Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello,

Some of you may have read my 'tale of woe' about Music Unlimited in Dublin, CA sitting on my 650F order for two months.

Well, I'm getting ready to order a Ric from a better shop--probably from Mike Parks. Why am I telling you this? Well, I'm torn between the 650F and the 660 (6 string). And I could *really* use some advice.

What, for example, is 'binding' on a guitar neck? I know neither my Martin nor my Ric 330 have it, but I don't know what it is. The 660 has it, the 650 doesn't. I take it this is a good thing, binding. So, why do I want it?

The 660 is 21 frets, the 650 24. What is the practical difference in this, other than the 660 having two complete octaves? Are there playability differences?

I have thoughts of getting the 660 with the humbucker pups option. Is this totally stupid? Does anyone feel strongly one way or the other?

The main problem is, I am a lefty, and will never be able to try out either guitar. I really want to make the right choice. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

On a guitar neck, "binding" is long strip of material that runs along the fret board on either side of the frets. On RICs, this is most commonly a white strip; but RIC also does black binding and checked (black-n-white) binding. It is mostly for aesthetics; although recently, when someone posted about their fret board shrinking and how the edges of the frets became exposed, Mr. Hall wrote that binding would have discouraged such a problem.

Regarding the number of frets: there is a "school of thought" that prefers 21-frets; so that the neck pickup can be mounted directly under the second octave (i.e., where the 24th fret would be). It is said to be the optimum location for the neck pickup. Both of my RICs have 24-frets, and the neck pickups sound fine ot me, so I can't vouch for that theory. However, the neck pickup does sounds pretty good on my my Vox Mark III, which has a 22-fret neck.

Both my RICs have humbuckers; they came that way stock (models 260 and 650). It's a great sounding and versatile pickup, in my opinion. It doesn't "jangle" like a Toaster, though. If you want jangle, get Toasters.

One problem with the 360's with neck binding is that the neck width gets tight and spacing gets close for chubby fingers (which I have!) I believe some 600 series guitars (including the Tom Petty!) has a wider neck. You should investigate this because it does make a difference.

Jon,

I too am a lefty. I own both a 620 and a 660/12 and have played a 650D. The 660's ( both 6 & 12 string) and all 650 series guitars have the wider neck ( 1 3/4" at the nut ). They have the same radius and although I don't know about the profile, I assume that they are identical. Depending on your fingers, the wider board will be more comfortable for lead work. The 620 neck width is the same as your 330. The 21 fret neck on the 620/660 puts the lower frets closer to you and puts the neck pup over the second octave string position which I understand has some effect on the harmonics, although I cannot hear it myself.

Regarding playability, all 600 series guitars are very comfortable and small with good balance. The 620/660 body has the sharper top edges on the body which may not be as comfortable to you as the contoured top on the 650 series. I don't notice any effect myself. On the shoulder, they feel very different than a 300 series ( I also own a 370 ).

Regarding sound, I found a definite difference between my 620 and the 650D. The comparison between my 660/12 and 650D is harder to make because of the 12 string sound. The 650 is a harder sound than the high-gain pups on the 620, but you can still get some of the classic Rick sound. It is harder to get the crunch of the 650 on the high-gains though. The 660 guitars have the wound down toaster pups and have the most classic sound. I'm not sure if you can order a 660 series guitar from the factory with humbuckers. Someone else may know. It really boils down to the sound you are looking for. Classic - 660, not as much classic - 650.

If you like the 620/660 body but prefer the humbuckers, order a 620 with those pups. You can then get the guitar in the traditional Rick colors that are not avaiable on the 650 series.

I bought a 660 6 string fireglo in september but have never played the 650 series. I also own a 360, so I have some idea about the difference in neck widths.

I really like the 660 : the lutherie is superieur : great grained maple, checkerboard binding, gold scratchboard and name plate on the fire glo are stunningly beautiful.

There is a difference in sound due to the vintage single coil toaster pickups versus the highgains that I have on the 360 (I prefer the sound of the toasters).

The neck is like a baseball bat and it is probably worth tracking one down to play before buying if possible. I have gotten used to it and it don't mind it now. The body is smallish and if you play sitting down you will notice that it can slip easily over your knee because the lower cut away is not very long.

A 660 can be a lot of money (all in I think I paid somewhere around 1300 USD), while a 650 has a much larger range of prices.

The sustain is super and it plays beatles and ccr rythm parts really well for me. I use it out of a tech 21 t-10 amp on mostly fenderesque settings.

I hope this helps,

dave in paris