Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

full tone bends are kinda hard on these...

yeah, if I'm bending a lot, I'm usually on a gibson, but I don't bend that much

yeah cuz the strings are kinda close together... but i use hammer ons and they sound sorta like bends

They aren't really hard at all. it just takes a more precise set of skills.

The bend is the easy part, the muting is the hard part, and is the part you have to work on the most I find with any bending. learning to mute unwanted strings with your fretting palm and fretting hand is the key to any clean playing style (not clean as in no overdrive, clean as in no mess of accidental notes)

With practice, you can bend just as easy on a 330 as you can on a Strat as you can on an SG.

bad grammar helps to prove my point! hehe, ouch!

ReelAroundtheFountain wrote:full tone bends are kinda hard on these...

Are you using heavy strings?

Bending shouldnt be a problem maybe your string gauge is too heavy

I've never had an issue. I think my 330 might even be easier than my strat.

Gotta be the strings. Use a .010 RIC set.

for me it's the neck size and string tension...the strings on my SG/LP are tighter, which means I don't have to bend as far, and the neck is wider

it isn't just about muting strings, sometimes I want to bend a string while also playing other unbent strings, strings that must be muted to play the same thing on my rick, because I have to bend past them

I definitely have a lot to learn though, maybe it's my technique, but like I said, I don't bend that much anyway

rickenrocker wrote:for me it's the neck size and string tension...the strings on my SG/LP are tighter, which means I don't have to bend as far, and the neck is wider...

While the neck is wider, string tension would pretty much be the same because they both have 24.75" scale lenghts.

the only different would be the amount of non-vibrating string length (between tailpiece and bridge) and while this does make a difference, I don't usually find it all too noticeable.

tennis_nick wrote:

rickenrocker wrote:for me it's the neck size and string tension...the strings on my SG/LP are tighter, which means I don't have to bend as far, and the neck is wider...

While the neck is wider, string tension would pretty much be the same because they both have 24.75" scale lenghts.

the only different would be the amount of non-vibrating string length (between tailpiece and bridge) and while this does make a difference, I don't usually find it all too noticeable.

you know what, you are totally right, maybe it just seems the strings are tighter because the neck is wider

that has to be it, but it definitely feels that way!

My Rickenbackers bend with the best of 'em - you've got the wrong strings on yours buddy!

I do not own a Model 330 but I do have a 480 and a 350. Both of these instruments have 10s on them (plain G) and I have no difficulty bending.

That being said it seems to me that there can be, at for those with my amateur skills, two factors that may tend to make bending on my instruments more difficult compared to some other makes of guitars.

To begin, the slightly narrower neck does limit the full range over which strings can be bent. Further, the angle at which the strings meet the bridge can be greater for some Rickenbacker instruments than others. I consider that both of these factors together increase the degree of difficulty of bending at least for those who like myself are not skilled.

As I get used to my instruments my bending skills are improving, however, off the shelf it is easier for me to bend on a stratocaster or a telecaster than my Rickenbackers. I appreciate that your mileage may differ especially if your connective tissue and talent exceeds mine.

It seems much easier from the 7th fret and higher to bend, it can be done lower, but it's kind of hard because the neck is thin.