Rickenbacker 330/6

I own a lefty 330/6 fireglo. I ordered it with vintage pickups. If you're here to read about it, I guess you know the guitar I'm dealing with...a '60ies looking gewel!!!

I play thru a digitech 2112 and two vintage vox ac 30, I also own a standard srtat. I really like bright sounds, a little bit crunchy even when clean, but even setting my amps so, I can run to dark/totally clean sound, just working on the knobs. If I use well the noise gate, or the volumes (one for every pick up) I can totally eliminate nasty feedback, even with tons of overdrive; not so with the compressor on clean sounds, but when you work with fx you never know...
This is not that kind of guitar you can arm on, changing pickups for ex., but it has a soul, I love it like that (nevertheless I tried to play blues metal and so on, just to see where I could go with a Rick, and it worked!!!)

Everything right, the action is lightly high: it helps to obtain that rough vintage sound I love

'don't know coz I've owned it for just one year

kuytcvt

I'm 28, I play since I was about ten, but 'never loved to be a guitar hero, I love tone and melody. If I was a professionist, I would also buy a 12 stringed one, I love Rickenbackers!!!!!!

My guitar was made in late 2000. It is a FireGlo finish. I was going to get the JetGlo and be John Lennon, but I heard from more than one sorce that the JetGol smudges easily then looks lousy. Anyway, the finish should not be your deciding factor. Probably more than anything, the comfort and feel of this guitar is what has blown me away. I have been playing for a long time and have own many guitars, the way this guitar feels on your lap or around your neck is something special. Like nothing else.

Don't let other people fool you into thinking you can only play clean with this guitar. I crank it up with plenty of distortion and sounds full and ballsy. I have found it suprisingly quiet for a single pick-up guitar, of course this could be my sound gate kicking in. Anyway, the sound is unlike anything I have played.

My action is set moderate. The best part about this is that all of the adjustments are accessable and are adjusted with Allen wrenches. I set my own intonation and string height. I leave the neck bow to the pros. Anyway, this guitar plays itself.

Don't know yet

Don't know yet

Best guitar I ever owned, and I have owned quite a few!
After owning one, I would probably pay twice the amount I paid for it.

I bought my 330 second-hand from a trade show here in New Zealand. This is the 3rd I have owned and it will be my last. I should have kept the other 2. I have a 335 and a Tele but still keep coming back to Ricks. I bought it because Paul Weller from the Jam used one so well and the early Townsend/Who sounds that I like('Pictures Of Lilly').
It is a mid '90's model I think in 'midnight blue' with 2 high-gain pickups and came with the usaual Rick case that weighs a ton. I paid NZ$1400 but know that to replace it would be between NZ$3-4000.00.

I read other reviews that said this guitar can cover most sounds and styles. I think that's true but I bought this guitar for what it excels at which is the Weller/Who sounds that can be rung out of it. I play through a 50 watt Marshall JCM 900 and turn it up to 7-8 and it's magic. It's bright, twangy and roars all at the same time. I play loud and cranked up through a valve amp and this is where the Rick comes into it's own. Load's of treble and lot's of bass but I feel it lacks a bit in the mids. I eq all my guitars because I can't leave well enough alone but I think straight through an AC 30 would solve that. I feel there is no such thing as a guitar that marks 10 so I give it the next best mark of 9.

No guitar bought in New Zealand is ever set up properly and finding a good Luthier or halfway decent guitar tech is like finding gold. However, the finish and quality of Rick's is excellent in my opinion and once I had a luthier "set it up" it was great. Great action and nice to play. The frets are small and since I have small hands, that suits me well.

Built to last. I played live a lot with it and had no problems. Never had the luxury of a backup when I gigged with it. Don't drop the fucker though because it won't take to much bad treatment to wreck it as Townsend has shown. Beware of moisture though. I lived in a damp flat with a 330 and it rippled the paintwork.
Hardware is all good and solid

Here in New zealand we never get to deal with the manufacturers which is a bad thing. We have to deal with asshole retailers and I can't slag them off enough. Most music retailers should here should be in prison. They either don't know their products or don't give a fuck because they know they have you buy the balls due to the fact that variety of gear in so scarce.
We don't have rows of Gibsons and Fenders to choose from like USA or Europe. You're lucky if they have one Gibson in the shop. Buying a guitar here can be a horrid experience, especially if you know what you want and don't want to be pushed into buying some crappy piece of shit.

Playing pretty badly for about 25 years but can't leave it alone. I was a wanker to sell the other 2 330's I had. Have a Fender Tele and a 335 but if I would replace the Rick if I lost it. It has a magic of it's own and when you strap it on and play, you know it's great. I'll have one till the day I die. Get one!! They are great

My Rickenbacker is from 1991 and has a gorgeous "fireglo" finish, I immediately fell in love with this guitar because it looks SO impressive!! It has the grace of a Lady... Mine has two pickups (so-called "hi-gain", but don't take it for granted, they are still single-coils), a three way switch, 2 volumes, 2 tones and a special button that works as a mix between the neck pickup and the bridge one.
This guitar was built with skill, all Maple except for the Rosewood fretboard -beautiful-. This is one of the most comfortable guitar I've ever owned, and one of the best-sounding of course!!!
Oh, I had almost forgotten, this guitar has a double truss-rod in the neck, so there won't ever be no problems about it (the neck).

This guitar sounds a bit like a Telecaster thinline on which the pickups would have been changed (they are more powerful). The tone is crystal-like on the bridge PU and delightly warm on the other. The treble is sharp and the bass precise. It is not so noisy as I've had the opportunity to read in other reviews and it suits my music style perfectly (I play in a "grunge" band inspired by the 70's and garage bands from the 60's). The sustain is amazing and I'll give you a hint: get rid of the metal part above the bridge, the guitar sounds even more better! I use my Rick with a Marshall Bluesbreaker combo and the result is great (for clean and crunch sounds). If I want more distortion then I use it with a Tubescreamer TS-9 and I have one hell of a Rock sound!! Great for Indies, Garage, Punk or Pop music. However, you won't be able to play Metal stuff with it and this guitar isn't well suited for solos. It's a "powerchords" machine as said one of the previous reviewers.(think Pete townsend)

This guitar contained no flaws of any kind, everything was great: the finish, the action. I only removed the metal part above the bridge because it had provoked several noises. Well, do it, and the guitar will breathe a lot more!

I 've had it for a year and everything's still prefect. Think it will survive...

No comment. I have never dealt with those guys.

I've been playing for 9 years, I also have a 1991 Gibson LesPaul Standard which I love dearly. It seems to me that those 2 guitars are very complementary. The rick is one trick pony, but it's unique, definitely.

I borrowed this guitar form a friend of mine's cousin to try it out to see if I liked it It was a semi hollow bodied with 2 pickups Everything on this guitar was all standard. Finish was a beautiful fireglow

This guitar had a beautiful angelic tone. It seemed as if it wanted to sing out on its own with a bright full bodied sound. I played it through a Fender 65 reverb twin to which it matched spledidly. Distorion really made it growl. Noticed a faint buzzing, but most likely attributed to the wiring in my house.

All that glitters is not gold!
I flat out did not like the action on this guitar! Why? it seemed to me that the strings were set too close together for any solo work. I didn't care for the rounded feel of the neck either! I play mainly blues (Clapton, Hendrix, SRV) and can easily fire off licks on my 1974 Strat or 1982 Les Paul but this guitar has the kind of action I liken to those Harmony electric guitars that you ordered for around $80 from either the Sears or JC Penny catalog back in the 70's & 80's! I notified the owner to which he informed me thats how they all were! No damn wonder I never have seen anybody play lead on a Ric!

Not much to be said here. Seems to be rock solid. Finish looks fairly durable.

N/A

I was looking for a guitar with a good hollowed or semi hollowed bodied sound, and I found a good one in Rickenbacker. However, I think that it would be sheer stupidity to spend over $1000 on a guitar only to have shitty action. My conclusion is that apparenly the gang at Rickenbacker are still stuck in the 60's with their design. If this is the case, its time that they come out of their time warp and modernize some of their guitars! I give this a generous 6!

American made, fireglo. Features are listed in all the other columns here.

The hi gain pickups are a lot more midrangy than the old pickups and a lot ballsier...still single coils but a bit thicker and louder. I was sold because I like a guitar where I can crash full open distored chords and they don't sound like mush. The lead sound is not exactly as kikken as my Les Paul but it's interesting. I do have to work a bit to get single string stuff to punch through. I give it a nine cause the lead sound is not "quite" there. The sound quality of full chords though is good enough that I don't mind working a little harder on the leads (we're not a "lead-heavy" band anyway)

I bought this thing on a Friday night, off the rack (it's used but if the former owner played it you couldn't tell at ALL) and i gigged with it the next night. The action is very good, intonation was dead on, and I'm notorious for breaking strings and knocking my guitar outta tune. My Les Paul Standard is the only guitar I own that, with a new set of strings, can make it through a whole set with all strings still attached, but I knock it outta tune a lot. This rick just wouldn't go outta tune...nice.

Seems like it will last and I've read really really good things about rickenbackers in that regard. I've only owned it for a little over a week though. I trust it, it seems solid.

Dunno

This guitar isn't perfect (hell, none are for me). I have to admit though, I LOVE the sound I get out of it for the most part. I play in a three piece and the rhythm sound is pretty damn meaty (surprisingly so to me) and let's face it, the 330 just looks goddam cool. My backup guitar is a Les Paul standard if that tells you anything. The Les Paul is a little nastier and leads cut through a little better, but the rhythm tones of the Les Paul just can't touch the rick. I've been playing twenty-five years, I love this guitar. I'd definitely buy another one if this was lost or stolen.

I own a 1994 330 Ric. The color is very rare. I have only seen one other. It is a deep blue color, and instead of crome hardware it has black metal hardware, which could be painted crome. It is not the midnight blue color that you see on the Ric website. This is a much darker blue. When I first fell in love with the 330/360 I was after a fireglo colored instrument. But when I came across this gem I had to have it. This color is amazing. It has all the normal features of a 330 such as 5 knob selector, Hi-Gain pickups etc. I love the thinline neck. The only thing that I don't like about the 330 is the bridge. It is pretty weak.

I play alot of rhythm. I am not much of a lead player. so the 330 suits me just fine. I play it through a Fender Prosonic and it sounds amazing. I eventually would like to buy a Vox ac30. I am pretty sure this guitar would sound good through anything. The five knob selector allows you to use this guitar like an EQ. You can make it sound rich and jingley, or warm with deep tone. That is my favorite feature of the guitar.

I bought the guitar used from a guy who doesn't really know alot about guitars so he didn't mess with the set-up of the guitar. The action is pretty low which is how I like it. The guitar had a couple of dings on the back of the neck. Nothing to cry about. One of the knobs is loose but in no danger of falling off.

Naven't had it long enough.

N/A

I also own a Washburn J-9 hollow body and a Fender American Standard Tele, and the Ric by far is "the catch" of the lot. I have been playing for 7 years. I hope to add a fireglo 360 to my collection soon.

Beautiful fireglo 330 made in March 1984 (while FC Hall was still running the company), and purchased by me in June 1984. Unlike recent 330's, this guitar still has the '60s-style narrow headstock, which I find much more attractive than the paddle-sized headstocks on the current ones. The body shape on my guitar is also closer to '60s spec than the more pointy ones available today. A couple of years ago I swapped the hi-gain PU's for scatterwound toaster reissues. The hi-gains sounded very good (ie: Paul Weller), but the toasters have a more authentic, jangly '60s tone. The tuners are Grovers, although the new guitars have Schallers, I believe. The little "blend" knob is pretty handy. It acts as a bass boost when the PU selector is in the middle, since it boosts the level of the neck PU. Sometimes the bridge PU is a bit thin-sounding on its own (especially at lower volumes), so it's useful to dial in a bit of the neck PU for more oomph. One very odd thing about my 330 - it weighs about twice as much as any other Rick 330 that I've ever played, including vintage '60s ones and even 330's from the same era! Another interesting fact - one almost never sees 1970s/early '80s Rickenbacker guitars for sale anymore! I only know one other person with a 330 from the early '80s (his is an '83). My guess is Rickenbacker was concentrating on producing the more popular 4001 basses at that time, and what 300-series Rickys were made are not for sale (like mine!). I remember my local dealer having to special order my guitar from the factory, and it took a month or so to arrive.

Nothing else sounds like a Rickenbacker. Extremely bright and jangly. If you want that classic early Beatles/Townshend/Jam/REM/Petty jangle, this is the one you want. It doesn't do a lot of different sounds, but what it does do is beautiful. I've used it through a Vox AC30 and a Vox AC50 (the classic counterparts to Rickys), as well as through a silverface Fender Twin Reverb and blackface Fender Bandmaster. You know what? I much prefer it with the Fenders. The Vox's are already very bright sounding amps, and it was too thin with the Ricky (except at loud volumes). The Bandmaster (my current amp) offers more tonal variety, so I can dial in a great complementary tone for this guitar. The neck PU on it's own, with the blend knob up all the way, gives an uncharacteristicly rich, deep, full jazzy tone! Who woulda thunk it?

The fireglo finish on my guitar is beautiful and hasn't faded at all in 18 years. It's much darker than the newer Ricks; more of a brownish red with yellowish center, as opposed to the candy apple with wood-colored center of the new ones. Rickenbackers are known for their extremely slim necks, and many find them to be too cramped, especially if you have fat fingers. I personally love it. In fact, it's the most playable guitar I own. The action is also incredible low, with no string buzz. I have also owned a '60s reissue Rickenbacker made in 1998, and think that the 1984 guitar is much better made. The finish is a much nicer color and seemingly thicker, and the components seem sturdier. Overall my 1984 330 seems to have more in common with the '60s guitars than the later ones; I figure that in 1984 there were still some veteran Rickenbacker luthiers were still with the company, and FC Hall (owner since the early '50s) was still boss.

I've given this guitar heavy use since 1984, and the only servicing it's ever required is an application of contact cleaner in the knobs. The only problem I've ever had is the output jack comes loose once in a while; it just needs to be screwed back in tight. No big deal at all. This guitar will most likely be with me until I die, and then I expect that my daughter (now 2 1/2) will be able to enjoy it as much as I have.

I spoke with customer service a few times about buying replacement parts for another Rickenbacker I own, and have found them to be very helpful and friendly. John Hall (current CEO) even answers questions via email. The parts that I ordered arrived very quickly.

Ever since I began playing in 1977, as a Beatle-obsessed 13 year old, I lusted after a Rickenbacker. I originally owned a 320 which my dad bought for me in 1981, and soon found its short scale limiting. The 330 has been with me for nearly two decades and is a very prized possession. It has helped define the music I've made over the years. I notice that I play differently on the Ricky (more powerchords!) than on the Gretschs, Fenders, etc. that I've owned over the years. If it were lost or destroyed I would be heartbroken. It's an old friend now, and in some ways a part of me.

Rick's SN system is weird, so I don't know the year, but think it's 1990. US made like all of them, came with 2 Hi-Gain pickups and that R tailpiece that makes changing strings...uh...interesting. Thinline mainly maple semihollow with the nice slightly pointy shape (I like this much better than the "fancier" 360 model with the blunted ends of the "new style" body). three-way selector, two tone and two vol, and a weird blender that as far as I can tell, just rolls of the bass pickup a bit.

Like all Ricks, a very classy, top-notch construction job. makes other guitars (especially Fenders, even the nice ones with a few exceptions, like my old Jaguar) look like highschool shop projects.

has everything you need if you are guitar player, but not if you're one of thoe "Guitorgan" or Midi people.

oh, they have these bridge-covers. they don't really get in the way too much but they are kinda pointy, so I took mine off, I was afraid to play it hard and risk a hole in my hand. not a big deal, though.

OK, one caveat: I've REPLACED the HI-GAIN PICKUPS with reissue "toaster-top" pickups. I like these much, much better. These are basically the same as pickups from the 60's so if you want that 60's rick sound, you gotta ditch those hi-gains. (50's pickups were even lower output, wound to about 4 ohms..that seems a bit too far in the other direction to me). The toasters have less gain, so don't distort the amp at low volumes. If you want flat-out distortion, by all means keep those pickups in. but the newer "reissue, vintage" toasters (like mid-60's ones, wound to 7.4 ohms) I think are better. Same basic sound, but not overly loud and bassy like the high gains (neck pickup setting with hi-gains is so bassy, loud, and muddy I would never have used it. ) So, from here on you're reading about a guitar with 7.4 ohm, toaster-top pickups (these are about $80 each new, easy to install, and highly recommended. If you wan't to switch, don't bother with the other, stock, non "vintage" style 15 ohm toasters ...they are just as loud and basically identical to the hi-gains))

these guitars sound smashing, for everything. (I never understand why people thing some guitars "are for" some kinds of music. they'll sound like they do, and you'll like that sound for what you do or not.)

Can I be of help to undecided or unenlightented people who, like me untill recently, were not tipped off to the obvious, whout repeating everyone else..hmmm... Ok, I like the sound of Fenders mostly, but also I like to play Les Pauls for the sustain, where I can do little arpeggios and leave notes hanging and not have to strum away furiously like on a Fender to keep the sound going. But Les Paul pickups (humbuckers generally) lack clarity and the nice bell-tones of a good single coil..also I think the wood blend takes some high end away. Well, this Rick gives me everything the LP does but with clarity, more high and more low, and more shimmery harmonics, overtones, and resonance. It sounds like an INSTRUMENT, something a self-described "real" musician wouldn't snort at. Like a magic, Monet-painted guitar. It also rules on chords. You can play any power chord on it and it sounds like two guitars at once. It sounds great clean or distorted. However, it's picky about amps, I think mainly because it has a very distinctive midrange character. It sounds best through cleaner amps that don't mess with the midrange, i.e. not on amps that thicken up the sound to add body to thin guitars. It sounds better through a Showman (clean, 85 W Fender) than a Bassman (less clean, 45 W Fender). It sounds good through Class A, british-style amps (AC-15, AC-30, etc). It sounds good through Marshalls. just go play one already.

perfect finish, like a mirror. quality of bygone years. dual neck truss rods are very adjustable. Seems like there are a lot of metal peices, but it works.

these guitars look dinky but are not. The hardware is solid, heavily chormed, and looks indestructible. Odd, small strap pegs, though, so either punch your own holes in the strap, get lock-thingies, or stand still. Nice Shaller tuners. You won't complain about stringing that tailpeice once you've played it. Well, ok, you will.

I have no clue, but everything I've heard makes them out to be very helpful, like they'd invite you over and feed you too if you ever called.

I have way too much stuff, mostly fenders, a Les Paul, lots of different amps. This is the guitar sound I've been hearing in my head. It sounds focused but complex. It's literally awe-inspiring. I just sit and stare at it before I touch it, and when I do, I feel like it's taking me to school. It may not be the sound for you, but shouldn't you check to make sure? I did, and I'm happy to say I have been an idiot for a long time.

Same as the others reviewed here. It was made and purchased in '01. The bridge is a disappointment as it's not of the same high quality as the rest of the instrument, and I think it's a misnomer to call these
pickups "high gain" as they are no louder than the Duncan Pro Alnico 11's I have in my Tele. They sound nice and are very quiet, however.

This guitar is a wonderful rhythm instrument. Chords are well defined and there is alot of air and wood in it's voice, and the controls can take you from bright chime to dark chunk. Single notes are very musical, but are weak and don't penetrate.

The near flawless finish is called Desert Sand and is very similar to Shoreline Gold. The construction was very well done save for the nut which was cut narrower than the neck and left some adhesive exposed. The action when purchased was unexceptional, but became very low once I'd straightened the neck and lowered the bridge. The frets are small which facilitates playing funk, scratch rhythms but demands great hand coordination when playing single note lines.

I've owned the guitar too short a time to comment.

I have had no communications with them whatsoever.

This guitar reminds me of an american made 50's reissue Strat. It's a very good guitar but some of it's features are antiquated and I think that the guitar suffers due to this. Ric makes hum-cancelling single coils and I'd like to see them on this guitar along with some medium tall frets and a tune-a-matic brige. However, this is still a good, unique guitar and a very cool design.