I think I want a Rickenbacker 360

[easyrider]

Anyone got one?

Share their experience..

[Snake Hips]

I love the way Rickenbackers look and the way they sound. I had a Rickenbacker 330 for a few years and sold it due to the neck and frets. The neck is very narrow and the frets are very low. To some this might be a dream, for me I could not bond with it especially live. Players like Peter Buck, have unfinished the fretboards and installed jumbos. I am sure that would help the situation. Highly recommend sitting with one for a while before spending the money. You can swap pickups and electronics easily but you can't change the nut size and the fret replacement has some cost to it.

[Larry Mal]

I had a 330 for a while and was prepared for a super narrow nut width, but it was basically the same as my AVRI Fenders. The Rickenbacker neck didn't expand much as it went to the body.

Frankly, I liked it, and I found I played it differently than other guitars.

I found it to be loaded with bad hardware, the bridge sucks, the tailpiece sucks, so I got rid of that.

But I never could get on with the sound of it. It was beautiful and well constructed and I liked playing it. But I made a deal to trade for a Gibson L-00, and before I fully committed I spent an hour or so with the Ric seeing if I would regret the trade, never could dial in a sound I found inspiring, and made the trade. I don't regret it.

Would I buy another one? Yeah, but I won't make a lot of effort. I think I don't like the Hi-Gain pickups and would have enjoyed the toasters.

[Larry Mal]

They are sharp.

[Jonesie]

I have a 330, but close enough. I'll agree with Larry that the bridge and tailpiece are garbage. I replaced the tailpiece with a Winfield Harp and the bridge with a Mastery. However, I love how mine sounds. Fairly balanced across the spectrum, maybe slightly middier than a Fender single coil. I even like the neck and frets. Great for playing the jangly shit that I play. Not the greatest lead guitar, I'll admit that, but I can get the action incredibly low on it, and still play good lead runs up top. Fantastic upper fret access too. It's probably my second favorite guitar behind my Gretsch Duo Jet.

I will say that the neck profile changes depending on the year. Mine is a 2003 or 2004 and it has a super chunky neck. I hear other years are significantly thinner.

[i love sharin foo]

I’ve had 5 total. 330s, 360s, 6 string, 12 string, new, ‘90s, vintage reissue, high gain, toasters, etc… But none ever stuck. I’ve always liked them but I just never use them. I could never quite figure out why. I don’t mind smaller frets and the finished fretboards are fine.

[MrFingers]

Had a 370/12 that I strung as a 6-string for a while. Also didn't stick. They are amazing guitars to look at, but are ergonomically (for the fretting hand) quite awkward.

[BMWRider]

I bought a new Mapleglo 360/6 last year, and it has been a really good rhythm guitar. The latest ones no longer have the fretboards dipped in clear, so they are a lot closer in feel to other guitars than the older-spec models

[fuzzjunkie]

I’ve had a mid ‘80s 360 that looked just like the OP photo. R tailpiece and Hi-Gains. It was the first and only guitar I’ve bought brand new. I actually prefer the 330 body shape but couldn’t find one and it ended up being traded for a ‘63 Jazzmaster that I still have.

I missed having a Rickenbacker so I got the model I always wanted; a 360v64. It has the pointed horns of the 330 and the inlays of a 360. It’s an early ‘90s model with Toasters and the Trapeze tailpiece.

The tone is slightly different since the standard 360 has a thicker, carved top and the Hi-Gains don’t jangle as much as the Toasters. These are higher gain Toasters so that difference isn’t quite as pronounced as vintage pickups are.

I never had any issues with the neck. I have skinny fingers and hate Jumbo frets. I’d much rather have vintage style frets with low action. The R tailpiece looks great but it does indeed suck. The Trapeze is a better option. After owning a half dozen vintage offsets I don’t have any complaints about the bridge. Could it be improved? I suppose so, but it never really bothered me.

I also had a ‘73 4001 bass for 35 years and hated to let it go.

[Dok]

Cannot deal with the necks. I sold mine and put hi-gains in my Jazzmaster and I can get all the same sounds I was getting out of the Ric.

[cestlamort]

I like mine. Fuzzjunkie gave a great description.
I recently measured the neck width when I was going back and forth trying to decide whether to keep a Jazzmaster. The two guitars were pretty close near the nut but the Rickenbacker doesn’t really get much wider as you go up the neck. (Edit: My Marr Jaguar is roughly 1 5/8" at first fret, 2" at the 12th; my 330 is 1 5/8" at the first fret, 1 7/8" at the 12th)

Things you may not notice at first (but can’t unsee once you do): headstock shape and size, horn shape / pointiness on 330s, followed by inlay size on 360s. People calling them Ricky vs Ric. (Only the latter is okay). And be sure to take off the sticker.

Personally, I really like them.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

At the moment I have a 330 and my 360/12v64 is up for sale. The latter was my dream guitar, and definitely sounds like all those records I love that made me want to buy one in the first place, but the fact that I can't easily strum a C chord in the first position rankled me enough to arrive at the conclusion that I don't really need it in my life any more.

Yes, I know D is the natural home for a 12-string Ric!

My 330 is from 1996, which I think I've read makes it not as good as some earlier ones. As I'm not a gigging musician I really haven't played it enough to really have a strong opinion on how it feels and sounds, but I like having it for now, for whatever reason. It's my 5th Rickenbacker, so I guess I'm drawn to the brand.

[cestlamort]

At the moment I have a 330 and my 360/12v64 is up for sale. The latter was my dream guitar, and definitely sounds like all those records I love that made me want to buy one in the first place, but the fact that I can't easily strum a C chord in the first position rankled me enough to arrive at the conclusion that I don't really need it in my life any more.

For 12 strings, the spacing in the updated nut really does make a difference. It was something that the independent Rickenbacker techs/gurus routinely did, and I'm not sure when they moved the octave pairs closer together, maybe starting in the 2000s sometime, but it does make it feel a bit roomier. Not much, but a bit.

[eilrahc]

Rickenbackers strike me as being that dodgy combination of highly idiosyncratic and extremely expensive. I've always wanted one because I love the look and the jangle, but outside of my lottery numbers coming in there's no way I could ever justify putting down a couple of grand on an instrument as frankly weird as they are.

[cestlamort]

Rickenbackers strike me as being that dodgy combination of highly idiosyncratic and extremely expensive. I've always wanted one because I love the look and the jangle, but outside of my lottery numbers coming in there's no way I could ever justify putting down a couple of grand on an instrument as frankly weird as they are.

I think it's a myth that they're especially expensive. They're not cheap, of course. The prices have long lagged behind the made in the US offsets (new and used), and new Rickenbackers are basically at the same price point as the AVII offsets. It's just that there aren't lower tier options (well, the 330 is more basic vs the fancier 360, but no MIM or MIC versions). There are also more deluxe/fancy versions (1993+, 380, etc.) which are a different deal.

In my experience, I'm not sure that they're that idiosyncratic either. For example, I keep trying Jazzmasters (MIJ, USA), but my Rickenbacker 330 (and the 360 I had previously) always wins out for sound (/dimensionality), craftsmanship/quality (meaning also "holistic instrument" vs. "assembled guitar parts") and usually playability (the AVII was super nice though), so the Jazzmasters get sold or returned.

Other people have had different experiences, of course.