Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Had my first jam session with friends this year and took my new 330 along. It was a huge hit. Sensational, absolutely magnificent to play and sooo good to hear. Everyone was blown away by the cool factor and even the singer, who doesn't know a pick plate from a truss rod, came over between songs to say "I love the sound you're getting out of that thing."

And this is without my usual set up of pedal boards and gadgets. Just the Ric and my Laney amp, footswitching from clean to overdrive for solos. Bright clear ringing clean sound, cutting through the mix of all the Strats and Les Pauls. Great for 50's rock and the usual Eagles, Clapton, 70's songs stuff we do, and a 'perfect 10' for tone on covers of CCR and The Church.

Overdriven she was perfect for the AC/DC stuff, and solos that soared or snarled. The twang tone of the middle register was glorious, meaning I spent more time riffing around the 4th to 7th frets instead of screaming up past the 12th like I usually do with my Strat. Really easy to play. All those neck problems were a thing of the past. I took her from my air-conditioned home setup to a country church hall at 90 degrees in the shade. No problem at all, just tune up once and play. Ric guitars may be fussy and finicky at times but when they work right they're the best.

"Ricks may be fussy, etc."

I keep going back to ANOTHER automotive comparison--Weber carburetors. Legendary, infinitely flexible and tunable, and once you get them dialed in, they make you forget every blue word you ever uttered against them.

The first time I brought my mapleglo 330 to practice, our drummer asked covetously, 'by any chance, does Rickenbacker make drums?'

IMHO 330s, or 330 shape (360 reissues, 1997 etc) are the very best sounding Rics. Don't get me wrong, I know they all sound glorious, but I can't help thinking that the extra cavity space in a 330 shape just gives it the edge.....on a level playing field of course.

Yup, that's the main reason for the chambering of the body, to improve the tonal quality of the 330. Plus it make it easier to tote up a mountain! heh ...