Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I hope this doesn't seem like a really dumb question, but having owned and sold several RIC 6-strings over the years, all vintage models, I was never able to find a spot for them musically for some reason. They seemed inappropriate for bluesy rock, roots rock, harder-edged lead playing, etc. This has lead me to believe that these guitars are probably best suited for rhythm work. I know you guys are more knowledgeable than I, so I welcome your opinions. Once I get a nice 12-string, I might go for another 6-string eventually, if I can find a musical place for it. Maybe someone can give me an idea of how to use the guitar correctly so it will work for blues and roots rock. Thanks.

I have a 650S that I love using for Classic Rock (Pink Floyd, Stones, Skynyrd, etc.) The combination of the high gain single coil pickups coupled with .10 gauge strings makes it a workhorse for rock. Besides, I think it's just about the most aesthetically eye catching guitars out there.

I use at least as much as my '61 Gibson Les Paul SG.

Try the 650 series. My Dakota with 'buckers is a blues/classic rock lead machine. Flat, wide 'board, oil finish, great-sounding HBs and a very fast neck.
Simply an outstanding blues guitar for crankin' tones!

Try one if you can find one!

Great pic of your beautiful Sierra Kris! My Dakota is exactly like his Sierra except chrome in place of the gold & I swapped out the knobs for vintage TV style knobs so I can see where I have them set better.

Those are humbuckers on your Sierra, right? They look just like the humbuckers on my Dakota & not Hi-Gains.

Bob, my Ric 1997SPC/VB is my go-to guitar for EVERYTHING. All the others seem dedicated to this sound or that, but that Ric in particular handles everything with aplomb. It twangs, chimes, growls, sings, and cries.

I played it for 4 hours at rehearsal tonight and it wailed on our version of 'Cortez The Killer', it took me back to the mid 60s on 'Elenore', and cut through the mix on 'Love Song' (the Cure). Of course, it always sounds great on our originals. I play lead with it about 60% of the time -if that helps your opinion.

cheers, Noel

H-gains in a Ric 6 are perfect fro New Wave, the Jam, The Cure, Echo & The Bunnymen, Blondie etc etc - They have a spacey shimmer that makes them great for atmospheric rhythym picking, but they also have real bite for melodic leads...

Bob, if you're not getting a great bluesy or roots rock tone from a Ric, then I would suggest that you look at your amp.....

One thing that I've noticed is that many people have pre-conceived notions of what a guitar (any guitar) should sound like and that they can't get past that to actually make certain guitars work for them.

In addition to a couple of Teles and G&L Asats I've got a Gretsch and a couple of Ricks. Even though the last two guitars cut well, have a good sound, and "chime" they have a pretty fast decay to the notes before sustaining (my way of describing it) and I think a lot of players immediately write this off as somewhat unuseable and don't give these guitars a chance to work for them. If you're playing cover songs and want to sound just like the record you obviously aren't going to nail a Strat or Les Paul sound with a Rick and I think that's where a lot of people give up.

I took my Gretsch to a gig with a buddy who can play circles around me and he loved the sound of it. I think he played it himself for the last set and I thought that he made it sound great. He even wanted to buy it but when I let him borrow it for a couple of weeks he just couldn't "find the tones" that he needed and I believe that it was strictly a matter of wanting it to sound like his "normal" guitars. I've also let people play my old Rick 350 and they kind of blow it off with comments about the pickups not being as good as a Fender or Gibson yet when I took my 450/12 to practice for a gig with them they were completely in love with the guitar and the pickups. My take on this is that with an electric twelve-string they had no pre-conceived sounds in their heads or a stereotype of what the guitar "should" sound like.

I agree that you may need to mess with some amp settings and stuff, but make sure to play any guitar in a band setting if that's what you do, so that you can find out what they really sound like with all of the other instruments in the mix.

Good points Jeff,
I just put some GFS Memphis pickups in my Gretsch. GFS touts them as 'Rickenbacker-like' and that they are - plenty of jangle and shimmer, give them a clean boost and they're very similar to Hi-gains. But what I've become much more interested in is their own unique sound.

They have a real Duane Eddy/Eddy Cochran twang at the bottom, great clean articulation in the middle and way more clear high end tone, sparkle and clarity. All in all a great product, but do they sound like a Ric? Who cares? They sound good in their own way.

Howdy,

Ricks are more versatile than thier reputation. If you are the type of hard-core lead guitarist who does extensive soloing on the upper frets, with the attendant string bending to the extreme..then you might want to check out the Sierra as posted above.
I'm a 60's style rocker: Chuck Berry, The Beatles and The 'Stones. My 360/6 is perfect. It's got it's own sound going with those Hi-Gains: thick, but with definition, like P-90's.

Eggman

I use a 360/V64 6 string to play blues, rock and jazz style leads. Does it sound like a Strat or a Les Paul. Not on your life. It has a unique sound with lots of sustain and did I mention that its the best guitar on the planet as far as playability goes? I guess not. I get carried away when I speak about my V64.

Jeff your comments are bang on as is Tony's comment about picking the right amp for your Rickenbacker.

I play a number other brands and types of guitars but my Rickenbackers hold an equal place in my line up.

I guess I'd say that my 650C is about the most versatile, since it has humbuckers and still has real treble. It can do, really, everything (I don't do metal with it, but I could.) My 660/6 and 370/6 (an aside: I have never liked the sound of a P90, but people are always comparing the high gain Rickenbacker pickup that I love to it- I just don't get it) can do anything that any other single coil guitar could and each have a wide pallet of sounds. I think that as is hinted at above, people don't associate some types of music with Rickenbackers.

F'rinstance: A guy playing the blues on a Rick. Geez, how genuine is that? I mean, the guy has a Rickenbacker, how bad can it be?

Tony...You're probably right about the amp not being right. Back then, I had an old, beat-up Fender Pro that had been hacked up and altered. It really never sounded right at all with any guitar. What I'm using now is much better, but I can remember seeing The Jam in 1977 and disliking the way Paul Weller's 330 sounded. Same thing with the guy from The Romantics, who was trying to play lead on a 325. When I spoke to him after the show, he complained about his sound, and told me the band wanted him to use that guitar because it looked cool. These incidents further amplified (no pun intended) my distrust of six-string RICs, I guess.

I have to give a RIC six another try. I'm kinda leaning toward the 620. Never had one of those. They look great in blue.

Don't forget compression, guys. Get a good compressor pedal, and whatever you thought your Rick was missing will suddenly be right there at your fingertips.