Hey guys
I've always loved the aesthetic of rickenbackers and a lot of guitarists I like have used them but I know almost nothing about them.
I really love the 620 and the 330/360 in particular.
1. Is there much difference between a 330 and a 630 360 other than looks?
2. How does a 620 differ in sound to a 330/630 330/360?
3. Has the spec changed much over the years? Are the neck shapes etc consistent across the years?
4. Anything a rick noob should be aware of before trying some out (post lockdown)...
Edit:
I realise I messed up my model numbers.
What I meant to ask was whether a 330 and a 360 sound basically the same, because I'm interested in either a 620 or a {330/360}
Comments
My first proper guitar was a Rickenbacker 330. I was obsessed with The Jam and Paul Weller as a teenager and fancied myself as a bit of a mod.
I got a 330 in a sonic blue colour, new for about 800 quid from a shop in Chester. I was just gravitating to lead playing and joined my first band.
I loved it but really struggled to play it. I found the nut and neck very narrow and the pups very vintage sounding. I didn't really know what I was doing tbf, not that I know now either 15 years later.
I soon got offered a Gibson 335 in a trade for it which became my main guitar for years.
I always found the Ricky a bit of a one trick pony and my playing certainly wasn't strong enough to go down the Johnny Marr route with it at the time.
I worked in a posh designer clothes shop in Manchester throughout Uni and Paul Weller came in shopping one day( he was playing the arena that evening) I had a bit of a chat with him and told him I was struggling with this Rickenbacker.
He asked if I played Rhythm or Lead and I said lead and he said thats the issue, they aren't built for that.
2 - Solid versus semi-hollow is one difference. The type of pickup is another. A third pickup introduces sonic variety but at the expense of speed of changing between sounds.
3 - Some spec details change year on year. Others seem locked in a time warp. Necks finished by hand-guiding sanding are slightly variable.
4 - Take a raw onion with you. This will excuse your tears when you see the retail prices and order turnaround waiting period.
3. No, and no! The widths have remained completely consistent since the dawn of time, but the profile and to some extent the depth has varied enormously.
4. Good question... the necks are narrow, which a lot of people don’t get on with (but I love). The controls are odd if you’re used to Gibsons - both the positions and the taper of the volume controls, and the small 5th knob (which is very useful when you understand it). The strings feel ‘high up in the air’ relative to the body on both these models (but not the 400 series).
Beyond that, you probably just need to try one - you either love them or hate them immediately, usually.
And forget the idea that they’re ‘only rhythm guitars’ - it’s true that they’re not as suitable for modern high-gain lead as something like a Jackson, and they don’t have the smooth sustain of a Les Paul, but you very much can play lead on them if you want to.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I also don't understand the 5th knob, despite having read descriptions at least half a dozen times.
EDIT: I just found this on youtube. Seems clear now, particularly as a hangover from vintage models where the neck pickup was considerably louder than the bridge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjAd69A5ZyU
I’m a massive Beatles fan and was hankering after that early rhythm sound and iconic looks. Unsurprisingly the 325s nailed the sound perfectly through my Vox AC30, but I just couldn’t get on with the narrow nut width. I should mention that 325s are also 3/4 scale which undoubtedly had a huge influence on how difficult they were to play.
I eventually sold both guitars with the plan to try out a 330 instead. But when I played a few, I found the same issues down at the nut end that made even playing open chords trickier than it should be, even for someone of my questionable ability!
I would definitely recommend playing as many as possible before pulling the trigger, not always easy though as many UK stores tend to not have a huge selection in my experience.
Overall my experience of Rickenbackers has been - excellent build quality, fit and finish. Beautiful to look at, but just too much ‘fight’ to play and quite a niche range of sounds.
Cheers
The necks on 360s are quite comfortable really, although the 12-strings do take a bit of getting used to. My main reservation of the neck is the lacquering, which can feel a bit 'sticky'.
The pickups are a lot darker than you might expect and you may find that you need to dial in much more reble on your amp than you would for a Strat for example.
And as ICBM says, they do make excellent lead guitars; just of a different kind!
The 330 had the standard hi-gain pickups which are beefier than the vintage pickups on the PT. In terms of playability there wasn’t a great deal of difference between the two guitars.
The 381/12 was a beautiful guitar but I called it “The Beast” as it was a heavy lump!
A lot of people don’t get on with Rickenbackers as the necks are very slim, but that’s not a problem for me as I have relatively small hands. You asked about consistency of the necks and I can honestly say all of mine have been pretty much identical.
Forget the idea that they are a one trick pony, they’re not, they just have their own sound.
If you are considering one, I wouldn’t buy new, they are ridiculously priced. There are plenty of nice second hand ones about. I paid £1250 for my mapleglo 330 and it’s absolutely mint.
Here are some of my thoughts to try and answer your questions;
1. Is there much difference between a 330 and a 630 other than looks?
Lots of difference. The 620 is a solid body Ricky, which has a less 'chimey' sound. My 620 was def duller than my other Rickies, BUT still had its own solid body sound. I absolutely loved the neck on my 620.
The 330 gives you that jangly and aggressive tone which they are famous for.
2. How does a 620 differ in sound to a 330/630?
See above
3. Has the spec changed much over the years? Are the neck shapes etc consistent across the years?
There is always a degree of hand finishing across all Rickenbackers, but post 2000 models do seem more consistent and similar to me. Having said that, I do seem to prefer the older ones and I do think that they age well; in terms of looks AND sound and feel...
I have only one now - a 1994 (year) 360/12 WB. This is very stable indeed, and really seems to hold its tuning. The pick ups have incredible output on this particular one for some reason; I think it was @ICBM who said that some of the 80s and 90s models were wound louder.
4. Anything a rick noob should be aware of before trying some out (post lockdown)...
They vary incredibly in terms of tuning stability. In fact, a small minority are absolute dogs to tune. Playing them is essential to see how in tune they stay...
The necks are sticky and glossy, and combined with a glossy fretboard on some, makes for a 'slower' play.
Parts are pretty easy to get hold off on the whole, except for the TRC name headstock covers. You will pay a fair amount for one of these (best to get a supply of em if you can - when they come up cheap)
They still remain THE best looking guitar ever made, imho.
Here's mine;
I realise I messed up my model numbers.
What I meant to ask was whether a 330 and a 360 sound basically the same, because I'm interested in either a 620 or a {330/360}
I love the sound of the 12 strings but a 12 string at that price just isn't on the agenda.
Oh, and the "not for lead" thing---I have too much good taste and not enough talent to be interested in widdly widdly lead guitars.
Maybe its the binding, Im not sure, but Id always lean towards a 360 over a 330. It is a more deluxe model, naturally.
However, the 330 looks are pretty iconic, with both sharp horns.
Soundwise, I cant say Ive ever noticed a difference....
Id def buy a 330/360 over a 620 anyway.
I don't get the one trick pony label either. The high gain pickups have plenty of poke end go from incredibly bright to incredibly dark, with none of that horrible quackiness you get from *some* guitars I could mention. You can do a very convincing Sabbath on a 330/6!
I said maybe.....
The pickups have varied quite widely, but the design was stable throughout most of the 90s and 2000s, and are the ones like Wazmeister's. It's the earlier 80s-very early 90s ones which have a much hotter neck pickup (yes, neck!), and don't have the two black strips either side of the polepieces. Recent ones have Allen-key polepieces not plain studs, but I'm not 100% sure if they're actually adjustable, and given the fragile internal construction of RIC pickups it would be unwise to try without being certain... @OilCityPickups will know if he's had to repair any.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
In short though I wouldn’t be without mine.
Rics are some of my favourite guitars and my main is a 330 so although most people have covered this very well for you, I’ll just add my experiences,
yes the necks on all models you’ve listed are tiny- I actually found it to be more comfortable for me after getting hand cramps with vintage radius Fender. So not everyone’s experiences are the same.
the pickups are incredible versatile and someone has said “from very very dark to bright”- for me the 5th knob isn’t key to this. Someone else can explain how it’s actually wired more than I can but it in effect “turns down” the neck pickup to allow it to balance with the bridges better in both the middle and isolated (neck) position. I would consider this to be a lost like blending a humbucker from a single coil given it’s so much louder and bassier in the all the way on mode. I find is massively useful and use it a bit like the rhythm circuit in a Jazzmaster if that makes sense.
some have commented on a 620 size but also consider that the wide horns on a 330 make it quite a big guitar. I’m considering selling mine to get a 620.
In all they are a very versatile single coil guitar. You can play anything on it as long as you personally gel with it. There was quite a lot of use of them in the Seattle hardcore/ pre grunge bands- they aren’t just for jangle pop
I’ve been told 620 sound more like a tele given it’s solid construction. This has never really occurred to me on the occasions I’ve tried them as it just sounded like a Ricky. Worth noting that a 660 has a wider neck should this be useful to you.
Hope this helps
But that means that in a two-pickup sound where the neck pickup is inherently louder than the bridge, it does act as a sort-of 'balance' control because it goes from the neck pickup dominating to the bridge pickup dominating as you turn it up from low to high.
Its original purpose seems to have been to compensate for the volume difference between the two pickups when the bridge pickup was fitted with the bass-cut 'vintage' cap, but it's still useful without that. The late-80s overwound neck pickup may have been part of that thinking too, but it still works well even when the pickups are the same output.
I actually add a treble-pass cap across the pot on mine, to make that more pronounced.
I also found the rhythm circuit very useful on my Jaguar, so it's obviously something that clicks with some players and not others!
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Funnily enough I’ve never really noticed the narrow neck thing, and the profile and depth feel more substantial than other guitars I own (Epi Les Paul, or MIM Classic 60s Strat for example).
The Hi-Gain pickups sound great to me - beefier than Fender single coils to get you into mid-period REM or Blue Aeroplanes sounds, but sweet and jangly, especially in the middle position. It’s not that you can’t play lead on a Rick, but like a Jaguar, I’m far more likely to play jangly arpeggios on it than I would on a Strat or Les Paul.
Prices are nuts though. There are a few beat-up instruments around at reasonable prices but you have to be very patient to get a clean one at a recent price. I got lucky.