Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I stopped by the Guitar Center in Fountain Valley (CA) today, and much to my delight and surprise, they had both a Jetglo and a Mapleglo 325c58 sitting on guitar stands within easy reach! I picked up the Mapleglo and played it a little through a Blackface Super Reverb while trying to block out the idiots 'playing' the metal shredders in the background. Well, background that was around 100 dB...

My first inpression was how light it was - I'm sure my 325v59 is quite a bit heavier. Tone-wise, it seemed that there was a lot more bass on all selector settings, but that might have been that particular amp. I did find the vibrato arm to be in the way at times, and when I tried to do some bends (while strumming The Ventures' "Walk Don't Run"), it didn't have as nice of a sound change as I get with the Bigsby on my v59. It also lacked my v59's 'body vibration/jangle', a sort of resonance that sounds like it comes from the body near the Bugsby - it's hard to describe, but I've heard it a little in some Beatles songs.

The fit and finish were really nice. I did notice that the heel of the neck was two-piece: the full length piece that runs from headstock to the body had below it at the heel a small piece of slightly different color and grain. Has this been noted previously? Also, the nut seems to be wider than the standard RIC nut; has this been noted, too?

Overall, it's a nice guitar, and the vintage features are impressive, but I think I'll keep playing my v59.

Doctorwho: Thanks for these comments. There are many of us who are going to be waiting for some time before gettng our hands on one of the Model 325C58.

I have always wondered about the vibrato. The fact that Lennon did replace it is certainly of significance and I have always questioned why he did so. As he did not use vibrato much on any of his recording, I suspect that it was for two reasons. First, it was in the way as you have found and second, the coolness of the Bigsby.

When you refer to the width of the nut being wider are you refering to its short side (top to bottom of the headstock)or its long side(width of the neck) measurement.

It will be interesting to see if others who play the 325C58 have a similiar experience.

Peter and Gary: The nut dimensions on the C58 are correct for a 1958 325 and most 1958 Rickenbackers. The width was more starting from the end of the fretboard toward the nameplate...'thicker' may be a better way to describe it.....

Most of the known 325 models, made during 1958, have a standard size nut. The thicker nut on Lennon's '58 is another feature that makes his 325 somewhat unique.

Thanks for the correction, Joe. Could it be that Lennon's V81 being a very early '58 model had a nut similar in thickness to a Combo 850?? I'll ask David about this, but I think his Combo's have the thick nuts as well as his 360/365F prototype....After looking at the pic of Larry's, it's hard to tell from the angle it's setting at.

The 'polynesian' Combo 850 has a thick nut, and it looks as though some of the early two-tone 325's (noteably the solid-top guitars) in the pics taken by F.C. Hall sport a thick nut.....

Could be a trait of early 1958 production...anyone?

"Could be a trait of early 1958 production?"

Yes!

The same seems to be true for early production '58 325 models, which have solid top bodies and combo style jack plates.

Guys, I sold an 'alder' 325C58 on to one of the UK's top Beatles tribute bands, the 'Lennon' in the group had already been playing a 325V63 and has a V59 as a spare, he now splits their early set between the two and the V59 is in storage, his first impression was that the biggest difference apart from the weight of the guitar was the out-put of the pick-ups. A lot less than the V63, but after a little adjustment with his amps and P.A he's convinced it sounds closer to those original early 60's Beatles numbers than the V63 and his spare V59. He's also swapped the vibrato for bigsby, not that it's needed for song reproduction, the Knaffman just gets in the way.

Two things I think led to John putting a Bigsby on his 325. 1). the Kaufman's had tuning stability problems and 2). his friend Chris Huston(from Liverpool band The Undertakers) put one on his `59 Les Paul Special and used it to a good degree. John, in fact had Chris mount the one on his guitar when Hessy's got it in.
John was influenced by his friends and things that he thought were cool. Same with why he wore his strap/guitar up so high. He was influnced by Tony Sheridan to do that.

I played one in Frankfurt/Germany this week and I was very surprised, how lightweighted it was, but i think the Kauffman is rubbish, because I touched it and the guitar got completely out of tune. I also think, that the guitar would have sounded much better with flats on it.
all in all it's a nice guitar, but I cant afford 3500 EUR.

Has anyone actually heard Lennon use his vibrato?

I've played one or two c58's at GC. The thing that surprised me the most was, as Jerry noticed, the tone. It was a lot bassier, and actually warmer, than I was expecting. I still wonder if that's a function of the guitar itself or the pickups.

Um...guys...read this post:
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I played a JG and a MG tonight at a GC (the store had 2 JGs and the MG). Well least I tried to play them. It was kind of hard since I'm a lefty. All in all, I think I still prefer a full scale neck.