Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I no fan of the Ric guitars, but that Petty model is sharp! Any of you guys have one?

I have one. It's a 660/12 but with a primary difference being TP's sig on it.

Me too.......but I don't like that fat neck!!

I believe that the neck was slimmed down on them recently Graham. I have a Burgundy 660/12 (not a TP) made in 2002 and it has what I believe is the fatter neck, but I recall seeing that someone made a comment a year or so ago about the factory making the necks a little slimmer. Even though I don't usually like fat necks, mine doesn't seem to wear out my hand like fat necked 6 strings do. I love that guitar, and it plays better than any other 12 string I've played...

THe neck on my '02 660/12 seems fairly thin.

The neck on my '04 660/12 is nowhere near as 'fat' as the one on my '04 330/6. If I can dig up some calipers I'll post a comparison.

This would be a most interesting comparison Howard. Thanks for sticking your neck out.

My TP has, or least by my feel, a much fatter neck. I know it does against my 360/12...where or when was the change made? If a change was made at all

The girth of Ric necks do vary is size as well. We all had a talk about Shubb capos a month or so ago, and they are good for telling total neck girth. I have a 2002 360/6 that is much fatter than any other 360 I own (and I own too many). Compare it to a 1975 360/6 and it is night and day.

Re: Neck thickness (or depth if you prefer).

The 330 and 660 are pretty much the same. I came up with 32mm and 31mm respectively at the first fret with little or no increase at the 15th.

Surprise, surprise!! I could have sworn the 330 was much thicker. What is hugely different is the neck profile. The 330 has a very rounded one with the 660 being much flatter. The 660 feels less 'fat' because of the combination of extra neck width and flatter profile. I think the more rounded profile gives a greater impression of depth.

It's interesting to note that very few makers put neck depth in their specs (Gibson do) and I can't find any who quote a profile radius.

IMO neck width, depth and especially profile (now that I've had a bit of a study on it) would be very important factors if you aren't blessed with those lovely long, lean fingers that all the best players seem to have. If you play half-barres it should be a major consideration (gettin' that danged thumb down on that flamin' E string can be a real chore!!).

Then again, if you don't try before you buy, you can't complain!

My next project: explore the relative merits of half-barres and full-barres!