Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Howdy everyone. Looking for a hollowbody and saw the 380L. I like to do nice long bends and when I played a 620 the other day it was almost unbendable. Is the 380L any better at doing some good long bends?

Will.

There is lots of room on the fretboard and the frets are very good. I don't bend a whole lot, but when I do, I don't run into any problems. The guitar really holds its tuning, too. I have light strings on mine (9's), and if you're going to be doing a lot of bending you'd probably need a heavier set. In fact, I'm going to start experimenting with heavier sets myself.

380L's really are a dream to play. Everyone has different preferences, but in my view, the neck is just fabulous. And the whole guitar is just so slim, tidy, and modern. I'm desperately trying to talk myself out of buying another one. The only thing that stops me from doing it right now is the deluded hope of perhaps seeing a maple bodied 380L sometime in the future. What can I say? Those modern Ric solidbodies in standard Ric finishes (650C) have really got my imagination going.

How can you describe the sound?

"The only thing that stops me from doing it right now is the deluded hope of perhaps seeing a maple bodied 380L sometime in the future. What can I say? Those modern Ric solidbodies in standard Ric finishes (650C) have really got my imagination going."

I've often speculated the same thing - it would seem natural to offer the 380 in standard finishes. I wonder if the switch from walnut to maple would affect a 380 more than a 650 - since the center of all 650s are maple anyway. Throw on a rosewood fretboard and you've bridged the gap between the conservative 360 and the modern 650 - thus silencing the naysayers who claim Rick won't modernize.

eDIT: John, I still think your 380 with the darker walnut is among the top 3 or 4 prettiest guitars I've seen on the net, bar none.

Thanks a lot, John. Although it does seem a bit lighter these days, especially in certain kinds of light. Maybe it's time for a bit of tung oil. Obviously, I'm totally with you on the maple-bodied 380's, but I'm a big fan of the maple fretboard. It would look great in a lighter finish -- a "Blueboy" 380L would be especially attractive, I think. You're right about the 650C's having that maple core. That makes the finishing issue really simple. But surely it wouldn't be hard to take a normal 360 body and substitute the new neck and bridge. Or at least I don't *think* it would be tough. Maybe it's more a question of numbers; there aren't a lot 360 bodies to spare given current production runs, and Ric already offers a ton of different models. Adding another might be a big logistical/managerial nightmare. I'm sure John Hall would like to indulge his every little design whim (System 490, anyone?), but the practical aspects of running a business sometimes limit what you can do.

Will: It's hard to describe the sound. I've tried to do it elsewhere on the board. See my posts under "Please Help Me Control My 380L PZ". If you didn't have the optional piezo pick-up in there, my guess is that you'd get a much more traditional sounding rock guitar. The humbuckers on the 380L PZ don't sound like other humbucking pick-ups (Gibson, Guild, Fender, etc.). They sound like fuller, darker, richer single coils. Unfortunately, I can't control the two magnetic pick-ups on my 380L PZ individually. There's only one volume and one tone knob for the pair of them. I'm certain that you could get any number of sounds with two volumes, two tone knobs, and a blender.

Cool. I'm just trying to get a Phish type of lead tone. Smooth overdrive that can sustain into a nice feedback on the neck pup.