Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have a 2006 Ric 360. It does not seem to have any sustain compared to a Les Paul. I know this comparison may be unfair but should a 360 have any sustain or is that by design. Also, I have a 660 on the way and I was wondering if it has more sustain due to the through neck design.

Thank you.

I think the 360 has sustain, but probably not as much as a solid body guitar. How do you measure that, anyway ?

I had a 650D for a while and I have a 620 now that has incredible sustain. The solid body construction, and I think most importantly, the neck through construction makes a pretty big difference in sustain.

That's what i wanted to know. Thank you.

You tell the difference by playing different guitars. The 360 has the least sustain I hasve ever heard. I love the guitar but the sustain is minimal.

Now that's the understatement of the year . The body design of the 360, and any hollow or semi-hollow, is not going to sustain like a Les Paul. The whole point of Mr. Les Paul's experiments that led to the Les Paul guitar was to increase sustain beyond what archtops had. Hence the "Log" guitar, then the LP.

But endless sustain is not always desirable, especially in rhythm playing. All the notes start to merge and mush into each other if the decay time is so long. Pete Townshend, for example, often looked for guitars that did not sustain forever. From an interview: "I’m also very keen on clean, enhanced treble of the Gibson variety, but with no sustain. This more closely approximates the vibration cycle of the acoustic, and suits my rhythm style far better than charged-up, overwound pickups that whine on for hours."

I'd say the 330 and 360 and variants are designed to achieve a certain sound quality, and endless sustain is not high on the list. I haven't played a 600 series Rick, but I imagine, and have read, that they do have better sustain. But the trapeze tailpiece is going to rob sustain compared to a Les Paul. I suppose the 650 would be more of a match.

Thank you. I was not looking for more sustain. I just wondered why it had so little. Thank you for the explanation. That make s sense.