One of Each

[Folkie]

I did my research before investing in a new 360/12 to complement my 1991 330/12. The Rick website said the two guitars have the exact same nut width. But the first thing I noticed about the 360/12 was the tighter octave pairs. I read somewhere here (can't remember the thread) that in response to complaints about the narrowness of the neck, Rick had changed the factory stock string-spacing on 360's. Mine took a little getting used to, as I can't imagine how the low and octave strings could be any closer; tuning is even a trick because it's hard to get a pick between the courses. Now that I've gotten used to them, though, I really love the tight pairs. They certainly allow for more finger room between pairs, although I've never had a problem with my 330/12 in that regard. At the outset, I wasn't sure if I could "justify" owning two Rick 12's. But now I see the logic for having one of each: not only do they sound totally different (my 360 has scatterwounds), but they feel totally different (the 330 is much heavier) and they play like two totally different animals.

[Ric_MEL]

I purchased a used < 2000 > 620/12 and note a large difference in playability to a friends 2009 360/12. Posters noted in about 2005 RIC changed the 12 string nut .. to tighter pairs which yielded more space between pairs. I think that is for ALL the standard width neck 12 strings.. ( 620, 330 and 360 ) - with only the 660 being different.

Makes a big difference.. and theoretically: if one wanted as much room as possible.. the 330 without binding has slightly wider frets that go to the edge of the fretboard.. and a custom nut could achieve even more space.

* I'd think the scatterwounds would be a main facet of why your 330/360 sound different. Would be interesting to hear those who have the two guitars. with the same pickups .

Congrats on your NGD !

[Folkie]

All I know is that I looked at a new jetglo 330/12 on the wall at Sam Ash the other day, and the string spacing was exactly as wide as my 1991 model, and much wider than my 360/12. As I said, it's nice to have one of each, even though I never had any playing issues with my 330.

Robert

[johnhall]

The more important difference is that we now recognize the width of the binding as playing area, which was why the 330 and 360 versions were different in the past. Personally I'm still uncomfortable doing so, but many people wanted this and were paying stupid money to so-called luthiers to change this, so we did it.

[Folkie]

Thanks for the clarification, John!

[8mileshigher]

At the outset, I wasn't sure if I could "justify" owning two Rick 12's. But now I see the logic for having one of each .....

Logic ? ! ? --- Justify ? ! ?
Shh-h-h-h-h ! (whisper) Don't use those kind of words !!
They are banned from the Ric Acquisition Syndrone vocabulary .....

[Ric_MEL]

may be a silly ( ... stupid? ... ) question.. but here goes..

re: 330/12.. 360/12 = same neck width.

330 has no binding.. so frets go all the way to the edges . So the 330/12 frets are a tad WIDER .. than those on the 360 ?

360 has had the neck width reduced slightly to accommodate the binding. and the frets do not go OVER the binding. .. so the 360 has slightly LESS wide frets ??

so even with an adjusted nut a few years ago.. pushing the low and high E pairs perhaps as close to the end of the frets on the 360... ( and apparently closer to the binding than JH really likes.. )

since both 330/12 and 360/12 use the same nut.. that means there is a slight amount fret width not utilized on the 330/12 ?

- if someone wanted to eek out as much room as possible - a custom nut would position the high / low E pairs using the full 330 fret width. ( ?? )

The one time I played a 330/12 I wasn't looking at this level of detail.. but I can sure tell the difference between a 2009 360/12 and a 2000 620/12... so " little " differences.. make a big difference..

[Ligumo Redux]

I'm surprised about the weight difference between a 330 and a 360. Is it really that noticable?

[Folkie]

Is my 330/12 heavier than my 360/12? Absolutely. I'm sure there's someone on the forum who can tell you why. Can anyone chime in and explain this?

Robert