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Those of you who play Rickenbackers


Loobs

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Did it take you long to used to the slimmer neck width? I'm really keen on the idea getting a 620. Tried one last night and I love the sound, look, but I found the neck really cramped. I could imagine it hindering my playing, especially at a gig. Did you guys get used to playing them after going from a regular (say Gibson/Fender) neck? And are you ok switching back and forth?

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Took a little while to get used to. Now I switch back and forth without noticing, unless I've been playing Ric's exclusively for a while, then another fretboard feels like it has a foot ball field's worth of real estate to cover.

 

 

I had the same experience with other necks feeling big after a lot of RIC-time.

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It's not that big of a deal. Yeah, you make some minor adjustments.....if you can even call it that.

Some guys make it sound like all technique goes out the window- which is suspect to me.

 

I have regular-sized hands, FWIW.

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Pretty avg. hands, I'm skinny, maybe that helps? You could fab up a new nut with the strings spaced a little wider or pick one up from the Ric Resource Forum if you don't adapt after a period of time.

 

 

Just keep in mind that the outside E's could fall off the fingerboard while bending, but yeah that would help.

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I wouldn't really want to get into all of that. If you did that you'd want to change the string alignment would still be out of whack because the bridge is also spaced to accommodate the usual Ric spacing.

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I sold my first 620 because I convinced myself the neck width was a problem - 4 years later I bought another one because I missed it so much. I will say that going from the Ric to my Casino fels pretty dramtic, but the rality is that you adjust very quickly. I have fairly large hands, too - one thing for sure, the Ric is much more comfortable if you're doing a song with lots of barre chords . . .

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I know, there's hardly any room to bend down on the E and B anyways, but with bad fret bevel angle and wider nut spacing it could still be a problem. I see it everyday on budget guitars with poorly made nuts and half assed fretwork. :/

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Didn't know the 660 had a wider neck width. With some hi-gains that could be just the ticket.

 

It's a shame no one offers replacement Ric pickups, you're pretty much stuck with their pickups. I guess you could have someone rewind them?

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The 650s have huge baseball bat necks, actually. Didn't like that too much. The 330 is a perfect fit for my hands, personally. I love the glossy fretboard, too. I can play a ric faster than most other guitars, actually.

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Didn't know the 660 had a wider neck width. With some hi-gains that could be just the ticket.


It's a shame no one offers replacement Ric pickups, you're pretty much stuck with their pickups. I guess you could have someone rewind them?

 

 

You can buy hi-gains from Ric or one of their dealers.

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had a 330 from the nineties

hated the neck, felt comfortable, but found it very sticky especially played with sweaty hands

and I hated the lacquered fretboard

strings were totally ruined after a sweaty session as well

now have a 480 from the seventies

has the same neck and lacquered fretboard, but funny enough, not sticky

I love it

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Didn't know the 660 had a wider neck width. With some hi-gains that could be just the ticket.


It's a shame no one offers replacement Ric pickups, you're pretty much stuck with their pickups. I guess you could have someone rewind them?

 

If you decide to get a 660 and want to trade the toasters for hi-gains, we might be able to arrange a swap... :)

 

As far as replacement pickups that will fit into a stock Ric, there isn't a ton of stuff available, except through Rickenbacker, who do sell replacement high gains, humbuckers and toasters. I think some of the GFS pickups will fit a stock Ric, and there may be others, but I can't really think of them offhand.

 

As far as the Ric neck width, it is a little narrower from side to side across the fingerboard than a typical Fender. For years, Fender necks were usually 1 5/8" (1.625") wide (Fender's "B Width" - there's also A = 1.5", C = 1 3/4" and D = 1 7/8" widths, but B is the most common), but you see 1.65" wide (42 mm) necks on a lot of the current models. The Ric 620's neck is a tad narrower at 1.63" (41.4 mm) at the nut, and Ric necks tend to not widen out as much as you go further up the neck than some other guitars do. The back of their necks is rounded and not insubstantial. The combination can definitely feel a little different at first, but I adapted to it fairly easily. I have average sized hands but short and stubby fingers.

 

Where I think you really notice their neck widths is on the 12 string models. I'd have to opt for a 660/12 over a 620/12 due to the wider neck width, but on the six string versions, it's a non-issue for me really... but if you think it's too narrow, definitely get the 660 instead of the 620.

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well I definitely prefer the single coils over the humbuckers on Rickenbacker

also needs a totally different amp settings compare to other singlecoil guitars

I usually dial in lots of mids, lots of treble and then roll down the tone controls on the guitar

also Rickenbackers sound better with a little compression imo

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