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In all the years that I have followed the JGO Forum, I don't recall ever seeing any mention Rickenbacker guitars. When I was a kid in SOCAL, I had a neighbor who split his time between a Gibson ES-335 and a RIC two-pickup, semi-acoustic. He was an exceptionally good guitarist--very jazzy. Anyway, he got great sounds from BOTH guitars.
Thinking back, it got me to wondering why nobody seems to use RICs for jazz. They sure are capable of outstanding sounds.
Thoughts?
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05-02-2021 11:02 AM
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Why not?
Remember Toots Thielemans wit George Shearing
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I owned a little Ric solid for a couple of years (The "Tom Petty" cover guitar). I really liked it as a Fender alternative, but the neck/fb was too teeny-tiny for my fingers. But those 60's jangly Ric's sound great on the songs.
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I recall Rickenbacker necks being chunky. However, I don't think that they gained width as you went up the fingerboard. That was different from other guitars but not a deal breaker.
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The Rickenbacker 660 has a 1 3/4" nut, but it's the exception.
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In college I had a fascination for the entire RIC lineup. One music store had the catalog which is where first set eyes on a 381.
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Good question. My only Rick is a B6 lap steel from back when they were still spelling it Rickenbacher. I don't tend to use it when I (try to) play jazz, though I wouldn't mind being able to play like Greg Leisz with Bill Frisell...
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In the early 70s I bought a 1065 fire glow 460 from my neighbor. Bring in Malibu they drove to the factory and he picked out what he wanted. I loved that guitar through my Drluxe Revetb
Last edited by Crm114; 05-02-2021 at 03:29 PM.
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IIRC Rickenbacker built a full size archtop designed by Rodger Rossmeisl. Cats eyes soundholes and German carved top. Recall seeing photos of Ricky Nelson with one from the 50's.
Must be a rare bird! Paging Hammertone...
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I've only seen one Ric IRL, owned by an acquaintance; gorgeous, great sounding; never got to play it. I did have the great good fortune to play with a very adroit bass player who swore by his gleaming black Ric bass, and was an all-around Good Guy, a good man to have at your back - a tale for another day and perhaps another place.
Sterling instruments, in my view.
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EXACTLY. The guitar that was in that catalog i had !!
Originally Posted by SierraTango
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Its the 390... here's the catalog page:
Very cool-looking! As far as I know, it never made it into production.
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I've always loved the way Ricks look especially the George Harrison 12 string. But after trying a bunch of them and even owning a couple, no thanks!
Skinny width, and strange neck angles along with bright pickups.
I'm sure glad others can make them sou d good, cause I sure cant, LOL !
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My friend says a ric is just another cheap guitar like a mosrite or Sears that is priced too high. But I’d love one of those cheap rics
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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In the below Impressions clip, the player gets a great Metheny-like tone and at 1'22 the upper register chords sound like harp strings . Very good playing, btw. In the "fireglo" clip I thought the first few seconds on the neck pup sounded very usable indeed.
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I've had a half-dozen Ric 12's. If I still had a need for an electric 12, I'd still own one. I hate the skinny, deep necks and the teeny frets, but I love the sound. Pretty sure I’ve never used one for jazz though.
Danny W.Last edited by Danny W.; 05-02-2021 at 08:16 PM.
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Since I was a teenager I always wanted a Rickenbacker 12 string. A few years ago I started to get serious about getting one, until my brother said “after you play a couple of Byrds and Beatle songs then what are you going to do with it ?”. That cured my GAS for a 12 string Rickenbacker. He saved me a lot of money.
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Play Beach Boys songs. Originally Posted by fasteddie;[URL="tel:1118986"
Danny W.
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I had a 660 from about '76 to '85. Main thing I liked was that it was a lot lighter than my Les Paul. As I remember the neck didn't feel a whole lot different, but it's a long time back now. In those days we didn't pay as much attention to those details.
I was playing some jazz, but not the Wes Montgomery kind. I was one of those guys who felt like "give me a broomstick with a couple of decent strings on it and I'll blow your mind". And I liked that nobody but me was playing 'serious' music with one.
I thought it sounded great clean or with a Rat on it. I recorded some really challenging modern classical with it.
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Peter Banks used a Ric (I think a 365, but I could be wrong on the model) in Yes and got a great jazzy tone in addition to psychedelic rock sounds:
Bonus: Bill Bruford demonstrates why I always thought of him as a jazz drummer in a rock band. His duet with Banks in the middle section really swings.
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Aside from the skinny necks and twangy sound, I think aesthetically they are some of the most beautiful electrics.
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Well, besides that, how was the play, Mrs Lincoln? Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Although I love the 4000 series basses, all those Rick guitars with narrow necks were a deal-breaker for me. Originally Posted by Woody Sound
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Roger Rossmeisl built two 390 prototypes, based on the Roger Super model made by his father's Roger company in Germany. All photos of artists with 390 models show them with one or the other of these prototypes. Both of the guitars are on display in the Rickenbacker Museum. I agree with cmajor9 - they never went into production, despite being listed in some catalogue information. Other than these two guitars, there are no 390, 391 or 392 models in existence. I would love to be proven wrong. Originally Posted by SierraTango
Originally Posted by cmajor9
Very cool-looking! As far as I know, it never made it into production.Last edited by Hammertone; 05-05-2021 at 03:56 PM.
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