In praise of the 650 Dakota

[sloop_john_b]

So I hit up my favorite local shop today (http://www.mandoweb.com) to mess around on this '34 Gibson L-00 that I can't afford yet can't seem to put down.

Upon walking into the electric room, however, I notice something familiar on the wall - something that i've never seen in the flesh before - a 650 Dakota, brand new!

First thing I looked at was the price, out of curiousity - $748. Okay, it's a Rickenbacker, and it's inexpensive. Hmm. Let's give her a try, eh?

I plugged her into a Twin Reverb '65 Reissue, flicked up the pickup switch to the "neck" position, and started noodling some pentatonic scale. "Hmm, this is an unfamiliar sound". In the midst of my noodling, I heard shades of Filtertrons, Strat pickups, and RIC hi-gains, all meshing together to create a wonderfully bassy - but not muddy - neck pickup tone. A truly uniquie experience so far.

I don't know if the 650D has the "wider" Rickenbacker neck, but i'd be very surprised if it didn't - this thing was meant for lead. It held it's tuning extremely well, lent itself perfectly to expressive bends, and could go anywhere from bluesy to jazzy, tonally, as well as physically.

Upon more playing, the "in-between" position gave a very fender-like tone, somewhere in between a Strat and a Tele but with less twang and more bass. Very useable in many musical contexts.

At this point i'm already completly enamoured of the guitar. I'm thinking, "This is no Rickenbacker, this is something entirely different from everything i've ever played!" And truly, it is; it's got a tiny little body, beautiful exotic woods, uniquely-voiced pickups, a 24 fret maple neck - if it had a vibrato i'd probably have died on the spot.

Onto the bridge pickup - much more typical sounding, like that of a Gibson PAF or a Filtertron - whereas, IMO, it sounds terrible clean, but add a little crunch, and you're in tone heaven. I was in no position to crank a Twin Reverb in a VERY quiet mostly-acoustic music store, but I could hear the potential in the tone. Add some crunch and that's it!

Since I left the store, the guitar has been constantly on my mind. And i'm probably gonna go pick one up, whether it be that one, or a used one.

My question is, does it indeed have a wider neck? And are the other 650 guitars in the series more or less the same, just without the exotic woods?

BTW, as I was leaving, they got in a PRISTINE '79 360/12 MG, which they're selling for $1800, if anyone's interested. It's a beautiful guitar that played REALLY nicely.

[squid]

All of the 650's have that nice wide neck. You were playing either a 650S or 650D by the sounds of it. (Exotic woods probably equals walnut wings with a maple neck.) I get them mixed up, but I think the 650D has silver hardware and the 650S has gold hardware. If you're into vibrato, you owe it to yourself to order one new with the VH (high performance vibrato) option. Very smooth and stable. I personally like the 650C because it's available in all standard Ric finishes. Like the more traditional 620, it has maple wings and a maple neck. I think the 650C looks gorgeous in Mapleglo, but you can't really go wrong. I bet BBR would look great ...

[sloop_john_b]

John, I was indeed playing a Dakota. Can they be ordered with a Hi-Tek Vibrato? I wasn't sure if RIC was offering the option, and for which models.

Here's a 650 Colorado Blueburst from POTR, very nice indeed: http://www.pickofthericks.com/2005_650c_blueburst_22931.htm

I've been looking into all the 650 models since I got home from the store, i'm still on the fence as to whether i'd want a Dakota or a Colorado.

[ken_j]

Kevin Kuney has a 650C in Monty Brn in the for sale section right now. He is a good guy to deal with. I purchased my 650C FG from him earlier this year. And yes these necks are wonderful.

[squid]

Thanks for the link, John. I'd forgotten about that one. Yum. The VH option is definitely available on all 650 models. It's an expensive option, but well worth it, particularly if you do the kind of 90's swirling psychedelia that you play. I think Noel used to have an Atlantis with the VH option. He said he could just go on bending and bending and bending without the tuning going off. I really like the 650C's, but it's just because of the colour options. The walnut looks great, too, and it's incredibly lightweight. One thing to consider is the tung oil finish. My 380L has it, and if you're living in a harsh climate (like I am), you have to take extra care re: humidity. They breathe like nothing else I've every owned. My 380L shrunk so much last winter (particularly nasty, dry and cold) that I had lumps up and down the sides of the fretboard where the frets were starting to push through. Come summer, the guitar had returned to normal with absolutely no damage. Quite remarkable, but something I'll be keeping a close eye on this winter. I'm sure it didn't do the neck much good.

[mark_revel]

I've had my 650 Dakota for about a month now & absolutely love it! It is a perfect blues guitar.
Bends are effortless and the quiet HBs are REALLY versatile. Through an AC-30 model I get a clean Ric jingle somewhat that is beautiful. Add some gain & there you have an articulate snarl/growl on the bridge pup and creamy "woman" tone on the neck. But I find myself using the middle position most of all with the neck pup rolled off just a tad. Seems really full with no mud at all. These HBs are clear yet they simply jam like no other HBs I've ever owned. And clean...my O my they are so pretty sounding
This Dakota is the perfect foil for my Strat. I love maple boards yet they sound so very different. The wider Ric neck really is perfect for lead work yet chords are easy too.

As a lover of natural woods, I think it is the coolest looking guitar I've ever seen. I will keep an eye on the neck & finish this winter.

As far as tuning goes, I do find that I have to be careful being heavy handed with the neck since it is a neck through or I'll take it out a bit. But it stays in tune just fine. Hardware is typical Ric. Nut edges are too sharp though...that's an easy fix.

Overall, this is the best value in guitars out there IMO. It will scream, sigh, or cry the blues, is perfect for classic rock, and simply excels for praise music at church. The 650 will do it all. Plus it is beautiful. I catch myself looking at it...I love pretty woodgrains!

I have a vibrato bar on my Strat so I like the Dakota as a hardtail. It will sustain forever.

The tung oiled neck plays smooth & sweet.
Bet you can't tell how happy I am with mine huh?

If you get one, you won't be sorry, IMO.

Mark