Just played a Rick for the first time...

[Music With Marky]

GC near me had a used black and white Rickenbacker. I'd never tried one in all these years of playing and wanted to give 'er a whirl. Are they all so dang small? I felt like the frets were uke sized. It was an interesting experience.

[desertbluesman]

I never bonded with a Rickenbacker guitar. I might have had one in my early playing years around the late 1960's. If it was mine or borrowed, I never missed it after it was gone. Some folks like them a bunch, and get nice stuff from them, just not my cop~o~tea.

[Larryz]

Like Mark, I have never really gave a Rick a real chance. I remember taking a 6 string off of the rack many decades ago, but did not care for the feel, so I did not plug it in. They do seem to be quality guitars and if I ever get around one again, I'll revisit it. I do love the unique sound of a Rick 12 string and would give one a try, if I ever decide to buy a 12 string.

[Scott Fraser]

So cool looking, but a completely unplayable neck for me. At least the 360/12 I picked up.

[KuruPrionz]

I've played several, including a 67 12 string.

The necks on the guitars have all been too slender for me.

The frets are small and the thick finish on the fretboard makes them even smaller.

 

Love the basses!!!!

[Music With Marky]

I've played several, including a 67 12 string.

The necks on the guitars have all been too slender for me.

The frets are small and the thick finish on the fretboard makes them even smaller.

 

Love the basses!!!!

 

Are the basses much smaller scale than other basses like the guitar was to "normal" guitars?

[p90jr]

The guitar I have wanted the most... and the one I can't play... I have friends who offer to lend me 6 and 12-string Rics for some of the stuff I do but I can't play them standing up... my hands are too big.

 

I don't know why they've never offered an altered design to increase their market share, but other than the Tom Petty/Mike Campbell 12-string 660, and maybe the Glen Fry solidbody things they haven't as far as I know...

 

I've always wondered, exactly what kind of music were these guitars designed in mind for? Gibsons were designed for jazz early on, for the most part, Fenders for country, Gretsch for both...

[CEB]

Yuck. A Casino or Cabronita Tele is as close as I need to get to the Ric thing.

 

PS - I like Rics when acts like Heartbreakers and McGuinn use them but they aren"t me.

[Danzilla]

I had the pleasure of using a Tom Petty model 12 string in studio (producer's band mate's guitar - got permission). Loved it and used it on two tracks. I haven't messed around with too many other Ric models in a while, sop I can't say much more. They just re-introduced a 5 string bass to their line-up that I wouldn't mind having. Along with a double neck...

[Mark Schmieder]

I've never liked the feel of the necks, except an occasional gem from the top-of-line model (I no longer remember the specific model numbers; this is the one with the closest-to-retro pickups and is hollow vs. solid or semi-hollow, as I recall, but of curse a thinline). Or the thick gloss, and the scale.

 

But it's the basses that I truly despise outright; I've tried at least two dozen over the years. They feel like guitars, not basses (similar to when I try basses by Gibson/Epiphone). I don't want stereo output for an instrument that should be mono-ized and centered in the mix, but the stereo outputs on the basses are also for post-blending the ratio of wet/dry when their are effects in the chain, as I recall.

 

As I love the actual SOUND of the top-line 12-string model, I chased that for years until I got as close as I thought I'd ever get with a Gretsch Electromatic model a few years back. I lucked out finding NOS as the replacement version isn't nearly as good; they shortened the scale, made the neck super-narrow to match a Rick, and pretty much ruined a good thing (even including the sound, as they wound it differently than the previous rev). I understand some of the hard-to-find top-of-line MIA models can also be quite good.

 

I ultimately concluded that I go more for the Petty Heartbreakers sound than the McGuinn Byrds sound, and also Harrison used a Gretsch 12-string a bit and I think I like that sound on those songs the best. So I've been pretty happy with the Gretsch (but wish it wasn't black; the only choice). I added a Danelectro 12-string last year to string up with flats though, and it gets really close to the McGuinn/Byrds sound. I use actual Rickenbacker strings on my Gretsch now, and it makes a huge difference; best strings I've ever used on a 12-er!

[KuruPrionz]

I've played several, including a 67 12 string.

The necks on the guitars have all been too slender for me.

The frets are small and the thick finish on the fretboard makes them even smaller.

 

Love the basses!!!!

 

Are the basses much smaller scale than other basses like the guitar was to "normal" guitars?

 

No, the basses are 34" scale and the neck is slim, more like a Jazz Bass. Having worked on a few, the bridge looks like a big, solid chunk of metal but it is stamped sheet metal. That is pretty disappointing.

They are not for everybody but with either the neck pickup or both pickups they do bring the thump.

 

I'll never own one unless the price is stupid cheap. Love my Warmoth P-J and Peavey Fury, both more or less Fender style basses.

 

[Music With Marky]

The guitar I have wanted the most... and the one I can't play... I have friends who offer to lend me 6 and 12-string Rics for some of the stuff I do but I can't play them standing up... my hands are too big.

 

I don't know why they've never offered an altered design to increase their market share, but other than the Tom Petty/Mike Campbell 12-string 660, and maybe the Glen Fry solidbody things they haven't as far as I know...

 

I've always wondered, exactly what kind of music were these guitars designed in mind for? Gibsons were designed for jazz early on, for the most part, Fenders for country, Gretsch for both...

 

Interesting about the major brands originally being designed to cater to specific styles. After playing one, I feel like the Rick was designed for people the size of the ancient Egyptians. lol

[Winston Psmith]

I had one briefly, in the mid-90's. Can't recall the model now, but it wasn't top-of-the-line, by any means. Solid body, natural finish, not too oddly shaped, as I recall.

 

The neck and fret spacing did seem different, not cramped, but a different feel. It was also my 1st 24-fret Guitar. I didn't keep it for long, but I've never felt the need to try a more expensive model after that.

[picker]

I had a Rick 330 for a while. It had a great tone, several of them, actually. But I couldn't get next to the neck on it. Most guitar necks taper out a little wider as you get closer to the body. Ricks don't, at least not the ones I've tried. It was kinda uncomfortable to me, playing single note lines up the neck because of that.

 

I suspect they'd make great guitars for heavy chordal work. Just not for me.

 

Pete Townshend said they weren't put together all that well. As many as he deconstructed on stage, I guess he'd know...

 

We need a guitar smashing emoji...

[Music With Marky]

I had a Rick 330 for a while. It had a great tone, several of them, actually. But I couldn't get next to the neck on it. Most guitar necks taper out a little wider as you get closer to the body. Ricks don't, at least not the ones I've tried. It was kinda uncomfortable to me, playing single note lines up the neck because of that.

 

I suspect they'd make great guitars for heavy chordal work. Just not for me.

 

Pete Townshend said they weren't put together all that well. As many as he deconstructed on stage, I guess he'd know...

 

We need a guitar smashing emoji...

 

I second the call for the Townshend emoji!