NGD...Zhivago's adventures in The Land of Chime...

[zhivago]

I have wanted a Rickenbacker 660 for ages upon ages. I first came across the 620 shape while looking at vintage guitars online years ago, and when I found out about the 660 and its wide neck, I set my heart to one day own one.

This puppy arrived yesterday. It is a 2008 model and it's in great shape. Pictures can not do justice to how pretty Rickenbacker guitars are, and this is no exception.

I am loving the toaster pickups...I need to balance them more so I need to get some new foam, and the nut could use a bit of widening, but overall I am very, very pleased. The neck pickup is just HUGE sounding...I was very surprised....the middle and bridge position give you the classic Ric sound.

Physically, it is tiny...especially compared to my ES345...but on the sofa it is just great. The frets are Rickenbacker low, so I may one day have it re-fretted, but for now I am very happy with the latest edition to my little group of guitars.

My "Law of Three" has truly been obliterated this year!!

[popvulture]

If you do go for a refret, you could always lose the lacquer on the fretboard. One of my buddies did that with his bass and it ended up being a pretty drastic improvement on the overall feel... I think that's the one big thing that always bugged me about Rics. Such a weird design choice!

Beautiful guitar though—I'm jealous!

[ThePearDream]

Gorgeous The 600 series are the only Rics I've ever liked, and now you've got me gassing hard.

[zhivago]

Gorgeous The 600 series are the only Rics I've ever liked, and now you've got me gassing hard.

Go for it, they are very cool indeed!

[zhivago]

If you do go for a refret, you could always lose the lacquer on the fretboard. One of my buddies did that with his bass and it ended up being a pretty drastic improvement on the overall feel... I think that's the one big thing that always bugged me about Rics. Such a weird design choice!

Beautiful guitar though—I'm jealous!

Absolutely! The lacquered board feels strange after years of bare rosewood or ebony.

The guitar still plays real fast, but mostly for chords...bending is ok, but you need to work at it.

We shall see...a refret on a bound neck is pretty expensive, so I need to make sure its a keeper

[garyfanclub]

Love it!

I’ve got a mapleglo 620 that’s one of the best sounding guitars I’ve owned. From what I know, the only non-aesthetic differences from the 660 are the pickups (hi gains instead of toasters) and a slightly narrower fretboard.

You’ll get used to the lacquered board, I hardly notice it anymore. Not sure what the big deal is, feels a lot like a lacquered maple neck, except it’s not maple.

The string spacing is what really took some getting used it, and I still have trouble fingerpicking on that guitar due to the narrowness of the board.

Enjoy your new 660!

[zhivago]

Love it!

I’ve got a mapleglo 620 that’s one of the best sounding guitars I’ve owned. From what I know, the only non-aesthetic differences from the 660 are the pickups (hi gains instead of toasters) and a slightly narrower fretboard.

You’ll get used to the lacquered board, I hardly notice it anymore. Not sure what the big deal is, feels a lot like a lacquered maple neck, except it’s not maple.

The string spacing is what really took some getting used it, and I still have trouble fingerpicking on that guitar due to the narrowness of the board.

Enjoy your new 660!

Many thanks!

Yes they are almost the same guitar...the main thing as you say is the toasters and the nut width...the other smaller changes are the checkerboard binding, the different tailpiece.

Really proud to finally own a Ric...It is such a vibrant guitar....very, very cool!

[Haddock]

That ol' one-guitar-rule is dead and buried, isn't it ?

Man, this one isn't even black ! Like you're not even trying anymore.
(How is the Yannismaster doing ? I miss her sometimes ... )

[fuzzjunkie]

‘Tis a beauty.

[shadowplay]

Really cool, for me that's the pick of the small Rickenbackers. In the vernacular of the second hand car salesman; 'don't confuse this with the average, this guitar comes in the most desirable specification for the most discerning connoisseur of this model. It's sure to turn the right heads.'.

D

[nanamour]

Beautiful instrument, and looking very autumnal with the Fireglo and gold plastics!

My old 660 is the only guitar I've ever regretted moving on (especially when I later saw it being parted out on a certain eBay chop shop's store a couple months after I sold it on). The low frets and gloss board certainly do take a bit of getting used to, but I think it was just a few weeks before I was able to swap back and forth between the Ric and my other guitars without a second thought.

Definitely do spend some time playing around with the pickup heights, these are incredibly versatile guitars and IME it's totally unfair for them to be branded into the one-trick janglepony camp. As you say, the neck pickup sounds enormous, and with some pickup height fiddling and a bit of boost I found the bridge pup relent some fairly convincing tele sounds.

Congrats and enjoy! Here's a glamor shot of my old 660, just for old times' sake , RIP (resting in pieces)

[Maggieo]

As soon as I saw the photos the Dukes of Stratosphere's "Vanishing Girl" started playing in my head!

Congrats, Pat! That's a beauty!

[s_mcsleazy]

i've played a few 600 series. great guitars but look like toys on me.

[zhivago]

That ol' one-guitar-rule is dead and buried, isn't it ?

Man, this one isn't even black ! Like you're not even trying anymore.
(How is the Yannismaster doing ? I miss her sometimes ... )

Hahah! You got me...maybe I'm having a mid-life crisis, but I want to experience a few more guitars!

The Yannismaster is alive and well, in fact the "living room set up" right now is the Ric, 345, and the JM

[zhivago]

In the vernacular of the second hand car salesman; 'don't confuse this with the average, this guitar comes in the most desirable specification for the most discerning connoisseur of this model. It's sure to turn the right heads.'.

D

David, that sounds about right!!