Rickenbacker 360

2007 Rick 360 in Blueburst - serial no. indicates it was manufactured in the first week of April 2007, I bought it in June 2007. The Blueburst finish is the 2005 Color of the Year, which can no longer be ordered, but Rick is still making them while they work on their order backlog, and if you look hard enough it's still possible to pick them up from larger dealers in the US. It's a knockout, and it's a Rick.

Has that chimy Rick sound - you either dig it or you don't. I do and wouldn't part with it for the world.

There is more high-level craftsmanship in any Rickenbacker than you are likely to find in a container-load of guitars from other mainstream manufacturers. Every Rick is at a level of quality that some other makers call their Custom Shop work. On the 2007 run however, Rick seems to have widened the string spacing at the nut over an earlier model that I have compared it to. This difference is not huge - about 1 or 2 mm over a previous year's example of this guitar. The problem that results at least on mine and I know of a few others as well is that the Top E string can slip off the fretboard at the 2nd to 5th frets if you are not careful. This was discussed on a forum on the Rickenbacker site recently and funnily enough the Thread seems to have disappeared. The change appears to have been made in response to customer complaints about narrow string spacing on earlier models. Rics have always forced players to fret the neck carefully as their necks are generally quite narrow, so this change will please some players and annoy others who find their style of playing will push the Top E off the neck periodically. Apparently even George Harrison once found this to be part of the quirky charm of playing a Rickenbacker, so be aware. For me, it's a 10 in almost every respect, and a 5 for the new nut, so I'll saw my rating off at a 7.

It's a Ric - enough said.

Rics can only be repaired under warranty by sending them back to the factory in California. I personally find that a pain, as that is bound to be an expensive and lengthy proposition. The good news is you are unlikely to ever have a problem with a Ric, but as for customer service I've never dealt with them, and if I ever did have a problem I'd order whatever part was needed from their website and have the work done locally. So in that sense, their warranty doesn't mean much to me, but at least some common parts are available on their site.

Own too much other gear to list but including one other Ric - the Rics are what I dream about.

1991 mapleglo with black hardware & pickguard. Looks awesome. The Ric-o-sound is a cool item but one rarely used by most. I think Ric should include the box & cables with every stereo guitar. Otherwise it has good features that are well positioned. They've had a lot of years to perfect it.

If you are primarily a rhythm player (I am)this is your axe. The chime is what we all remember & gave Ric its reputation. I have to admit that I always bring a second guitar for my occasional lead work. Its just not gonna cut like a Strat or growl like a Gibson. Great mid to highs but a little thin on the bottom.I love the sound but it doesn't work for every tune (probably good for 80% of our stuff).

I have 3 Rics & this is why. My first, a 1965 Ric 450-12, I bought in 1966 & still gig with it. I have not seen consistent quality control over the years from anyone else. The fit & action are top notch & the finish will give the PRS dudes a run for the money. Only ever replaced six machine heads on the 450 to keep tune better & just did that 2 years ago.

Well see above. I had a drunk fall over on my 360 several years ago & feared the worse. Amazingly it was perfect except the G string was a little flat. It may look fragile but its a tough bugger. I only have backups for my lead work.

Only dealt with them once in 95. Took a bit but they handled it.

I would give this guitar a "10" if were just a little thicker on the bottom but maybe then we would lose the patented chime that we all love. This is the most attractive guitar in my whole 14 guitar collection. You WANT to hold it. I will always buy & love Ric's. I have the 450-12, a 1996 620 & this baby. Rock on!

Mine was an '80s model with a brown sunburst finish. Evidently the brown sunburst finish was discontinued in the late '80s or early '90s. I think it was an '86 based on the serial number.

two single coil pickups that looked like soapbars, rick-o-sound, 2V 2T and a frequency pot of some sort, and all the standard features. Grover tuners.

The tone was rich, but not fat. I could not find a pickup combination that I really liked that much, and I found it to be very bright overall. I guess I mean it had a broad spectrum of bright tones, or something...It could get pretty raunchy with distortion, which was kind of cool. Sustain was poor.

Action was low and comfortable (probably not factory action, though), fit was nice but there were some glue spots on the inlays. Finish was good and attractive, and the look is art-deco cool. There's really nothing quite like a Ric for looks and style.

I was not convinced that this guitar was all that durable. The hollow body and thin neck made me nervous. The guitar was well made, and all that, and was not flimsy at all. It did fine on stage, and the hardware and straplocks were fairly sturdy. The guitar was used, and the 'R' shaped string holder at the bottom of the guitar was starting to corrode a bit / lose it's chrome.

No idea.

This is a neat guitar, but not a 'one and only' for me. I only used it on stage for a few songs, because it had a limited range. No low end. Cool mids, but strong, strong highs. Maybe humbucker pickups would sound better?

Hand Made in America! I won't bore you with all the features, but let me say I've never owned a guitar like this before! The semi-hollow body with the classic Ricky sound is really refreshing! Coupled with the Vintage Toaster pickups, this guitar resonates and sustains so well. Ok...here is where I was suprised. The guitar out of the case was completely flawless. The maple-glow finish is totally custom shop quality. The frets were highly polished, intonation was right on and the flammed maple/walnut neck is so sweet! The rosewood finished fretboard and sharktooth markers are awesome looking and the feel is even better!

So...I've been a Gibson, Fender and PRS player (snob) for many years. After the purchase of this guitar (Rickenbacker 360/6) I felt ripped-off in the sense that..."Why did I wait so long to try a Rickenbacker?" Being from So. Cal and Rickenbacker only a few miles away, I can't figure out why I snubbed them for so long! Anyway, I'm glad I pulled the trigger and finally got one. The sound is full, rich, and lush very organic sounding. Rickenbacker just has that sound that no other guitar can get! My guitar has the upgrade with the Vintage Toaster pickups. Clarity is an understatement. The 5th tone and "blending" knob is where this guitar really stands out! Endless variations of tone and volume combinations. You've heard that you can't play lead guitar on a Ricky? That's not even true. For all you Les Paul fans...Try playing your leads on the neck PU and your rhythm on the neck PU. That's the secret. Just opposite so to speak of the Les Paul configuration. I have two amps. 1. I play a Carvin Belair 2x12 (El34's and 12AX7's) and 2. A Mesa Boogie Rectoverb 1x12 (6L6's and 12AX7's) single rectifier. Sound so sweet on both amps! Grant it...The Ricky is NOT your typical Heavy Metal Shredding guitar...this guitar is for mature audiences only! :-) Really, you need to try the Rickenbacker as it would be a great addition to your guitar collection!

Fit and Finish...again custom shop quality! Hand Made in America! Amazing to look at and even better to play. Top-notch guitar in my opinion.

The 360 is light and very durable I'm sure. It stays in tune! I'd have a back-up at any gig no matter what I play. My 360 will not be my number one guitar on stage. It will be used for those appropriate originals and covers that require the Rickenbacker sound. I can see me using it on a Blues set too! Time will tell.

Very friendly in Santa Ana, CA...I called asking them about their strap locks. They make their own but are milled and designed for the Schaller system! Good thinking! Still can't believe Gibson does not offer strap locks except those "Cheesy" aluminum stock ones they insist on using.

If you've ever been curious about a Rickenbacker, check one out! I bought mine at Wildwood Guitars and I'm glad I finally got a Rickenbacker. Been playing 27 years and can't figure out why I never tried a Ricky until now! Go for it, you'll be totally stoked you did!

Bought in '06, Jetglo with R tailpiece, 2 single coils, stereo outputs, 5th blend pot to adjust volume of neck pickup when both coils used together and to fine-tune the volume of the neck pickup when used by itself.

That might not sound like a lot of "features", but the design of this thing gives you tons of functionality. Think Florence Griffith Joyner, all muscle, no fat... A Whammy bar or a piezo (which you can get) would be, 90% of the time, useless, but just enough to push this guitar to a perfect 10. Right out of the box, it's got everything I could ever need.

For the money, you won't buy a better guitar, end of story! It's playability, quality of construction, and components all contribute to a huge tonal pallette that your fingers will be eager to explore. No, you won't get the chunk of a solid-body guitar with a PAF in the bridge, or the bright bite of a strat, but... you'd be amazed at how "right" the sounds you can coax from this guitar feel when applied to musical styles that you wouldn't have expected! You can play the hard stuff with this guitar if you're willing to sound different! The jazzy tones that this guitar can produce absolutely floored me and it's simply perfect for any kind of vocal accompaniment. Neck pickup lead lines are extremely robust... very full with immaculate clarity.

Flawless finish and the action is the best I've ever seen, right out of the box. I've played for 20 years and have owned/played a lot of guitars. Up until I put my hands on this guitar, my custom shop Fender and my Carvin were tied for best action... this guitar has forced them into retirement, no competition. The binding around the neck, the fret work, the finish, the intonation, everything was dead on.

If the late George Harrison could take the same guitar on the road for 30 years, I'm thinking it can more than stand up to stage/road abuse! If you only get in one car wreck in your lifetime, you're doing better than the national average... but you still pay insurance every month. I think having a backup on stage is just as smart, and usually just as unnecessary. This is a hollowbody, but it's not overly delicate.

Don't know yet. Reputation seems more than solid, though.

I've had my USA-made Kramer stunt guitars, Gibson hollow-bodies, Fender custom shop solid-bodies, boutique acoustics, you name it... A lot of which are truly and regrettably overpriced. Of that lot, I place my Carvin (custom made, as are all Carvin electrics) at the top of the list for handmade quality with an upscale import pricetag. I surprised my wife by counting up the number of instruments I've owned at one time or another, and out of the 30+, this guitar, which is the best built, most versatile, and best sounding of all of them, is by far the most enjoyable instrument I've ever owned. It is much needed relief from GAS (Guitar Acquisistion Syndrome), which plagues many, many musicians. I don't think I need to buy much else, except for maybe another Rickenbacker!

I bought this Rick in Feb of 2006...serial number indicates it was built in Jan 2006, 100% in the USA, as all Ricks are. Mine is a Jetglo 360 with white pickguard and trussrod cover...a beautiful guitar. When I first got it I simply opened the case and stared at it for minutes....since I was 13 I've dreamed of owning Ricks, a 6 string and a 12 string, and though I've played a couple in music stores over the years, now that I'm 26 this is the first one I've owned and I am ecstatic. It's the standard 360, maple body, 24 frets, rosewood laquered neck and fingerboard, 2 Rick pickups, two tone knobs, two volume knobs, the blend knob, three-way pickup selector. It has the 6 saddle bridge with cover/handrest, the classic "R" tailpiece and is just a GORGEOUS guitar. Schaller tuners which are the ONLY parts of the guitar not made by Rickenbacker themselves...even on their webpage they state how they tool and machine ALL of the metal for the guitars except for the tuners. Guitar came with the standard Rick plastic case (I am gonna buy the wood/tolex Rick vintage case when I have the money), came with keys, tools, polishing cloth, and a bunch of literature. A fantastic guitar. My one gripe is that the pickup selector switch feels a little flimsy, but everything else feels solid. I am surprised at how light the guitar is....I also have an Epiphone Dot 335 with Bigsby and this feels much lighter even though the factory specs for the two axes has the Epi being a pound LIGHTER....

I play music that's a cross between classic rock (Zeppelin/Cream/Who/Hendrix) and more melodic rock (Beatles, Blur, Mansun, Suede). I play through a LARGE pedalboard: MXR DynaComp>Ibanez TS-9>Vox Wah> Dunlop Tremelo>Ibanez AD-9>Dunlop Univibe>MXR Stereo Chorus>MXR Phase 90>MXR Flanger>MXR Auto-Q> into Vox amps. This guitar sounds wonderful, I can get that chiming Rick-only sound but also some more growly, warm tones. Fantastic.

This guitar, as per Rick's tagline, was indeed "ready to play straight out of the case!" I found it to be set up wonderfully, with perfect action. The guitar looks flawless, from the joints and frets to the famous Rick finish. Just GORGEOUS from top to bottom, front to back.

This guitar will withstand live playing, I'm sure. While Ricks have an (undeserved) reputation for being flimsy, for a guitar that is a light as it is, it feels surprisingly strudy. The hardware, except for the flimsy pickup selector, seems solid and the finish on these badboys lasts forever...I played a 30 yr old Mapleglo 12-string once and it was still gorgeous. I'd use this on a gig with no backup...this is my dream guitar (although I still love and play my Epi too!)

Never dealt with the company but haven't heard anything but good stuff about them.

I've been playing guitar for 16 years and FINALLY have my first Ric. I've always wanted a 6 string, 12 string, and bass from Rick and I'm 1/3 of the way there. I've also always wanted a high-end acoustic, and after contemplating Gibsons and Martins for years, I'm gonna go with Rick on those too. They're super-high quality and for the price, they smoke Gibson and Fender and all of the other big manufacturers, whose prices keep going up. Rick is also the ONLY US guitar maker that does it ALL (unless you're talking super-high end Gibson and Fender custom shop stuff, which will run you into the $2500+ range). Plus, EVERYONE and his brother has a Gibson or Fender. Rick's look different, sound different, and have always been my favorite axes. Aside from my awesome Epi, they're the only guitars I'll ever play from now on.

Well, here's a different opinion, if you can handle it. I really like the design of this guitar, i.e., this model, and I really tried to like it, but...
You know the features. I don't remember all the details offhand (because I didn't buy one), but, in addition to what I've seen since, the first one I really paid serious attention to was one I saw in a music store in Kent, OH, a-way back somewhere between 1973 and 1975. It was used then, so it was obviously older than that, and apparently one upon which it made its reputation.
The laquered rosewood (or rosewood-related) fingerboard surprised me, as it didn't seem practical, and may well not be as far as ease of play. Over and above that, as I recall, the high E string in the upper registers was nearly off the edge of the fingerboard. I can't see how this could happen just from use, as the neck is a fixed one (and your stuck with it that way). Add to this that the neck is 1-5/8 inch at the nut, rather common, but with Ric's it seems to be somewhat narrower still: there just doesn't seem to be enough room between the strings. Last time I checked, they didn't offer a model with 1-11/16 inch, and the next width up they offer is 1-7/8 inch--too wide for me, but...who knows what it really is?
As far as pickups go, the only ones that seem to make a Ric a Ric are the ones that give it "that sound"--the single coil, relatively weak ones--which is OK, I guess, but seems to limit its functionality to rhythm, primarily (think John Lennon).
The "R" is my favorite tailpiece; Ric tremolos like on the John Lennon model are a joke; the trapezoid tailpiece is way too unsophisticated looking; and the bridges are a bit strange.
Everybody seems to rave about their finishes, but I've just never been impressed. They look painted on to me, as if with a brush (not quite that bad, really). But I have yet to see a mirror finish on one, invariably noting streaks that follow the wood grain (you've got to look at it at an angle if you know what you're doing).
I like the idea of a semi-hollow design because my shoulder doesn't like too much weight (are you really worth the effort, Les Paul?), but the first time I picked up a John Lennon, 3/4 size model, I was surprised at how heavy it was. So much for any advantage there.

See above.

OK, so there is a certain mystique about this guitar and its sound, but, sheesh, for the prices they command, you'd like some playability and versatility. Don't get me wrong, I still want to like them (and so I'm up-rating it for its "vibe"), but back then I went with an ES335TD that I still own and I've never regretted it, if that tells you anything.

lefty fireglo made march 97 bought used in 02

thru blackfaced '70s fender twin (7581a's in the power section)via dunlop wah then echoplex (in mono mode). my tech rigged my twin for the ric-o-sound, bass into 1, treble into two, reverb and trem on both channels. i dont use effects with this set-up, but it's freakin heavenly.

beautiful, buttery, and did i mention beautiful?

friends who've held it are surprised at how solid it is. i guess 2 truss rods'll do that for ya. i gig with it always, don't worry too much about keeping it perfect. it's MY guitar dammit and every dent has a memory! did have the stereo jack replaced once.

n/a

favorite guitar of all. don't play the american strat at all anymore. this and my mexican tele'll get the trick done.... the tele is the backup.

This is a revision to my previous review (see immediately below). I was wrong about the string gauge, it ships with .010's. I asked Ric customer service how thick of a string gauge I could get away with putting on it without having to have the nut recut, and I got an immediate reply back that the manual that ships with the guitars had that misprint. They also emailed a link to a PDF of the manual with the correct specs.

The fact that I am used to .011's combined the shorter scale length must have solidified the illusion that I was playing .008's because the strings do feel skinny to me. But if they are 10's,most players will probably feel quite content with them.

sent them a question and got a reply back immediately, and my follow-up question was answered immediately. Very happy with this, they seem to walk the walk.

Ric features are well enough documented now, so I'll skip the obvious. A lot of people don't mention the infamous 5th knob anymore (George Harrison once remarked that as far as he could tell, it didn't do anything!), but it is actually very useful. Essentially, it's a fine tuning control for blending the front and rear pickups. Yes, it is a bit redundent since you already have a front pickup volume knob, anyway, but the 5th knob is more subtle and allows you to dial in some more tones. Try it, you'll like it!

Included Schaller tuners are great and reliable.

Weird thing, guitar ships with .008 strings! I've never seen a professional guitar ship with such skinny strings. I normally use 11's, and the .008's made the guitar feel very odd at first. The nut slots are so well fit to the 8's that you'll need to have the nut slots recut if you want to use thicker strings, there's really no leeway there. Kudos to Ric, I guess, for such tight precision tolerences in manufacturing, but it's a pain to have to resize the nut slots just to change to my preferred strings.

However, having said that, there is a playability issue involved with string gauge, read below.

Again, the Ric sound is legendary, so there should be no need to overdescribe it. I got frustrated with solidbodies years ago, the midrange always sounds too constricted to my ears. The Ric hollowbody yields a much richer, warmer, more dynamic sound. But it's not too deep (thickness-wise) like a Gibson or Gretsch hollowbody (also great sounding guitars), so it still has a bit of chunk to the sound, it's a big part of that Ric "Kerrrang" that you hear through the pickups when you strum.

Not sure what all the fuss is about "toaster vs. new pickups" - the new pickups sound great. They're bright, but not thin or shrill. I think it's a testament to how good they sound that the guitar sounds rich and fat even with the puny .008 strings!

The guitar sounds great for just about anything. Put it through a clean Vox or Fender and it has all the sparkle and chime you'd expect. Overdrive the amp and the guitar sounds fat and rich, not at all like a Strat or Tele with that tinkly Fender high end. Even with an overdriven amp, though, it retains definition and clarity that makes a Les Paul (a humbucker Les Paul, anyway) sound like mush in comparison (this is all from hands-on experience with AB'ing my various guitars and amps, not a rant - I think Fenders and Gibsons are great for what they are, but they're just not really my cup of tea).

The fit and finish straight out of the case put to shame anything else I've ever bought. Setup was perfect, intonation perfect, couldn't find any flaws anywhere. Finish definitely has that famed Rickenbacker mirror-like shine.

However, that thick lacquer finish on the neck and fretboard has got to go! I know that's been a "signature" of Rickenbacker from the early days, but one of the reasons Rickenbacker perhaps hasn't grown much as a company is that they don't seem to listen to what players want. The lacquer on the back is bad enough - it's thicker than Fenders and Gibsons - but the lacquer on the fretboard makes playing leads nearly impossible. Bending is particularly hard because your fingers get caught up - it only takes about 1 minute of playing before your fingers start to get that sticky feeling.

And that's too bad, because there's nothing inherent to the Ric design that makes playing leads on these guitars hard, contrary to popular belief. The neck's back profile is similar to a Fender C neck's, maybe a little thick for my tastes buy certainly not an impediment. It's just that darned lacquer!

I talked to a guitar shop pro who advised I do nothing about it for a year; the lacquer is still curing and some of it will seep into the wood. After the finish stabilizes I plan on having the neck and fretboard rubbed out to get a more satin finish-type feel.

The double truss rod probably necessitates the thicker C shape, but I can't see any real advantage to having 2 truss rods. Perhaps that works well on their 12 string models that have stronger string pull on the neck and perhaps it's just easier for them to tool their line so that all necks are made the same way, but for the 6 string models it would be nice to see a single truss rod with a softer 60's slim taper neck for easier grip and lead playing. I have single truss rods in my Fenders of similar scale length and I've never had a neck problem, not sure why Ric thinks it's necessary.

The frets are small even by older Fender standards. Again, with the skinny strings it doesn't feel so good, but I've owned guitars with tiny frets before and putting on heavier strings alleviates this problem. Actually, it feels great - for an experienced player who prefers heavier strings, the smaller frets actually feel great underneath the strings. Heavy strings w/ large frets feels like you're playing on railroad tracks! Shredders would probably disagree with me, but this obviously isn't a shredder's guitar. The kind of leads I'm talking about playing are standard blues-rock stuff (the kind of stuff that - ahem - Rickenbacker supposedly builds these guitars for, no?), not shred leads. Yngwie and Nu-Metal disciples obviously don't need to be considering this guitar, anyway!

Too bad again about the nut being cut only for .008's, but I have to say the craftsmanship is perfect. I don't think I've ever seen a nut cut this well for an off-the-shelf new guitar.

And if I put heavier strings on it now, with the fretboard gloss still so sticky, it would probably be a huge nightmare, so I'll just deal with it for now.

The bridge saddles are a little scary looking. There's no smoothing or polishing, so they literally look like they were just cut from the metal yesterday. Very crude looking. Again - Ric - why are you hellbent on making everything look and play like it did 40 years ago? I'm all for vintage vibe, but I think it's ok to make little updates along the way, particulraly for little details like this. I don't know that this would have any effect on string life provided the actual string grooves are cut properly and they still put that cover on top, anyway (it's removable if you like), so maybe they just assume no one's looking!

The cover's an interesting idea, though, because it prevents your hand oils and moisture (and resultant rust) from forming on the strings right at their weak spot where they break over the saddles. Perhaps this may increase string life and reliability, too early to say. The cover stays low enough over the strings that you can still use your normal amount of palm muting and pressure, at least it didn't seem to affect my technique any.

Everything else is solid as well - electronics, switches, pots, etc. Everything feels top notch.

It's a hollowbody, but it feels very sturdy. There's no way it could be as sturdy as a solidbody, but unless your name is Pete Townsend it shouldn't be an issue. It doesn't feel prissy or rickety, feels very solid. I'd prefer to take care of mine and not subject it to too much abuse, anyway - this is not a guitar to make your Van Halen Frankenstein or SRV Number One abuse therapy, use your Strats for that. But, with normal care it should be fine for all playing situations from honky tonk bars to stadium shows.

Never dealt with them, so I can't comment. I do admire their tenacity to maintain their build quality - lots of Fenders and Gibsons leave their factories without the kind of quality control you're entitled to expect from such companies - even if it means staying smaller as a company. And I do think that philosophy probably indicates that they care about their products' reliability and reputation. I just wish they wouldn't be so bullheaded about the little stuff that could make their guitars more popular and appealing to a wider market.

Been playing for 20 years, left the business long ago and I just play at home for fun now. Always wanted a Ric and finally got the one I wanted. FYI I bought a 330 new about 10 years ago and, although the build quality was also exceptional, it just didn't have that Ric sound. It sounded very dark and muddy (yes, I checked the tone knobs!). I ended up sending it back. Strange, considering the build is nearly identical to the 360's and the pickups have supposedy been the same for many years now. Maybe I just got a lemon, who knows. Something to consider for the rest of you.

I do know that this 360 sounds exactly like I hoped it would. I'm baffled, actually, that people play Strats and Gibsons of questionable quality when for the same price they can be playing Rics that sound so much richer and more dynamic. It takes all kinds, I know, and I love the SRV Tube Screamer through a Fender sound as much as anyone, but if you've ever heard a Ric through a nice amp you'd wonder if you even needed the Tube Screamer and all the other baggage to get that richer tone.

If Ric would only make a guitar with a friendler neck, maybe players would recognize this!!!