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MGR/Derek Mok « Rickenbacker 360 »
Published on 12/08/08 at 15:00This is a Rickenbacker 360 electric 6-string, semi-hollow guitar in midnight blue, the standard two-pickup version. It has been upgraded to vintage-style "toaster top" Rickenbacker pickups. It came with very useful straplocks and a very heavy Rickenbacker case.
I bought this guitar second-hand. I won't say how much I paid for it, because I got a very impressive deal, especially given the pickup upgrades. Suffice to say this guitar goes for about $2400 when it's new.
Until I got this guitar, I was unable to achieve one of the "holy grails" of electric-guitar tone I've been hunting for years -- the bassy yet cutting, hi-fi, sustaining "power pop" tone on Taste of Joy's Trigger Fables, my favourite album of all time. It wasn't a Telecaster (not enough bass) and it wasn't a Gretsch (not enough sustain). When I ran the Rickenbacker 360 through a slightly overdriven amp, that's when it dawned on me that this was one of those classic tones (The Byrds, Tom Petty, The Beatles...) you simply could not get with any other guitar. The pickup upgrades installed by the previous owner must have had an impact, because I've played other Rickenbackers at music stores before, and none of them had the precisely right sound this one had. It is now one of my mainstay guitars and I used it liberally on my last record. The guitar is even loud enough acoustically that I've been using it a great deal as a comfortable acoustic guitar for transcribing cover songs with.
Another reviewer in here has blasted the Rickenbacker's design. Unlike him, I don't believe it's a "fundamental flaw", but it's worth mentioning. The Rickenbacker's neck is higher than the body, and the strings are quite far from the pickups. If you like playing with your right hand's little finger planted on the top, this guitar will probably bug you. I believe that this design has something to do with the unique sound of Rickenbackers, but it does come with a price: It's nearly impossible to bend the strings on the Rickenbacker 360, and you have to get used to having that much space underneath your strings. However, this does *not* necessarily translated into high action on the left hand; my 360 plays just fine on the left hand -- and the famously narrow Rickenbacker neck isn't a problem on the 360 6-string.
I also find the sound controls somewhat fiddly. Not only is there a "Ric-O-Sound" output jack (which is only wired to the bridge, so along with the regular jack it allows you to send pickup signals to different amps), but it also has a fifth (!) knob control, which apparently slowly fades out the neck pickup. What I don't get is how that's different from either using the pickup selector switch to go to the bridge only, or to go into dual-pickup mode and then use the volume knob to control how much the neck pickup is in the mix! I couldn't find the difference, and since the volume knob gives me so much more control, I just always leave the fifth knob at full, which basically means it's just another thing in the way, another thing that could be set wrong when playing. And yes, if you turn the fifth knob down all the way and flip the pickup selector switch to neck, your guitar will go silent.
While we're on the subject of the control knobs, the neck and bridge control knobs are backwards from the classic Gibson layout (ie. tone knobs closer to the player, volume knobs farther). Really not that player-friendly; no other guitar design I know of does this. Luckily, the Rickenbacker isn't a jazzy guitar and I almost always leave the tone controls at full anyway.
I'd also have to nitpick at the case provided. It's a monster, extremely heavy, with two storage compartments inside, and it's also very long. I suppose extra protection is good for a guitar investment this high, but I almost feel like if you're going to have such a heavy case, might as well go with a heavy-duty flight case.
One more thing: Rickenbackers are some of the rarest big-name guitars in stores. On average every music store I've visited would only have one or two in stock, usually used, and the 360 is even rare (the pointy-horned, less expensive 330 is more common). Consequently, it can also be hard finding a good Rickenbacker because the choices are so few -- most RIckenbackers I've tried at music stores have something wrong with them, such as a malfunctioning pickup, worn-out strings or physical damage. And I've been told by multiple sources that ordering a new Rickenbacker can take months. The only thing I can advise is to be patient: It was about four years in between my first picking up a Rickenbacker and finally finding one second-hand, and the wait was worth it, both for the price I got and the quality of the instrument I ended up with.
Wonderful. No flaws. The finish is beautifully applied (be careful -- online photos often show the midnight blue finish as almost black. It is actually more of a metallic blue, similar to the blue burst on Taylor T5s). The previous owner also kept it quite well, with no buckle rash, chips, or real damage of any kind, and I intend to keep it that way. The posh Rickenbacker hardware, unique "stacked" pickguard, bridge tailpiece and headstock all convey a European chic that makes it stand out visually, just like a Gretsch archtop.
Rickenbacker guitars are pretty quirky. They have some design features which can be a little dubious, and not all guitar players will be inclined to make a Rickenbacker his only guitar. However, they have one of the classic pop/rock sounds that you simply won't get anywhere else. Rickenbacker advertisements say that they "burn through the mix", and I'd have to say they're not exaggerating. That uniquely cutting, yet full and bassy sound that almost sounds like a cello is what I'd consider the greatest rhythm sound in that area between clean and overdrive, and if you ever play leads that don't come from the bluesy mode (again, string-bending is nigh impossible on this guitar), you'll also get a great, very melodic, very commanding tone. The fullness of this tone is great for playing little but sounding like a lot, or if you're playing parts that sit between rhythm and lead. It's a classic sound, and it belongs solely to Rickenbackers.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I bought this guitar second-hand. I won't say how much I paid for it, because I got a very impressive deal, especially given the pickup upgrades. Suffice to say this guitar goes for about $2400 when it's new.
Until I got this guitar, I was unable to achieve one of the "holy grails" of electric-guitar tone I've been hunting for years -- the bassy yet cutting, hi-fi, sustaining "power pop" tone on Taste of Joy's Trigger Fables, my favourite album of all time. It wasn't a Telecaster (not enough bass) and it wasn't a Gretsch (not enough sustain). When I ran the Rickenbacker 360 through a slightly overdriven amp, that's when it dawned on me that this was one of those classic tones (The Byrds, Tom Petty, The Beatles...) you simply could not get with any other guitar. The pickup upgrades installed by the previous owner must have had an impact, because I've played other Rickenbackers at music stores before, and none of them had the precisely right sound this one had. It is now one of my mainstay guitars and I used it liberally on my last record. The guitar is even loud enough acoustically that I've been using it a great deal as a comfortable acoustic guitar for transcribing cover songs with.
Another reviewer in here has blasted the Rickenbacker's design. Unlike him, I don't believe it's a "fundamental flaw", but it's worth mentioning. The Rickenbacker's neck is higher than the body, and the strings are quite far from the pickups. If you like playing with your right hand's little finger planted on the top, this guitar will probably bug you. I believe that this design has something to do with the unique sound of Rickenbackers, but it does come with a price: It's nearly impossible to bend the strings on the Rickenbacker 360, and you have to get used to having that much space underneath your strings. However, this does *not* necessarily translated into high action on the left hand; my 360 plays just fine on the left hand -- and the famously narrow Rickenbacker neck isn't a problem on the 360 6-string.
I also find the sound controls somewhat fiddly. Not only is there a "Ric-O-Sound" output jack (which is only wired to the bridge, so along with the regular jack it allows you to send pickup signals to different amps), but it also has a fifth (!) knob control, which apparently slowly fades out the neck pickup. What I don't get is how that's different from either using the pickup selector switch to go to the bridge only, or to go into dual-pickup mode and then use the volume knob to control how much the neck pickup is in the mix! I couldn't find the difference, and since the volume knob gives me so much more control, I just always leave the fifth knob at full, which basically means it's just another thing in the way, another thing that could be set wrong when playing. And yes, if you turn the fifth knob down all the way and flip the pickup selector switch to neck, your guitar will go silent.
While we're on the subject of the control knobs, the neck and bridge control knobs are backwards from the classic Gibson layout (ie. tone knobs closer to the player, volume knobs farther). Really not that player-friendly; no other guitar design I know of does this. Luckily, the Rickenbacker isn't a jazzy guitar and I almost always leave the tone controls at full anyway.
I'd also have to nitpick at the case provided. It's a monster, extremely heavy, with two storage compartments inside, and it's also very long. I suppose extra protection is good for a guitar investment this high, but I almost feel like if you're going to have such a heavy case, might as well go with a heavy-duty flight case.
One more thing: Rickenbackers are some of the rarest big-name guitars in stores. On average every music store I've visited would only have one or two in stock, usually used, and the 360 is even rare (the pointy-horned, less expensive 330 is more common). Consequently, it can also be hard finding a good Rickenbacker because the choices are so few -- most RIckenbackers I've tried at music stores have something wrong with them, such as a malfunctioning pickup, worn-out strings or physical damage. And I've been told by multiple sources that ordering a new Rickenbacker can take months. The only thing I can advise is to be patient: It was about four years in between my first picking up a Rickenbacker and finally finding one second-hand, and the wait was worth it, both for the price I got and the quality of the instrument I ended up with.
Wonderful. No flaws. The finish is beautifully applied (be careful -- online photos often show the midnight blue finish as almost black. It is actually more of a metallic blue, similar to the blue burst on Taylor T5s). The previous owner also kept it quite well, with no buckle rash, chips, or real damage of any kind, and I intend to keep it that way. The posh Rickenbacker hardware, unique "stacked" pickguard, bridge tailpiece and headstock all convey a European chic that makes it stand out visually, just like a Gretsch archtop.
Rickenbacker guitars are pretty quirky. They have some design features which can be a little dubious, and not all guitar players will be inclined to make a Rickenbacker his only guitar. However, they have one of the classic pop/rock sounds that you simply won't get anywhere else. Rickenbacker advertisements say that they "burn through the mix", and I'd have to say they're not exaggerating. That uniquely cutting, yet full and bassy sound that almost sounds like a cello is what I'd consider the greatest rhythm sound in that area between clean and overdrive, and if you ever play leads that don't come from the bluesy mode (again, string-bending is nigh impossible on this guitar), you'll also get a great, very melodic, very commanding tone. The fullness of this tone is great for playing little but sounding like a lot, or if you're playing parts that sit between rhythm and lead. It's a classic sound, and it belongs solely to Rickenbackers.
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com