Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Apologies for the spelling in the subject. Past my bedtime...

As I eagerly await my (first) Ric's arrival (Tuesday, I hope), I've had a lot of time to read many, many posts. Seems most Ric owners extol the craftsmanship/appearance of these guitars and enjoy collecting them. Then of course, comes the unique Ric sound, which is attached to the HG versus Toaster discussions. But I've not seen much written about how they "play."

Realizing that each model, each year, each neck radius, each string setup, fret spacing, etc effects how a guitar plays, I've found it interesting that no one has said "Wow, what a great action!" or "plays fantastic" or "love the fret shape."

I assume (and I hope) they play as well as (or better than) other instruments in this price range. But I'm curious to hear from other Ric owners why this topic doesn't seem to get much discussion.

Valenti

Well, let me throw in here that as far as my 1980 360-12 FG is concerned, it has always had the best action of any of my guitars, and has never needed any work at all. The frets do indeed feel great, and I just love playing it. I have Gretschs, Epis, a Strat and a Tele, an Ovation and a LP studio, and while all have their place, none have as good a feel while playing them as the Ric. (Well, maybe my Gretsch Tenny too...)

A non-posting friend has a 1967 335 (6 string with Accent) and he feels the same. He's had lots of opportunities to sell it, but wouldn't dream of it.

Thanks, Kog. That's what I'd hoped to hear (your check's in the mail...) I too have several other guitars, each with their own "personality." Any theories as to why this topic doesn't seem to come up too often?

Huh? It's all some of us talk about on this Forum...

As far as basses go, I've never in 25 years of playing encountered anything that plays like a Rick. I've played every bass & guitar I could try & nothing is the same. My first Rick guitar is on the way right now so I can't say for those, but the basses are unequaled. Some I've played were quite good, but not good enough.

Both my rics have fantastic action and are incredibly easy to play. They sound stunning, are far far far more versatile than people give them credit for and look one million, four hundred and sixty two thousand, three hundred and twenty two times cooler than any other guitar on the planet.

Done

BEEEAUTIFUL!

Seth, I echo Paul's statement. I think that such discussions are buried in threads with titles other than "Rickenbacker Action/Frets/Play ...".

I know that I have commented a number of times on the feel, action, sound, and overall playability of a number of my Ricks. In particular, I seem to often extol the incredible playability and sound of my 1981 460 BG, one of my favorites.

One thing to remember: any guitar, if not set up 'properly', will not play as nicely as one that has been set up 'properly' (I use quotes to indicate that set-ups are somewhat subjective - one person may find the strings too high, another too low, etc.).

'Feel' and 'playability' are very subjective things when you consider the number of variables in the guitar/player combination that contribute to an analysis.

If we perhaps ignore neck width (because most Ricks are 1-5/8"), scale, number of frets, string spacing, string type, neck depth and profile, finish on the back of the neck, neck binding, hand size, finger length and thickness etc. all contribute to it, in my opinion.

I find my 620 the most comfortable to play, followed by the 350, 360V64 and 1997 (equally). The 330 is a little different because it has a slightly 'chunkier' neck. Neck binding is good is you play a lot of half-barre chords. I also like the action to be as low as possible.

I played a 360 a few months ago and found it to be great! - about the same as the 620.

I guess you won't know until you've wrapped your hand around the neck and received your initial impression!

To quote a Rickenfriend of mine who sometimes lurks here but never posts, Rickenbackers are "the most beautiful looking, coolest sounding axes in the world!" Each one is a unique work of art, and no two play exactly the same, but they are all good if properly set up.....

If I had the time, I could ramble endlessly about the personality of each of my Rics!

If I had the time, I could ramble endlessly about the personality of each of my Rics!

Melissa: While not wanting to seem insensitive, isn' t that what you have been doing? I cannot think of a better pastime.

Isn't that what we're all doing?

Too true, Peter! LOL!

Probably too much of the time, too....

I only meant that right now I don't have the time to write a paragraph about each one of my 13 Rics and all of their nuances--that would mean I would have to spend at least a day playing them and taking notes--it would be a pleasurable way to spend a day, but I'm supposed to be running a business..... (but popping in and out here all day, anyway!)

We are all in business Melissa, the Rickenbacker business.

Ummm, for me that's not a business, it's an obsession!