more attractive 330! I should know; I've had three 330's and wound up selling each. Not my new MG 360-6 string!
It sounds more..solid than the 330 and not as loud or as..acoustic. That rounded front edge feels alot like a Strat (a good thing), while the sharp, bound back edge sits tight on your lap when playing seated! The 330 will move around in your lap. Not good.
Over the last 20-odd years I've never even test-driven a 360. Didn't like the rounded cut-aways. I still think the 330 looks more street tough; cooler. But my ears and hands liked the 360 better. Sam, you aren't crazy. You've got good taste-you bought a Rickenbacker!

Eggman

The 330/340 Rics never worked out for me either, Larry. I've owned 3 -and sold each one!
My 1997SPC/VB and 360V64 are definitely Holy Grail instruments however and fit my hands (and ears) like tailor-made gloves.

Noel

360 tubby ?????????????????????????

Hey, I resemble that remark!!!

Turquoise is for the tropical reefs, not musical instruments. That color shouldn't come anywhere near a guitar, especially a Rickenbacker. IM_even_more_HO, of course.

Nutting like an open mind, bruddah.