Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

When reading guitar mags like Guitar Player
or Vintage Guitar and others why is it that
they never use Rickenbacker guitars? With other
guitars such as Gretsch,Vox and Steinberger you
never see them being used. It seems that Fender,
Gibson and now PRS seem to be the (IN) guitars.
I don't see it like that Rickenbacker has made
some of the best guitars ever made. It seems that
these people who test the new amps would not know
a good guitar if it were in front of them.

Leave the blind and deaf to their choice of 3 tones and 2.5 body shapes (PRS is the result of a Gibson and Fender coupling - corpulent strat shape with LP appointments). I agree, it would be nice if OTHER instruments were mentioned sometimes ...the new Carr amp sounded vibrant and twangy with a Ric 360... but I won't hold my breath.

Noel:

Your characterization of the "fourth wave" of appliance guitars--PRS--it spot-on. Couldn't have said it better myself, athough I've tried in my mind...

Lou, although quoting Ed Roman here would possibly leash a s**tstorm of broadband broadsides, do check out his site and click on "rants". What he has to say about "media" (specifically guitar mags) is highly apropo to your questions.

I think what what we'er seeing here is the guitar magazines catering to the companies that give them the most advertising dollars!!I see Gibson,Fender and PRS advertisments much more in the mags than say Ric or Gretsch,is this right??? I don't think so but thats the way buisness works!The magazines are going to take good care of the equipment companies that spend alot of advertising dollars in their magazine.
Paul

I know what you guys are saying and I've read
on Ed Roman site what he says. How long will it
take for these mags to realize that some of the
people who do this have blinders on there eyes
and have there ears shut off to some real good
guitar tones. Paul your right money talks.

Well, the fact of the matter is that most guitarists use a Fender or Gibson styled guitar. Naturally, when buying an amp, they would want to know how their type of guitar sounds through it - NOT some oddball sixties relic. It only makes sense that the editors of magazines cater to the majority of their audience. (As opposed to the sophisticated minority ) I'm not sure we need to look for complex explanations when simple ones work.

Damn, McKelvy, you make it all so simple!!

But who you calling an "oddball sixties relic"?

I'll take "sophisticated minority" anyday...

Cause I was kidding/mocking the phender philistines

Har.

It would seem to me that if you wanted find out what a Ric sounded like through a certain amp being reviewed in a mag, one might consider taking his/her Ric to a dealer that has the reviewed amp, plug the Ric in and check it out using your own ears. After all, that IS the bottom line, don't you think?

The above comments about advert dollars is a very reasonable comment. However, it would be refreshing to see a reviewer go outside the standard axe inventory and include something like, "Well, using a Gibson/PRS/Fender through this amp is fine but, I just had to break out my Ric and..." That would be cool but, that's also 'Pie in the sky'. The masses are in control here.

It really is your own opinion and ears that count!

Amen, Brother Michael!
It's about what sounds good to you.
What can be difficult, and where Fender and Gibson and those others get you, is that unless you walk in with a single mindset of buying a Ric and nothing else, you probably will wind up settling for the "something else," which in this case would be a Gibson, or a Fender or one of their many clones. Let's face it, the average person hungry for a new six-string Weapon of Mass Destruction, will search the racks, not see a Ric, and start pluckin' around on a second or third choice ... and will probably walk out with one of them. They are there, available and ready to take home. Been there and done that ... and might have done it again, had I not said, "screw it," and placed an online order for the guitar (spell that "Ric") I should have bought 20 years ago. Don't settle for second best, lads, when your first choice is just a mouse click away.

Well, you know that Gretsch is owned by Fender, so.........

So is Guild...

Paul...I agree with you wholeheartedly. My last guitarist admiited that when he was looking for a world class gtr, he didn't even think about Rickenbacker, because they were not advertised in the UK guitar mags & are largely unavailable in gtr stores & as such kind of 'forgot' them (he ended up with a Les Paul). It was only when he met me that he realised that Rics are not mythical legends, but are world class guitars, capable of delivering stunning, contemporary sound.