Rickenbacker 360 V64

1997 360-V64 FG stock setup w/ toaster style pickups and Rick hardshell case. Stock tailpiece and FireGlow finish.

Great jangly tone w/ blended tone from both pickups. Neck pickup alone tends to be on the bassy in a bluesy way. Treble pickup somewhat thin sounding alone. Output not as hot as P90 single coils, but can be coaxed into a smooth overdrive with the right amp.

Very hard to intonate even with professional setup. Neck also tends to bow easily, despite twin truss rods. Overall very frustrating to play accuratelty in tune. This is why I eventually sold it.

Other than the wobbly neck joint, the guitar seamed solidly built. Since it's tone are somewhat limited I wouldn't play w/o a backup unless I was in a Beatles cover band.

n/a never called them

A definate boutique guitar for those looking for a specific sound. Great at what it does, but limited in it's tonal palate. I have been playing for 30+ years and play PRS electrics and Taylor and Goodall acoutics.

Sounds good when the neck is adjusted.

The neck moves more on this guitar than anything that I have ever owned. It has a really bad back-bow that I can't adjust out with the two truss rods. I put on a guage heavier string and it pulled the neck into position but now the strings are super heavy making them had to fret.

I wouldn't use this guitar without a backup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Worst Customer Support in the business!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are rude when you talk to them on the phone. Won't return emails. Tried to say the guitar was not under warrenty. They are terrible. Becasue of Customer Support alone I will never buy anogher Ric the rest of my life!

Don't waste you time on a guitar that will irritate you the way this one will.

97 Rickenbacker 360 V64 JG
Bought it used on eBay. Having owned several Rick 330 models, I expected the 360 V64 to be more or less the same. Not even close! Despite the similar looks (main differences are the "toaster" pickups, body and neck binding, trapeze tailpiece, neck inlays, smaller headstock and vintage tuners), this model is far superior to the regular 330 in almost every way. This guitar looks great, sounds great, and feels very comfortable. I had it set up professionally after purchase and the luthier commented on the excellent acoustic sound of this guitar -- that's unplugged! Plugged in it blows most other guitars I've ever played away. The vintage "toaster" pickups are very versatile, the 360 V64 sounds good in the whole range from clean and mellow to crunchy overdrive. The output signal is strong with hardly any noise. The real stereo outputs are a great feature -- no need for the expensive Rick-o-sound gadget. This guitar can drive two amps independently, which is particularly nice for recording. The 5th knob pickup blend is also very useful. The action and workmanship of this guitar are exceptional! Only the vintage style tuning pegs are a something of a weakness. I much prefer the Schallers on all the other new models. Nevertheless, the guitar always stays in tune and can take "a good beating." The construction is very solid and the weight and feel is just right.

As mentioned before, this is a very versatile sounding guitar, however, definitely more of a rhythm than a lead guitar. The neck pickup produces very bassy, mellow sounds (good for jazz and blues, fuzz distortion), the bridge pickup is very bright and almost tinny (in a good way...). This guitar is at its best when the pickup switch is in the central position and one can get a very well balanced blend of the two pickups. The volume knobs and tone knobs are very sensitive and really allow for an exact tailoring of the sound. No need to mess around with amp controls or EQs etc. I use this guitar a lot for recording where its subtle tonal qualities are most noticeable.

When I bought the guitar, the previous owner had kind of neglected it, so it required a professional setup. However, now it is definitely the best Rickenbacker I've ever played: low action, no string buzz, straight neck, perfect intonation. Very high quality for the price!

All Rickenbackers I've ever owned have proven themselves to be extremely reliable and durable, this one is no different. I wouldn't exactly subject it to the same treatment as Pete Townshend did, but accidents do happen and Rickenbackers are solid instruments that can take the abuse.

Customer support is terrible. They don't answer e-mails, put customers on infinte hold on the phone. I sent in a warranty registration card for another Rickenbacker guitar I bought a while back, which they claimed was never received. I ordered a catalog from them 6 months ago and I'm still waiting for it. Customer support needs to improve dramatically if the company wants to survive in a very competetive market!

This is one great guitar! I've had it for about a year now and would never consider to sell it (unless faced with starvation perhaps). Other guitars may come and go, but I'm definitely holding on to this one! Besides the great sound and feel, this is one of the coolest looking guitars ever made.

Blah Blah blah, 6 string, made in 1997, 2 single coil "toaster" pickups, pointy cutaways with binding on both sides, Mapleglo finish, silver case. Beautiful geeeeeetar.

Clean and twangy when necessary, gritty and nasty when driven hard. As noisy as you might expect. Blend knob is actually a great feature, I leave pickup selector in the middle and ONLY use that little knob to adjust my sound. Bridge pickup only is a little to bright, neck pickup onkly is a little too mellow for my needs. I'm giving it a 9 because in the middle position it sounds perfect to me

I don't see how anyone can complain that this guitar is overpriced, Beautiful finish, fantastic quality components, made in the US. The action in as low as I've ever seen. The "vintage" style machine heads on mine keep tune perfectly, although others have not been as lucky

Don't do a "Pete Townsend" to it and it'll last forever. My 66 Rick's neck joint is as tight as this one. Back-up? Sure, strings break.

Hot and cold, either they bend over backwards to help you OR they bend over backwards to piss you off. I've had both experiences.

I love this guitar.

I purchased this guitar a year ago to get that great 'jangle' they are renowned for and because I have a soft spot for all things vintage; and this certainly has that vibe. The guitar is relatively light weight and comfortable to play both seated and standing. The neck is very slim and remains so from bottom to top. The neck dimensions have presented a problem for my long fingers which are quite cramped during chording. The tuners are flat out awful; much too small and lacking in gear ratio. Frets are the short and narrow vintage type, which is fine for rhythm playing, but with leads, and all that laquer on the fingerboard, makes for some lousy bending! I chose the model in Jet-glo black, which was nicely done and looks sharp with the white binding on front and back. Pickups are the 'toaster' type and the blending control knob is a good idea. There is, what I'll crudely call a "metal bar", over the bridge, which gets in the way of any proper palm muting. I am planning on trying to remove this if possible.

Sound is nice and airy. Not as much high end as I anticipated, but capable of delivering the jangle with help from my Vox AC30. While I've never been a fan of high output pickups, instead favoring vintage Fender single coils, the pickups are surprisingly weak, more so than any others I've used. Even set as close to the strings as allowed by the adjustment screws, I find it necessary to adjust the gain settings on my amp to get good levels when switching from my stock Fender Tele.
The neck pickup has a nice round tone that wouldn't be out of place in a jazz tune. As an aside, acoustically this is the worst sounding guitar I have ever heard, thankfully things improve when plugged in!

Action was set low and played evenly from the nut to the upper registers. I bought this guitar brand new from a dealer with a climate controlled room. Despite this, the intonation was way off. Apparently this one missed that part of the setup the accompanying brochure claims all guitars get before leaving the Rick factory.

Seems reasonably well built. I have played this guitar live, albeit less than my others, due to not wanting to fuss with level adjustments between songs.

No interaction yet with the company.

Honestly, this is not a lot of guitar for the money. If I paid $600 rather than $1600, I would be more generous with the rating, but really, why the high price? Great wood? Not really. Great workmanship evident? I don't see or feel it.
What you are paying for is the name,look and some vintage sounding jangle, the latter of which it delivers, with the Vox amp being a significant part of the equation.

I luv the neck on my Fireglo 360 semi-solid Rick, long and lean, perfect for smaller fingers to rap around, when I need to play those highend leads. I really like the blend volume between the bridge and neck pickups when the switch is in the middle position. I don't like the position of the pickups switch, it's gets in my way as does the pickguard. I moved my switch and removed the pickguard and the tone controls and now I like it much better. I don't like the tuners at all, they suck. The factory case I think is heavy, and I don't like that it's square. The finish on the guitar is just awesome. I think it's the best looking guitar made. I luv the white binding that outlines the body. The rear string mount sucks too, So I bought a used one at a guitar show and replaced it. It looks good now. I like resting my palm behind the bridge on the strings lightly. I really like the pickups, they rock.

I think if you got a good neck, good pickups, good wireless system, good stomp box and high power with a 12' speakers with a huge magnets, it's hard to sound bad. So I use a Audio-Technica DR-400 wireless system, into a BOSS GT3 box, into a Peavey 400 Mark III amp.(300 watts), into a Marshall JCM 900 cabinet (4-12's). This thing will hurt you, and man does it rock. I've tryed other guitars, but my Rick, sounds the best on it, hands down.

When I got my Rick, the strings sucked, and so did the setup. I use DR "HI-BEAM" Electric strings, 9-42, Nickel Plated Hex Core, they sound great and last long! The neck and the sound and the look of the guitar is why I bought it, but mostly the neck. The easiest playing neck I've ever played,...still. It's a 11, on a 1 to 10 scale.

I use this guitar mostly, every week to play in front of people for 4 years straight with no problems. Would buy another one. Don't need a backup, I got one, but I don't need one. The finish does glow. WOW!

I've been playing for 37 years. I've tryed "alot" of guitars, maybe 1000's. I have yet to find one I luv, like this one. It's an 11

This is the Fireglo 6 string, made in the only country a Rickenbacker is ever made, the USA. It is more of a maroon burst as compared to the cherry burst of my 4001, but just as lovely. Body and neck are maple, with a gorgeous matchbooked figure, especially on the collosal back. Crushed, jam-like pearl inlays adorn the rosewood fretboard. Sweet, sweet chrome pick-ups that really look like their "toaster" namesake with dedicated volume and tone knobs for each, and a neat little blend knob, which I think acts as an auxiliary pick-up selector. Trapeze bridge, 21 frets, ancient schaller reissue tuners and little axe head looking saddles that really add to that vintage look. I really like this model because it has the sharp cutaway horns instead of the newer 360 with round horns, and also that double body binding just, well, rocks! And the silver tolex case with the royal blue, poodle crushed velvet lining makes the package all the more tasty.

I too, am using a Peavey Bandit 112 amp and the guitar is clear and melodic and very "vintage" sounding. If you closed your eyes and played an open chord, it almost sounds like a cheap old japanese hollowbody, but of course plugged in sounds like a million bucks. It does have that 60's "jangle", but it isn't as obvious as say the twang is to a Telecaster, in my opinion. It's very sweet, though, and although it's got a bad rep for a lead player, I love playing lead on it, all over the board. Some dead spots, but decent sustain. It is so clear, great for jazz leads and chording. The pick-ups were not as bright as I was expecting; I recorded direct and had to apply a bit of high EQ. But I'm definitly not complaining. They are beautiful, beautiful sounding pick-ups and compliment the guitar perfectly.

Fit and finish: exceptional quality. This guitar is an early nineties re-issue and looks beyond mint. Even my 75' Ric 4001 looks nearly new thanks to that magical finish. The binding is precise; not sloppy like some Les Pauls and even custom Tele's I've seen, but it is cracked in a few spots...the edge of the 18th and 19th frets is cracked and the binding underneath the heel is sunken. Still quite nice and adds a little aged character. Maybe the only real complaint is the tuning. It's very unstable, especially when I first pick it up. I have to tune it three or four times, then it usually maintains. I suppose since it is an authentic vintage re-issue, I should expect to take the good with the bad...but I think they could have improved the quality of the tuners without sacrificing the authenticity. Oh, and the action is a bit high without having any fret buzz.

The strap buttons seem like the only real weakness and because of the tuning, I take a back-up for live shows. Based on the the Rickenbacker reputation and the older examples I've seen, I think this guitar will certainly last if properly taken care of. The finish may wear in high traffic areas (back of neck, back of body), but will most likely look new in thirty years.

I've never dealt with Rickenbacker, but have heard mixed reviews.

I don't think that I've found the perfect guitar, but this fine instrument comes extremely close seeing as I love the Who and Tom Petty, and would like to think my style is similar to those two greats. And for the money, it's an amazing deal and would recommend one to anyone and probally buy another if stolen. I was totally blasphemous and traded the holy pinnacle of all contemporary guitars, a Paul Reed Smith, for this Ric and have not had any regrets whatsoever. The PRS may be a more reliable player, but if you want to sound apart from every note of every song being recorded today, you could consider a Rickenbacker as a very melodic and worthy alternative.

I own a Rickenbacker 360v64 6 string in fireglow. I purchased it used in 1995. (I believe that it is a 1991 model) Rickenbacker guitars are made in the U.S.A. It is a lefty model and was in absolute mint condition. I got the call to come down to Alto Music, because one of the bosses there knew I was in the market for a nice lefty guitar. When I got there and opened the case, I instantly fell in love with this guitar. The 360v64 is a semi-acoustic guitar with 2 Rickenbacker vintage (toaster) single coil pickups. It has 21 frets, 24 3/4 scale length, 1 5/8 neck width at nut, 1 15/16 neck width a 12th fret, 12" neck radius, Maple body, Maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, 8 pound weight, is 39 3/4 inches long, 15 inches wide, and has a depth of 1 1/2 inches. Inlays are triangular. There is dual binding on the body and neck binding too. Pickguard is white and is a 2 level pickguard. The tailpiece is a trapeze style. The neck is set-in. Machine heads are shaller vintage and the output is parallel mono. Pickup selectors include dual tone and volume, 3 way selector, and a fifth knob for blending the 2 pickups when in the middle pickup selector position. The guitar comes with a Ric cloth and vintage Ric case.

Quite frankly, there is nothing like the sound of a Rickenbacker. That does not mean that it is for everybody, so trying one out first would be a good idea. I love the sound of a Ric. Yes, it aces that 60's jangle in the clean tones, but it is surprisingly nasty with distortion. Not like a Fender, not like a Gibson. Rics have a nice bite with distortion and give you a tone that you are not likely to get out of a Gibson or Fender. Rickenbackers are wonderful compliments to Fenders or Gibsons if you are playing in a 2 guitar band. I have used it with a Fender Princeton 112, Peavey Express 112, and Peavey Bandit 112 with a Digitech RP-7. The Ric sounds great through the Peavey amps. I can get a wide variety of tones and don't hesitate to use my Ric for any type of music. The single coils are very quiet. The semi-acoustic Ric can feedback quite easily, but I had a guitar tech isolate the pickups a bit and the guitar has been wonderfully mannered since and a joy to play.

Since I got this guitar used, I had a setup done. The pickups were adjusted and isolated a bit. Since then, this guitar has been one of my favorites. It is a beautiful looking guitar. No major flaws at all. The finish (fireglow) is stunning looking with a wonderful marble look beneath the reddish color on the dual cutaways.

No problems with this guitar. I would gig with it without a backup. The finish looks beautiful, though I wouldn't imagine that this guitar would take a lot of physical punishment. Certainly nothing like Pete Townshend put his Rics through in the 60's with The Who.

No major dealings with Rickenbacker. I did order 2 other Rics and waited 3 months each time, even though I was told that the wait would be 6-12 months.

I have been playing about 4 years. I currently have a Rickenbacker 350v63, Rickenbacker 360/12, Gibson SG Standard, Gibson Les Paul Custom, Gibson Les Paul Standard, Fender Am.St.Tele, and Fender Am.St.Strat. My Rickenbacker 360v64 is a big favorite. My other guitars share time in the number 1 slot, but my Ric 360v64 hits that number one slot a lot. The neck is the thinnest feeling of all of my guitars. At first (when I was still in the early stages of learning the guitar) I thought the neck was too thin and uncomfortable, but as I got better at playing the guitar, I found that I loved the neck on this guitar. If this guitar were stolen or lost, I wouldn't hesitate to order a new one. You can get good vintage Byrds, Hollies, or Tom Petty sounds with the clean tones and then get nasty Who or just about any other hard rock type tones with distortion. This guitar is a keeper and one that I am proud to own. Looks great and plays great too.