Rickenbacker

[Rudolf Wagner]

Hi Rick!

My Ricky is a 350v63 which is like the legendary 325 that Lennon played (same toaster pickups, wood, controls etc.) only “long scale” so the neck is a regular length. I absolutely love it and wouldn’t swap it for any other guitar as my main electric.

I occasionally put flat wound strings on it which give it more of a thuddy sound which get balanced out by the bright, jingly tone that those good old toaster pickups produce. It made it a bit harder to play since they’re usually a bit heavier but during our intensive live playing phase I didn’t play too many solos on it so it worked fine. At the moment I’ve got regular round wounds on, medium gage.

I’ve not really messed around with it in terms of changing pickups, different bridges etc. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it 😉

The only thing we did was that Dad cut out a little carbon plate that goes over the pickup switch and keeps it in place because I used to accidentally knock it while playing all the time which switched the sound midway through a song and would ruin live recordings on a regular basis 😉 Now I control the sound with the dial only which still allows the whole range.

There’s not much else to say, I mainly play it through my AC30 with a tiny bit of reverb and slightly cut treble, depending on the song.

I love the sound, feel, sturdiness, and look and can’t imagine ever giving away that guitar! 🙂

I hope you’re staying very groovy too! All the best to you,

Mona

[Rick Ross]

Mona,

 Thank you so much for your wonderful and insightful answer. I know everyone will be so excited to know the particulars of Your Beautiful Ricky (a nick name I go by sometimes????) The look and designs are as timeless now as they were then. John would be very proud that you are upholding the tradition and reputation of the Rickenbacker so well.

I’m glad you were able to find a solution for the pick up switch. As yes if it ain’t broke don’t fix it ????

Stay warm and hope your not shooting any “cold” videos.  All the best to your very groovy family

Rick

[Michael Rife]

Hi;

Rick that was a good question.  I so enjoy hearing about equipment and the mechanics of making music.  Also, I have a Rick 330 and it is one of my favorite guitars.  It has such a smooth sound and so easy to move around the frets.

Also, I bought the Rick last year because of George and Mona.  It is not an exact match but I looked at the 330, played it, and just had to get it.  Mike.

[Jung Roe]

Just a littler Rickenbacker trivia.

While the Beach Boys were mostly using Fender guitars, lead guitarist Carl Wilson was into Rickenbacker.  He had two Rickenbacker 360/12s he used on stage.

In 2000 Rickenbacker released a Carl Wilson Special Edition guitar, Rickenbacker 360CW and 360/12CW.