Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello all,

New to this forum. I'm looking to get my first Ric -- have my eye on an 1989 Ric 610. Beautiful guitar. From what I understand, I can expect a neck with a small width, which is fine by me. What I'm more concerned with is the neck's thickness. I love older Rics with those slim tapered necks. I've heard that Ric neck thickness can vary quite a bit. What might I expect from this guitar?

I've heard...

1980s Rics generally have slimmer necks. True?

The 600 series often have chunkier necks than the 300s. True?

Ric makes thick and thin necks all the time and it just depends on the individual guitar you find. True?

As you can see, I'm a little confused. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

a 610 from 89 should be nice and thin. 650s have big necks. so do 660's. but 610/620's from the 80's ought to be all thin and slim in all directions. Welcome!

jdogric12 wrote:a 610 from 89 should be nice and thin...

+ 1. My former '87 610 hhas a thin neck.
Welcome to the RRF.

I've got a 620 from 1987. The width of the fretboard is a tad narrower than many of the newer Rics I've played. As for thickness, The neck has a good, solid C shape. I wouldn't necessarily call it slim, but I certainly wouldn't call it chunky.

depends on when the guitar was built in the 80s as well; the earlier 80s necks are narrower and have a more curved 9" something radius, while late 80s, say `89 or so, have the current 10" radius current Ricks have.

Thanks a lot for all the info... very helpful. I'll let you guys know if I end up with the guitar or not!

singlepickup24 wrote:Thanks a lot for all the info... very helpful. I'll let you guys know if I end up with the guitar or not!

FWIW, the 1987 610 Ruby I owned had a comfortable neck that was thinner than that on my 2002 620 Fireglo; however, my 1981 460 Burgundy has a very '60-ish thin narrow neck (it also has the older '60-ish style headstock).

I don't know if generalizations over a period of ten years can be made. That said, my three instruments (320JG, 360-12WBFGckbd, 4002WG) are all from 1981-1982, and all three have 1 5/8 rounded neck profiles, with the bass, of course, being a tad thicker.