OSG Rickenbacker (and Rickenfaker) thread?

[cestlamort]

Also, current rock goals:

[OffYourFace]

...you won't do it.

I reckon he's gonna try

I would do it for that price. And that colour

I have no guitar money atm. I’m doing what the kids call manifesting.

[OffYourFace]

The CNC era at Rickenbacker started around 1984, so that one is still from the earlier era, and may have some quirks / differences. Judging by my 82, the top may be thicker, braced, bridge placement could be totally off / eyeballed (with randomly placed screw holes - it works but you need to redrill if replacing the bridge). No deal breakers there, but worth noting.

Whoa that’s wack. I had no idea they had quality control issues like that. I’ve only owned 94-95 era 12 strings, a 620 and a 330. They were very solid and I wish I kept one of them.

An ex-gf of mine had a 1960s 6 string model. I forget the model number. It had the F holes like the one Pete Townsend played. The bridge pickup sounded so thin. Other than that it played pretty good.

[JSett]

Also, current rock goals:

At nearly 41 years old I dare not attempt a move like that anymore...I'll put my back out (again)

[cestlamort]

Yeah, there were some major QC issues, with the neck finish being a major one (I'll see if I can update the pics / rehost from the original NGD thread).
Here's a couple in the meantime:


The finish didn't cure right and it was a flaky mess, easily chipped off with your fingernail.

and one of the super thick rosewood fretboard vs. a FG 330/12 I had at the time.


A bit tough to explain the bridge plate issue: it was in the right place and intonated/functioned fine but the holes for the woodscrews were both off-kilter so it wasn't compatible with new bridges (or a mastery), almost like the holes for the woodscrews were off center (by 1/4 or so) and they still slapped it on there, measured where the plate should be and screwed it on there.

In any case, my local rickenbacker wizard (who used to work at the company in the 70s) fixed up the neck issues and it's better than new.

It should be noted too that Rickenbacker has been pretty slapdash with stuff since the start (and that although it is family-owned it was never their main business or passion – that may be changing though as we go from the John Hall era to the Ben Hall one, as he seems much more into guitars and updating trying new and old things). Case in point being the crappy R tailpieces (look cool! made from crap metal! the black ones will shatter! if you say anything about the quality issues, you're excommunicated! yay!). Or lifting bridges on basses. etc.

Also worth noting:
Martin Kelly's Out of Frying Pan and into the Fireglo book is pretty great but already out of print and will soon be sold out. Worth shooting $30 over to AMZN, despite whatever it does to my fair city.

[OffYourFace]

Oh sweet thanks for the info! I will now refer to you as the OSG resident Rickenbacker wizard… but I won’t actually call you that haha. I’ll for sure get that book.

I forgot, I had a 1978 4001 in autumglo back in 2003. It had the lifted/bent bridge. I replaced it with whatever was on the market at the time. Allparts? I actually still have that bridge plate and the saddles in my parts bin.

[OffYourFace]

damn that guitar sold. I was almost going to use Affirm last night LOL

I'm so horny for a Rickenbacker atm it's pathetic.

[enricosonic]

Yeah, there were some major QC issues, with the neck finish being a major one (I'll see if I can update the pics / rehost from the original NGD thread).
Here's a couple in the meantime:


The finish didn't cure right and it was a flaky mess, easily chipped off with your fingernail.

and one of the super thick rosewood fretboard vs. a FG 330/12 I had at the time.

My '82 360 has a very thick rosewood fretboard too. Even though it's bound the binding does not cover the rosewood entirely. My 360/12 was this way too and I assumed all 360s were this way, but don't know. I'll snap a pic.

[enricosonic]

[OffYourFace]

I kinda like that tbh ^^

[enricosonic]

I kinda like that tbh ^^

yeah I'm with you, it's a good look

[cestlamort]

The blue one was not meant to be then!

There are tons more out there (although maybe not many from the early 80s). There aren't really any good or bad eras for the modern ones... maybe some aesthetic variations (headstock size/shape, pointiness of horns, size of inlays, ramp shape if you're getting really deep, headstock cut outs on 12 strings) and some hardware changes (pickups being the big one).

That blue one was nice, but it seems like blue is the least favored color somehow (?), always a step child behind the jetglo, fireglo, mapleglo. And whatever the color of the year / limited colors may be. I've found myself wanting some of the rare colors but always disappointed that they have the bigger headstocks.

I've actually had (and have!) more Rickenbackers than offsets over the years. The 330/360 have a lot of overlap with Jags/JMs but sound more 3D to me somehow, albeit with a narrower range of sounds. And a 330 was imprinted on my teenage brain as "ideal guitar" (Marr, Guy), with a black 360 (Buck) a bit behind. (The rounded 360 may be space age, but the curves also remind me of a vinyl or wooden toilet seat, especially in mapleglo or walnut – maybe some 70s/80s rustic cabin associations still linger)

Young punk me couldn't find a Rickenbacker guitar, and I was playing bass in bands anyway, so I got a 1978 4001 mapleglo in college (which Mrs Cestlamort then played for years, until we upgraded to a black 4003 before playing some shows in Europe. Much lighter! And sounds great).

My first Ric guitar was a black 230 I got from the classifieds when we lived in Germany (in Osnabrück, not Hamburg, though). I got a black 1999 360 maybe in 2009, and I sold my two MIJ/CIJ JMs soon after; I still use the classy white cable the seller included. Then I basically "red paperclipped" a MIM Toronado into a 2008 330/12 FG (but very salmon and had the cut outs in the headstock), which was eventually bumped by a 370/12 SPC JG "McGuinn overstock" model. I still have the 1982 330 JG (but it was unseated by a Marr Jaguar a few years back). The 360 maybe sounded better (and was less quirky) but I had sold it to fund the 330. I also still have a 90s 330/12 JG "tour 12" which I got for that same European tour (I didn't trust flying with the 370/12 or the 330/6). I was on a "let's play a 12 string all the time, no matter the context" phase for a few years (if I'm going to be competing for space with another guitarist, this is an interesting approach) but went back to a 6 string when we became a three-piece. Also I forgot that I briefly had a 620/6 JG that I got plus $300 or so in a trade for my Shoreline thin skin jag (whoops! Frets were too big). It had some bite marks in the body (! punk !) which I filled with nail polish. It was TINY. (I traded it for a CIJ CAR JM and maybe some more cash iirc, but sold the JM soon after).

That was long winded, sorry. In short:
Currently: 1982 330/6 JG, 1995 330/12 JG, 1989 370/12 JG. My wife has a 1978 4001 MG and a 4003 JG (I don't remember the year).
No longer have: 198? 230 Hamburg JG, 1999 360/6 JG, 2008 330/12 FG (salmonglo), 199? 620/6 JG.

I still kick myself for not calling a classified ad in the Seattle Times in the mid 90s for one for $375 (but I'd just emptied my checking account to get a 60s Guild SFIII a couple months earlier and didn't want to live off of ramen; I'd also passed on a compstang (dark red? burgundy?) for $400 a few months before that. Ooops). And I regret not picking up a white 360/12 in 2008 for $800.

Honestly, I'd be happy with any of the guitars (other than the 620), ideally a 6 string and a 12 string.

Some tips and tricks:
The frugal rickenrocker: you can take 6 strings off a 12 string and use it without issue, so maybe get a 12 string if you're considering both. (MC5 style).
Cleaning: Zymol (it'll smell like the beach!)
Small scratches: swirl-x (the formula might have changed at some point).
Small finish repairs on jetglo models: Nail polish works great. Use fine sand paper to get it level. Finish with zymol.
A 330/360 fits in the same Mono M80 guitar case as Jags/JMs (but the cut ends on the 12 string will tear up the inside lid)
Changing strings: Use a capo. Tape the ball ends into the R tailpiece if doing all at once. I've also used (new) dental floss to hold the ball end of the string in the slot (easy to cut to length. And minty).
Check to make sure the bridge height screws/springs aren't loose. You can only reorder in sets of 4 (plus stewmac-level postage) if it pops out and disappears in the rehearsal space.

[cestlamort]

I'd guess all the ones with binding are like that (more or less), including basses. (My 370 has a narrower rosewood strip on the other side of the binding.)
I think it looks great, but it's maybe not something I've every consciously noticed before.

[sal paradise]

Also, current rock goals:

Really enjoying this album, thanks for the share!

[cestlamort]

At nearly 41 years old I dare not attempt a move like that anymore...I'll put my back out (again)

My rock game is decidedly below the rim these days, but I can still dream and try moves with a 330 + JC77. (But: Wonky back + I broke my hip at the skatepark a few years back... at least it wasn't in the bath)

Really enjoying this album, thanks for the share!

It's nice to hear the American answer to the jangle underground. It would have been fun to be in college on the east coast in 1985 or whatever.