Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Do the 320/325 and 350/355 have the same size body?

IIRC, same body, 3/4 neck vs. full scale.

My understanding....

The current 325 and 350 bodies are the same dimensions, but as Paul mentions, the scales are different.

The 325v59 and 325c58 (as well as the older vintage 325s, 310s and 315s) have thicker bodies (terms of depth) than the c64 and 350 (1.875" and 2.03" respectively compared to 1.5"), but otherwise are the same.

I have read some sources that earlier 320s ('58-'92 era) were slightly wider across the body than the newer 320, 325 and 350s (13.25" vs 12.75" respectively), but others have told me this isn't accurate, so I'm really not sure.

To my amateur's eye, there are also subtle nuances to sharpness in the horns, ramp angles, etc., but I'm guessing this is mostly due to differences in the build processes over the years (amount of hand shaping, sanding, etc.), with the modern CNC-cut bodies more consistent from one to the next.

wj350 wrote:
I have read some sources that earlier 320s ('58-'92 era) were slightly wider across the body than the newer 320, 325 and 350s (13.25" vs 12.75" respectively), but others have told me this isn't accurate, so I'm really not sure.

I think the difference, if any, is negligible. The thin ones, 320, 325, 350, are all about the same within tolerances and vary according to who did what that day (for the non-CNC). The thicker models, C58 and V59, were each completely re-tooled and look noticeably different; I'm not sure about the John Lennon models but I suspect so. Each era also looks different for the older ones on account of the patterns wearing down. My Eighties 320 has very soft horns when compared with a Sixties example.

Thanks.

There are sources on the Web that imply that Susanna Hoffs liked a smaller, thinner body with a 24-fret neck, and so Rickenbacker used a smaller, thinner body with a 350 neck for her 350SH.

Is that information apocryphal? Is the 350SH body a standard 325/350 body?

LenMinNJ wrote:Thanks.

There are sources on the Web that imply that Susanna Hoffs liked a smaller, thinner body with a 24-fret neck, and so Rickenbacker used a smaller, thinner body with a 350 neck for her 350SH.

Is that information apocryphal? Is the 350SH body a standard 325/350 body?

Not sure, but there is also a quote from one of the original 350SH builders (Probably from the Bacon & Day book) about the model "having a wider neck" which I always thought to be questionable.

The horns on my v59 look "pointier" than the horns on my '83 320.

As the original question was simply whether the 320/325 has the same body size as the 350/355, I'll just clarify that the answer is substantially yes. There are some minor profile and edge differences between versions of the short scale (which is not 3/4 btw), but substantially, the body's of the short and fullscale version are the same.

To answer the original question . . . the bodies are identical and come out of the same stack.

To answer some of the other questions raised . . .

Susanna Hoff's instrument used a bog standard neck and body.

Slightly different shapes and edge radii have been used over the years, relating to manufacturing technique, wear, and some other factors, but like I said at any one time, that stack of bodies could be used with either a short scale or full scale neck.

Mr Hall,I remember reading that Rickenbacker only made one 350v59(photo below). Was there ever a 350 made with the c58 body?

IIRC, I believe Craig Witty owns a one off Swamp Ash 325C58 body with a 330 neck.

Yep

JakeK wrote:IIRC, I believe Craig Witty owns a one off Swamp Ash 325C58 body with a 330 neck.

Yep

Nope. 350.

RIC_FACTORY wrote:

JakeK wrote:IIRC, I believe Craig Witty owns a one off Swamp Ash 325C58 body with a 330 neck.

Yep

Nope. 350.

The sum of the parts equal a 350 (325-style body with normal scale neck), but which parts are from a 350? The neck has 24 frets (350's have 21) and the pickup spacing isn't consistent with the 350v63.

sloop_john_b wrote:

RIC_FACTORY wrote:

JakeK wrote:IIRC, I believe Craig Witty owns a one off Swamp Ash 325C58 body with a 330 neck.

Yep

Nope. 350.

The sum of the parts equal a 350 (325-style body with normal scale neck), but which parts are from a 350? The neck has 24 frets (350's have 21) and the pickup spacing isn't consistent with the 350v63.

The 80's 350 Liverpools had 24 frets and the pickups spacing is like the 325.

sloop_john_b wrote:The sum of the parts equal a 350 (325-style body with normal scale neck), but which parts are from a 350? The neck has 24 frets (350's have 21) and the pickup spacing isn't consistent with the 350v63.

The original 350's had 24 fret necks, from the Model 330. The 350V63, really a fantasy vintage reissue, introduced the 21 fret neck.

Actually, there are no 350 parts at all- it's made up entirely from other models.