Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey there. I am a drummer who about a year ago began learning the guitar. I learned on an acoustic, and while I like it fine, I am ready to purchase my first electric. I haven’t played many electrics but of the ones I have played I found that I liked the feel of a G&L Asat classic and didn’t like the feel of a Les Paul.

I recently went to the music store to try a couple of them out and I found I also liked the 72 telecaster custom reissue. A friend advised me that I should get the best guitar I could afford and suggested that I try out a Ric. I knew I wanted a solid-body 6 string so I tried to find a music store that had a 620 I could take for a test run, and while they all said they could order it none had one to try.

I realize I am asking a seriously biased group here (what with this being the Ric forums and all) but I wanted to know if any of you had any observations or information you could share with me to help me make a more informed purchase.
-Do any of you have a 72 tele? How does it compare to the 620?
-I’ve never played the 620 or any ric…what is the neck like compare to a fender or gibson? Thicker?
-Is a Ric even a good guitar for someone who has only been playing for a year, or do you have to have serious chops to appreciate one?
-How easily are Rics customizable? I’d like to have a humbucker on my first electric so one would have to be added to the 620.

I appreciate any help, advice, or guidance you can provide.

Welcome Anchorhold. Based on those preferences mentioned in your post, I would suggest that you strongly consider the Model 650. It has the humbuckers your are seeking and a great neck. The best part is that the price for a new 650 is a steal.

Go to the Search function in the menu to your left and type in Model 650 in the search window and select Rickenbacker Guitars. That will give you enough good reading to last over a noon hour break.

The biggest issue alot of people have with playability is indeed the neck width, but I wouldn;t let that discourage you. Rick necks are a tad narrower than most fenders (Not sure on the 72 tele) If you have never really played on an electric before, I doubt that the neck width on a 620 (or 330 or whatever) will bother you. I have medium-sized hands and played a 12-string accoustic (1 3/4" neck) for 7 years before getting a rick. After about ten minutes on my 330, the neck width was not an obstacle in any significant way.

I wish I could comment on a 650 but my experience with them is limited to about 5 minutes in a shop

There's nothing intrinsic to a rick that would make it undesirable for a beginner - especially if you really like the sound. It's an acquired taste for some people, and I won;t pretend to give you an objective opinion on that here BUt, they *are* more flexible than people credit them, even with standard issue pickups.

If yer willing to consider a semi-hollow I'd also suggest checking out a 380L Laguna - but good luck finding one for a test drive.

Thanks for your responses guys. I appreciate the input.

I looked through the archive as suggested, as well as checking out the ric company page. The 650 series is in my price range (only $200 more new than the tele I was looking at) and seems to be ready to be tried at some local music shops in the “C” and “D” models. I can’t see any difference between the two other than the 650C looks a lot cooler.

John, a thinner neck is right up my alley. I have great big hands and the thinner the neck, the faster & firmer it feels. The acoustic I play is a Washburn and the neck on that thing is like a cricket bat. I have kind of gotten used to it but when I play my friends G&L Asat I really appreciate the thinner neck.

I am definitely wedded to the idea of getting a solidbody. The guitarist in a band I drum for has a semi-hollow body and the feedback aggravations associated with it have turned me off to the idea of a hollow guitar.

Perhaps it is the era in which I grew up, however, it isn't a gig for me unless there is feedback.

I should point out that the neck isn;t so much "thin" (IE depth) but "narrow" (IE width of the fretboard) but still a comfy neck

Ok....I couldn't resist any longer so I measured my 360 neck and my G&L ASAT Special neck....
1 5/8" width at the nut for both.
2" at the 21 fret for the 360, 2 1/4" on the G&L.
Both necks are about 1" thick.
String spacing is 1/4" for both.

These guitars play so differently that the only thing the same about them is that they are both guitars.

A couple of things make a huge, huge difference.....
First, the radius of the fingerboard is 7 1/2" on the G&L which is much flatter than the 360.
I dont know what the radius is on the 360 but it is a lot smaller.

The other difference is a non painted rosewood fingerboard is much faster than a painted fingerboard. This G&L is as fast as Teflon lightning. The 360 neck is fast too but is much harder to play accurately due to the tight radius, however, the tight radius makes barre chords a bit easier when near the nut.

Of course a proper setup is unbelievably important as well as a personal preference, but I mention all this only to point out that the fingerboard radius alone makes a monster difference in feel and playing ability.

I would go with the 650 neck.

A 7 1/2" board radius is pretty round.

"Flatter" would mean a larger radius: 9" or 12" are pretty common.

A Model 360 has a 10 inch radius, which would be flatter than a guitar with a 7 1/2 inch radius, as Gary says.

Does anyone know the thickness of the neck?
I don't exactly understand what is the radius.

As I understand it, radius refers to the curvature of the surface of the neck - IE the surface with the frets on it. If you imagine a big tube with a 10 inch radius (IE 20 inches from side to side) you could theoretically get the shape of a guitar fretboard by cutting a vertical strip out of it 20 inches long and 1 5/8 inches wide .. .

In other words, if the fretboard were the outer face of a stave of a perfectly rounded barrel, the "radius" would be 1/2 the width of the barrel. Not sure that makes any sense whatsoever. . . but I try

People commenting on the neck of my 650D compare it mostly to certain Les Paul models. It plays very well in high gain sustain. The humbuckers are very quiet and you can use lots of gain without the pickups becoming noisy. As Peter mentioned, the price is a steal. The 650C in Jetglo would cost a bit more, but would look great with the chrome hardware and maple neck for contrast. The 650 models are generally available on the internet for immediate shipping. I got mine within a week of ordering it from Rhoads Music in Pennsylvania.

Well, I took the plunge. Thanks again to everyone for their information and assistance. I appreciate the help in making an educated purchase for my first electric. After my last post I made my way to a couple of music stores that had rics in stock to give them a try. I played a 650D & it felt and sounded great, but I wasn’t really into the way it looked to I decided to track down a 650C and buy one of those. After some looking it seemed that no one in U.S. had one in stock, and most retailers were pessimistic about the prospect of me getting one in the next 6 months. My last try was Ed Roman’s. They had one, and accepted a hold from me on the guitar. (I was waiting for my tax refund to come back before I made the purchase.) Well, when I called them back a week later I learned that they had cancelled my hold and sold the guitar to someone else without letting me know. Thanks Ed.

Disliking the idea of waiting more than 6 months to make the move to an electric, but still committed to the idea of not settling for a less-than-superb quality instrument I decided to track down a 620 and see how it sounded and played. I went to classic axe in Virginia and played a 620 and a 660. Of the two I liked the 620 better, but it was a used model and I had decided earlier that I wanted a new guitar. Thanks to Russ at classic axe for all his help. Even though I didn’t end up buying a guitar from him his store is amazing and his customer service is above reproach.

The last leg of my journey was to contact Mike Parks in Raleigh and see what he had. He had several 620’s and he’d even be willing to switch out one of the high gain pickups for a humbucker (this was an earlier concern of mine.) It arrived this week well packed and in excellent condition. Thanks Mike.

-Regarding the sound of the instrument: it is amazing. I played it through a Mesa Boogie studio pre and a Marshall JCM 2000 dual super lead. The bridge position humbucker is dead silent and produces a sound I had not associated with humbuckers. It gave a very punchy and clean sound with a lot of presence, but not characteristically crunchy. A very cool sound that absolutely roared when played through the lead channel of the boogie with a low level of “blues” style gain. It sounds like “pub rock” sort of dirty rock sound (Count Bishops, Little Bob Story, ect)
The neck pickup is…well the warmest sounding pickup I have ever heard. The low’s are full and potent and the mid’s just wail. It reminded me of a Mark Bolan/T-Rex sort of sound. The highs are kind of weak, especially on the high E string, but I guess that’s why they call it a bass pickup. When the ubiquitous “5th knob” is turned all the way up the neck pickup is just as loud as the bridge one, which I found a bit surprising. From all the tales of how much hotter the humbucker was than the high-gain I had assumed the humbucker’s output would be way louder but it isn’t really.

-Regarding the feel of the instrument: once again it’s amazing. Low action, easy to play, a perfect fit for someone who isn’t a seasoned six string samurai such as myself.
I have to say the reputation the 620 has for having a narrow neck is a bit overstated. It really isn’t as narrow as some make it out to be. Not all that much narrower than a tele or a G&L. Certainly more narrow than the 660 or the 650 but not uncomfortable. For all the hype about the neck’s narrowness I was thinking it would be along the lines of a Chinese made Squire I played when I was shopping around; the neck on that thing is so thin that the strings are practically on top of each other. (For an idea on my perspective, I have included in the attached pictures, a photo of my hand next to the neck of the guitar.)

Lastly, the finish is beautiful. The burgundy is brilliant.

Here are some photos of the axe that’s kept me in front of an amp in spite of the gorgeous weather outside. Thanks again to everyone, especially Rickenbacker for making such a superb guitar. If John Hall is reading this, you just scored yourself another satisfied customer.

Very nice!
I love burgundyglo...

That's maybe why I've got one of my own
My 370 is a '79, what about your 620?


(I had to reduce the quality by alot to fit in the restrictions)

Well sir, that’s a fine looking guitar.
According to the serial number decoder on the RIC site mine is from early 2003