To Live and Die Without Playing a Ric: A Huge Deal?

[Cobalt Blue]

I'm sincere about this.

Those of you who have played or owned Rickenbackers, would you say that playing a Ric is an experience of which every guitarist should partake?

 

[1] Is there truly something unique about Rickenbackers--their feel, their sound--that every guitarist needs to experience at least once.

 

[2] Or is it more true to say that Rics are very good or even great, but they're not quite the "religious experience" that people attribute to them?

 

[3] Or, lastly, would you go so far as to say that your experience was one of disappointment, because the Ric you played/owned simply did not live up to the hype?

[notjonahbutnoah]

Hmm, I've only played a Ric bass.

 

Sounded good but not "Religious." The thing over the strings that covers the pickup kept getting in the way.

[Special J]

Honestly, I've never gotten along with Rics. I want to like them, but something about the neck just doesn't jive with the way I play. I recognize them as very well made instruments, and I love the sound they make, but I doubt I'll ever own one.

[meandi]

The lead player in my band has both a 6 & 12 string ric & loves them.
Those & his 69 lp custom are about all he ever plays.

[GAS Man]

I've bought a 360/6 & /12 and I'm so far a bit underwhelmed by both of them. You can sleep well.

[Rick 381]

Wouldn't get caught dead playing one.

[sk8centilli]

I had a 4003 for years and loved it. I currently own a 360/6 and like it just fine.

 

That said I voted #2.

[sk8centilli]

 

Wouldn't get caught dead playing one.

 

 

ROFL!

[Beyer160]

Playing a Rick 4001 changed the way I thought about bass playing.

 

That said, I've owned and sold two of them but now wish I had them back 'cause I now know the trick with wiring the bridge pickup bass cut cap to a push/pull switch. Que sera sera.

[drawdeep]

Never even picked one up... not my cup of tea

[ashasha]

My dad is a huge Ric fan. He had a beautiful blonde Ric back in the early 70's with the slanted frets and if I can ever find one at a good price I'll probably snatch it up for him. He's got a 360 right now and likes it a lot.

 

I on the other hand love the way they look, like the sound for some things, but I don't particularly love them or even want to own one other than the sake of having one which is kind of frivolous IMHO. They don't fit my style very well tonally or playability wise so it's just not my thing.

[scuzzo]

not my bag at all.. although one of my fav players played one for a long time.. Pete Townsend.. just a bit too jangley for me..

[GAS Man]

I think part of the frustration with Rics is everyone (okay, maybe not everyone) says you need to have the toaster pickups. But all the basic models have the hi-gain pickups instead, and if you can track down a set of the toasters, they are prrricey, before you even get them installed.

[Mr_GoodBomb]

I have two and I love them, and they're very unique, but I've always wondered about that sort of mind-shattering experience everyone seems to associate with them. My 650 is a fantastic instrument, and I wish I still appreciated guitars the same way so I could appreciate it. My 4001 is great, but it's pretty old and quirky, so it takes a bit of fighting with.

[Bbreaker]

I have 6 Ricks, own a '56 & '62 Jr, played a '55 Gold Top and a '60 Burst......not ready for the dirt nap.

660 is a fine axe.

 

[SnowViking]

Happy memories of playing an old 360 - a guitar with real character.

[ajympt]

Mine was cool but the fretboard was just weird. Sold it in a couple of months- I actually like my 80's BC Rich better.

[sk8centilli]

I think part of the frustration with Rics is everyone (okay, maybe not every one) says you need to have the toaster pickups. But all the basic models have the hi-gain pickups instead, and if you can track down a set of the toasters, they are prrricey, before you even get them installed.

 

I dig the hi-gains.

 

 

Although, I'm no fan of their humbuckers.

[Into Nation]

I've never played one, but the supposed thin and narrow necks have kept me away. I'm into wide and fat. I love the jangly sounds of them though.

[cratz2]

In the late 80s, I thought they were pretty cool... I've played several of the 330/340/360 series and I've never really got along very well with anything in the 335 size.

 

They are distinctive, but if semi hollows aren't your thing, a 330 isn't any more like to change that than a 335 is.

 

I'd love to play and perhaps even own one of the 620/650 series but the only one I ever played was a 12 string... which was just barely enough to whet my appetite.

 

I missed out when they were blowing out the 650 Dakota and Sierra... I probably would have bought one of those if I was hip at the time.

 

But back to the original question... my basic answer would be, 'Why would you NOT play a Rick?" Plenty of guitars out there... why not play one or a few if you get the chance... Same thing with several other offbeat and quirky guitars... Older BC Riches for example. Rock an old Bich if you get the chance. Or an ugly-ass Gretsch with the fugly hockey puck headstock. Or all those Airlines and Supros and Kays and whatnot. Maybe you'll hate them and feel a strong desire to ritualistically burn them with lighter fluid, but you won't know for sure until you try one. Same thing on the modern end... Try a new Charvel. Try a G&L with a oil-finished neck. Try a Ernie Ball.

 

Why keep playing the same ole same ole if you're looking for something that's missing?

[guitarman]

I bought a 330 12 string a few weeks ago and I'm really liking it.

[tiltsta]

I never really liked any of the examples I have played enough to look for one. The necks always felt funny to me...mostly being a bit too narrow. I've never spent a ton of time with one, so I can't say if I would adjust to the feel over time.

[EllenGtrGrl]

I don't see why players shouldn't try out a Ric at least once. You may not like it, but then again, you may surprise yourself, and find out that you do. I sure didn't like the first Ric I tried out back in 1990 (a 480 with toasters), but I sure liked my first jetglo 360 enough to not only own it for 4 years, but buy it back, when I found it at a Music Go Round 9 years later. When I foolishly sold it to get money for a Gretsch, I missed it enough to get another 360 this past summer (a mapleglo one). When I had to sell that one to help pay for dental work a few weeks ago, as soon as I could come up with the money, I bought it back. Yeah, I guess you could say I like Rickenbackers.

[Roy]

they are my fave. no guitar comes close

[Cobalt Blue]

In the late 80s, I thought they were pretty cool... I've played several of the 330/340/360 series and I've never really got along very well with anything in the 335 size. They are distinctive, but if semi hollows aren't your thing, a 330 isn't any more like to change that than a 335 is. I'd love to play and perhaps even own one of the 620/650 series but the only one I ever played was a 12 string... which was just barely enough to whet my appetite. I missed out when they were blowing out the 650 Dakota and Sierra... I probably would have bought one of those if I was hip at the time. But back to the original question... my basic answer would be, 'Why would you NOT play a Rick?" Plenty of guitars out there... why not play one or a few if you get the chance... Same thing with several other offbeat and quirky guitars... Older BC Riches for example. Rock an old Bich if you get the chance. Or an ugly-ass Gretsch with the fugly hockey puck headstock. Or all those Airlines and Supros and Kays and whatnot. Maybe you'll hate them and feel a strong desire to ritualistically burn them with lighter fluid, but you won't know for sure until you try one. Same thing on the modern end... Try a new Charvel. Try a G&L with a oil-finished neck. Try a Ernie Ball. Why keep playing the same ole same ole if you're looking for something that's missing?

I agree with your advice completely. In fact, always wanting to try something different than I have tried before is--along with affordability--exactly what governs all of my guitar buying habits. And that is where the main problem lies with me in regard to Rickenbackers. They are far too expensive for me. So that, I suppose, might be the most honest way to have stated my question: Does the experience one receives from playing a Ric justify what would be for me an outlandish expenditure.