Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I think it's time to get a Rick six-string. I love some 330's, I like 360's better as a 12-string, but I've always been kinda interested in the 480. Not sure why...maybe it's because you don't see them very often (well, anyone that isn't a member of this forum anyway)...maybe it's because I think the 4000 body style is the most elegant design I've ever seen...but either way I'm curious.

When I'm not playing my 360/12, I'm a Tele guy - now if I was to get a Rick 6er, it would ideally be replacing the Tele, so I guess I'm looking for a comparison in sound between the two.

Can anybody help? I've tried to find videos of 480 demos, but I only found one on a 481. And to the 480 owners, what do you like or dislike about the guitar?

The fretboard is flat. I mean, really flat.

sloop_john_b wrote:The fretboard is flat. I mean, really flat.

I can dig that. Other than that, how does the neck feel?

sloop_john_b wrote:The fretboard is flat. I mean, really flat.

So I found out (I knew it was flat, but not that flat, if you get what I mean)... weird that if I'd be forced to sell my 360 I would be down forever, but selling the 480 was not that difficult!

As for the sound: I put D'Addario's 10 gauge on it and tuned it and it sounded great. If you can handle the flat fretboard then try to find one, as they're quite nice. The neck didn't feel that smooth on my 480, but that might be down to age and wear/tear

I worked at a store some years back that had a 480 in it with slanted frets. The guitar played pretty well, but everything being slanted made me seasick for some reason

whojamfan wrote:I worked at a store some years back that had a 480 in it with slanted frets.

481, then, right?

whojamfan wrote:I worked at a store some years back that had a 480 in it with slanted frets. The guitar played pretty well, but everything being slanted made me seasick for some reason

Then don't ever play a Dingwall bass guitar!!

Wildberry wrote:

whojamfan wrote:I worked at a store some years back that had a 480 in it with slanted frets.

481, then, right?

It was missing a 1

480s are great guitars. The neck on mine is really thin, frets to back - like a 1/2" thick.

Well, I guess the search begins...thanks everybody.

Terrific guitars, both. The 481 has to be played--loud--to be believed. It is born to scream.

The 481 has a flat fretboard. The 480, however, has a slight crown--haven't measured, but I'm thinking 24" radius or thereabouts.

I had a 481 for a long time. Slanted frets were comfy for me. I didn't mind the flat finger board. The humbuckers weren't bad, but I prefer the single coils.

They are bolt on necks of course, but I don't think I ever adjusted the truss rod in ten years. You could drop the action to nearly nothing with no string buzz at all.

jingle_jangle wrote:
The 481 has a flat fretboard. The 480, however, has a slight crown--haven't measured, but I'm thinking 24" radius or thereabouts.

Hmm, interesting.

Is that because, with the slanted-frets, it would "fret-out" if it had any radius? Or maybe intonation reasons?

Never thought about it!

I can't imagine that a 361SF would have a straight board though.

loopyreed wrote:Can anybody help? I've tried to find videos of 480 demos, but I only found one on a 481. And to the 480 owners, what do you like or dislike about the guitar?

You can see videos on YouTube of me playing my '73 480 MG if you search on "babyshaker00" (couple of links below). But note that I modded mine. I have a 12K toaster with the 0.0047 cap in the bridge and a Ric HB (with a toaster cover on it) in the neck. The PU selector is in the middle and I have the bridge up all the way while I adjust the neck volume to my liking. It gets me the jangle I want while adding some low end punch, drive, and sustain. I'm using a 50 watt Hiwatt halfstack and a Rat distortion pedal in the videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHIZSjbyHmU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti3y12M5cvk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6lcnaSk57o

The 480 is my favorite and main work horse. I absolutely love it-the feel, fit, sound, and look. I couldn't be happier with it.

Hi guys,
I'm sorry, I don't have a good mic so I can't let you hear some sound samples.
But, if you are interest in the 480 (or, at least, in a wonderful masterpiece of guitar art!) you can take a look at these photos on my flickr account:
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=rickenb ... 326276@N02