Rickenbacker 360

2004 fireglow Rickenbacker 360 with all the standard trimmings: semi-hollow maple body with binding, three piece duel truss rod laminated through neck construction, rose wood finger board with binding and trianglular position markers, two octave neck (24 frets), tiered adjustable pick guard, two high output single coil passive pick-ups, three way pickup selector, mono and stereo outputs, schaller non-locking machine heads, finished off with two volume and tone knobs with a blend adjustment.

Mostly use this guitar for blues/rock and will dabble in other kinds of music (jazz, surf, funk) with it as well. I use a Peavey Bandit 112 Transtube generally with a Dunlop Cry Baby wah and either a Boss Blues Driver or Boss Hyper Metal, depending on the type of gain or distortion I am looking for. I personally like to play with alot of reverb and the 360 pulls it off bueatifully because of its semi-hollow design.

Overall this guitar's tonal capacities literally rock my world. The 360 can go from a whining treble to a bass punch without doing any serious amp adjustments. With a small tone pot adjustment the entire voice of the guitar will change. The bridge and neck pickups, unlike on many single coil guitars, do not sound nasaly or hum loudly when played by themselves and produce a very clear tone, even with a decent amount of gain.

The actual tone of the guitar is very noteable. Lacking any type of Fender-esque sparkle/emphasis on treble or Gibson style mellow sound on bass, the Rickenbacker projects an extremely potent Alto range. This happy median helps this semi-hollow produce excellent tones that focus on a gripping mid-range and producing one of the most decently accoustic sounds I have heard from an electric without a piezo system. When playing with gain, the tone does not become murky or muddy and stays crisp, which is a big plus.

My only gripe is that when the gain is high enough, the guitar will squeal very loudly and/or will produce alot of feedback. This isn't too much of a problem for me, because I don't play with that much gain in the first place.

The entire set up of the pickups, string tension, neck, etc. is excellent.

My only gripes are the heavy lamination on the finger board, the R tail piece, and the lack of a vibrato. I would be happier if 360 had through body string mounts or if the R tailpiece had individual wells for the strings (like that on the stop bar of the Gibson Tune-o-Matic) instead of slots with catches for the ends of the strings, this is just a personal preference. A G&L style vibrato would have been nice on this instrument (to help bring out some melodic phrasing), but again this is also personal preference from playing a G&L Legacy for years.

Other than the above grievences the instrument is spick and span with a gorgeous finish and excellent wood work with exceptional binding, especially on the neck and the inside of the "f-hole".

I would not really want to gig with this guitar, in fear of ruining it, however if I did gig with it I would bring a back up, for common sense reasons. For a hollow-body this guitar is built pretty much like a tank, it is rather heavy and thick for a hollow-body/arch-top with a ton of laminent, which will help protect the wood and finish .

The laminatent on mine is starting to crack a bit around the 9th fret, however it isn't very serious nor seems as if it will ever really become too serious. I really do not know much about the 360's durability since I pretty much baby the instrument. Tuning is a problem sometimes (as is with all guitars), but it has never been an issue.

Never dealt with them; however the warranty lacks.

I have been playing guitar for about 8 years on and off and this by far one of the best sounding electrics I have hear owned or played. I Also own a MIM Fender Stratocaster, Tacoma PM 15, a Martin Sigma, and a G&L CLF Custom Legacy, and this guitar has taken preference over all of them as of now.

Before buying this instrument I was looking at SG Standards, Les Pauls, Fender Big Apple Stratocasters, G&L ASATs, various Gretsch hollow bodies, and at Guild Bluesbirds, but none of them blew me away quite like the 360 did. Although it was a bit pricey new, its "quality for the money" factor was higher than that of any other brand I looked at, and that is what finalised my decission to purchase it. All of the other companies were too much of the same once revolutionary, boring overpriced features, tones, and designs. The Rick 360 build really had not changed much since its conception and it looked better, it was built better, and it sounded completely different (in a good way) than anything I had ever played. Shows The workman ship, tone, and quality on the this "deluxe" model guitar is enough to justify the cost of this intrument.

My Ric 360/6 is a '99 in Jetglo. I bought it a little over a year ago (used on eBay). I expected it to be a neat alternative to my Gibson SG '61 Reissue, which has been my baby for quite a few years now. I'm sure you know enough about the Ric's features by now. The 5-th knob, the dual truss rods, the stereo jacks...it really is a well thought out guitar.

Something that i'm not sure anyone has mentioned is the fact that the knobs are placed opposite what most guitars have. Assuming you're looking down on the guitar as if you're playing it...The Volume knobs are placed on the bottom, and the Tone knobs are placed on the top...as opposed to volume on the left and tone on the right, like a Gibson, which is what i'm used to. It played tricks on me at first, but now my SG feels odd when I pick that up. Stupid, I know, but musicians are picky, I figured i'd make mention of it.

Like most people say, it's true...these guitars are way more solid than they appear to be at first. It's almost all hollow, so it's not gonna feel like a slab of wood. But I definitely don't feel like I have to baby the thing, and it doesn't get played any less aggressive than my SG does.

Good points i'd like to make about the guitar:

It's made very well. The attention to detail is great, and I think they're the best bargains out there. These go for about $1000, and I don't think it's any less of an instrument than my SG, which was a $2000 guitar when I bought it. In some ways, the build quality is actually better than the SG.

It has it's own feel, it's own sound, and it's own vibe...a Rickenbacker is a Rickenbacker, and there's no other company that's making guitars that sound feel, and play like this. It does a lot of sounds very well. The action is smooth as silk when it's set up nice. The whole body resonates with a nice warm, woody, full bodied, clear, sustaining tone. It's very full, very articulate, and very clear, even when overdriven pretty heavily.

So so points about it:

First off, the thing is a pain to set up. The R-tail piece is held on by the string tension alone, and it makes for a real hard time if you ever take all the strings off at once when restringing or to clean it. Also, the bridge isn't fixed to the body. It's just kind of sitting on top of a metal plate that's bolted into the body. The string tension alone holds it in place and keeps it from vibrating. The metal plate it rests on does have small divideds punched out so the bridge doesn't slide around. But when changing strings, it's not too hard to bump it and put the intonation out a bit. Also, the pickups aren't potted from the factory, which they really should be. I probably use this guitar with a lot more volume and gain than most people, but I had a feedback problem big time until I potted the pickups. It's fixed now, but I would've been out of luck if I didn't have a little guitar know-how. Just keep in mind, it is a hollowbody with unpotted single coils...

All in all, I think it's a great guitar, and I have no regrets about buying it. My SG has taken a backseat to the Rick...something I never thought would happen. But I believe that most reviews are way too gleaming. Nothing is perfect, and I do my best to lay down an honest opinion about an instrument. The Rick is a fantastic guitar, no doubt about it. Just be aware of some of the quirks when deciding if it's right for you or not.

A Gibson sounds like a Gibson, a Fender sounds like a Fender...and this guitar, it sounds like a Rickenbacker. It has it's own tone, and this is the only place to get that tone. I use this guitar through the following amps: Vox AC-30, Vox AC-50 head, Orange OR-120, Orange GRO100, Mesa Boogie D-180, Marshall Superlead, Marsall JCM800...all with great results.

The guitar came stocked with the "High gain" single coils. The bridge position I found to be great. A little bright with some amps, like the AC-30, but it has a nice bite to it without being overly harsh or twangy. As mentioned above, I did have a bit of a feedback problem with it. The high gain in the bridge gave me a good deal of squealing when overdriven at high volumes. I potted that with wax and never had another issue with it.

The high gain neck pickup was way too bass heavy for my tastes. It sounded good clean, but when overdriven it had so much bottom end, i'd find my amps motorboating with the bass on zero. Way too much for my tastes. I decided to try a vintage style Ric toaster pickup in the neck positon. That pickup sounds MUCH better. It has a balnced amount of low end and more clarity all around. But that one had BIG feedback problems though. It was way more microphonic then even the high gain in the bridge was. So I potted the toaster, and it didn't help much. I actually wound up picking the wax off and wrapping a rubber band around the pole pieces, which killed the feedback. I then repotted it to seal everything, and the guitar sounds fantastic now. No more squealing.

For clean stuff and semi overdriven tones you probably won't have any feedback problems. Don't forget i'm playing this pretty distorted through a 100W Orange head into a 4x12, standing 10 feet away. There's gonna be feedback. But the potting managed to tame it, and it's not even an issue now.


At any rate...This guitar will do a lot of things, and do them well. I'd say it wll excell at anything but metal. It's got a real neat texture to it. You can't call it twangy, you can't call it gritty...it's just got texture, no matter what pickup position you're playing it on. It sounds very clear and very full no matter how you're playing it. It holds clarity when distorted, and the string articulation is great. My SG sounds like a muddy mess in comparison, and that is a great sounding guitar. Well, maybe not a muddy mess. But it's definitely less clear than the Rick.

It'll do that classic Rickenbacker chime through just about any amp. It'll chime through the Orange, and through the JCM800. You'll get beautiful cleans out of amps that you never thought would sound good clean. It'll do thick, woody sounding, textured overdrive through just about any amp too. I love the toaster pickup in the neck position. It sounds awesome distorted, and clean, it's got a great clear, full bodied clean tone with plenty of girth to it and plenty of clarity without being too bright. Nice and woody, warm, and clear.

All in all, you can't argue with the sound of this guitar. It sounds fantastic through just about any amp i've played it through. I will say that it doesn't seem to pair well with the Mesa D-180. But my SG only sounds good through that amp on the bridge pickup, so i'd say it's a finicky head. I've even played the Ric through a Dual rectifier with good results...so it can sound good with amps that have inordinate amounts of pre-amp gain.

The Rick is a headturner, both in looks and in tone...and for good reason. If you haven't heard one yet, you owe it to yourself. One neat thing to try is to cover up the sound hole with your arm while you're playing, then uncover it...you really can hear the difference. It makes you realize how much the sound resonates from the inside of the guitar out...

overall...great sounding guitar. I wouldn't change a thing about the tone now that i've fixed the noise issues and the overly bass heavy neck pickup. But in stock form, the sound quality gets some lower nu

If you're strictly a lead player, i'd say there are better guitars out there for you. The laquer on the finger board maked bends a bit difficult, and the string tension is a bit higher on this than most guitars. I use 10's, and the action is set nice and low. My SG has less string tension, and is more playable when it comes to leads. The Rick however, excells in anythng but ripping solos.

When you pick one up for the first time, you'll know right away if it's the guitar for you. It's got a very different feel that will definitely grow on you in time. But either you're intrigued by it, or you don't want to have anything to do with it ever again.

Like I said above, it's a pain to setup...I'm not even going to get into the dual truss rod thing here. If you ever have to adjust them, just take your time and make the adjustments in SMALL increments. It will take a day or so for the adjustments to manifest themselves fully on the neck, so be careful.

Anyways...The action is low and buttery smooth, but again, the string tension is a bit high for lead playing. For anything else the guitar is well balanced, easily playable, and feels great. The playing position is nice, and the only thing that took a little getting used to was the fact that the neck it a bit far off the top of the body compared to some guitars. By that, I mean that the strings are farther away from the body than I was used to, because of how the neck is set into the body. You rest your hand on the body, and don't think much abuot it...but it was a little odd for me at first. After a day or 2 though, it was second mature.

The finish is fantastic...everyone else has pretty much summed it up. It's like a black mirrior. I put some belt buckle wear on mine pretty early on, but the rest of the guitar has held up really well. Again, it's a lot tougher than it looks. The wood is definitely more resistant to knicks and bruises than my mahogany SG is.

All in all, it takes a little getting used to, only because it's so different from any other guitar. But it feels great after you get by the transitional period. And every time you pick it up, it feels natural, no matter what guitar you just had in your hands.

Other than the microphonic pickups I haven't had a problem. Again, tougher than it looks, and made just as well, if not better than most guitars costing twice or even 3 times as much. Great instrument. The hype is true, and it exists for a reason...Ric is a standup company with some great products...I think this instrument is very high quality, expecially for the price.

Never had to deal with them, I bought it used.

If it were lost or stolen, i'd buy another one immediately. But i'd be pretty upset, as i'm very attached to this one already, only after a year. It's a very personal instrument, and one that really grows on you over time. It's not for everyone, and like every guitar, it has its strengths and it's weaknesses. I happen to be one of the people who accepts it for what it is, and it suits my playing syle and my music very well. I didn't get into any of that, but feel free to drop me an email if you need any additional opinions or info about it, i'm always happy to talk shop.

They're hard to find in certain areas, and the dealers usually have a long waiting period...but if you're thinking about a Ric...find one to play, and you'll definitely know weather or not it's for you. Don't nitpick about the quirks, they'll work themselves out. It's a very different instrument, and one that may feel a bit different at first. Give it a chance, if it's up your alley, it may just be the one guitar you never get rid of.


I give it a 7 because it took a little work to get it sounding right where I wanted it to. You should be reading the low numbers first anyways...those are usually the honest reviews. ;)

Rickenbacker Fireglow 360 made in April,2004. Hollowbody, 2 single coils, varnished rosewood fretboard (fretboard shines like fine antique furniture), 3 way selector, 2 volume, 2 tone, 1 pickup blend knobs. Beautiful red over blond burst type finish, white binding, set neck.

Using it with a Crate VC 6210 tube amp and Fender Super Sixty tube amps. The sound is stunning to my ears, deep and almost 3 dimensional and echoey, compared to my other guitars. The two pickups are markedly different in sound, which gives a wide variety of sounds.
The Ric-o-sound jack lets you route each pickup to a different amp. The standard jack operates like a standard guitar jack.

Set up was perfect. All the strings were tuned flat, just needed tightening to pitch. No flaws. Case had some kind of dandruff. I called Rickenbacker and they said they didn't know what it was, maybe glue from glueing the felt to the case. Vacumed it out a few times, mostly gone now. The most beautiful guitar I have ever held. Had that Ric-o-smell (vanilla carpet fresh smell). Some people say it's the polishing cloth. At 8 pounds the guitar feels light and perfectly balanced.

Although AMS usually gives you 45 days to check out your new guitar, with Rickenbacker guitars you only get 5 days to return it if you don't like it. I spent the last few days giving it a pretty thorough workout, and I found no problems. I sent in my Rickenbacker warranty card today.

I called Rickenbacker asking about the ric-o-smell and case dandruff. They were polite but didn't know. There's alot of ric-o-smell posts on alt.guitar.rickenbacker. Apparently it's no problem. I just wanted to be sure my guitar was OK. No one has posted on the case dandruff, but that is minor. Rickenbacker gives you a 5 year factory repair warranty from date of manufacture (card must be mailed within 10 days of purchase).

I've been playing about 30 years. My other guitars are by Vaccaro, Steinberger, Jackson, Ibanez, Yamaha, Martin and Takamine. I've grown to like the single coil sound and wanted a hollowbody. I was worried about the other reviews that say this guitar is hard to solo on because of the narrow finger board. I have large hands (size 11 gloves). I found that if I bend a string with my ring finger and let my index finger overlap the string I am bending by a quarter inch, and travel with the string, my index finger pushes the string below the one I am bending out of the way. I'm no great solo player, but after a half hour of experimenting, I could do everything on this Rickenbacker I could do on my other guitars. I was seriously worried about the price of this guitar, but $200/month for 5 months pays it off, so I took the plunge. It's the in a whole other class from anything else I have. I probably won't play any of the other electrics I have very often again (too bad). I wish I would have bought this guitar 30 years ago. All of the superlatives on the reviews here made me decide to go ahead. They are all true.

Made in 2003. Semi-hollowbody. 24 frets. 3 way pickup switching, two tone knobs, two volume knobs (one per pickup), one blender knob. Maple body and neck with rosewood fretboard. Schaller tuners. Hi-gain pickups with mono and stereo (Rick-o-sound) output. Thinline body. Binding. "R" tailpiece. Hardshell case included.

My style would probably fall into the "indie rock" category--my favorite bands include the Pixies, Sonic Youth, the Feelies, the Dead Science, the Smiths, Unwound, the Velvet Underground, Fugazi, Richard Hell, Television, Pavement and the Beatles. I play through a Marshall DSL-401 and occassionally hook up an MXR chorus. On the clean channel, I can get incredibly bright sounds through a balance shifted slightly towards the bridge pickup with the tone halved on the neck pick up, slightly more nasally sounds with the bridge pickup, and very rich, bassy tones through the neck pickup alone. The overdrive channels allow me to get a nice distorted rhythm sound somewhat reminiscent of Frank Black's playing but with less of his Tele's characteristic twang. Darker overtones introduce themselves as tone is cut or when switching bias towards the neck pickup. The guitar is very versatile for rhythm, and the neck shape is very conducive to that type of play. You can coax extra sustain out of it with the right effects, but I wouldn't characterize this as a lead guitar.

The action was far too low when I got it from the factory. The strings buzzed against the frets and made open chords sound awful. With a minor adjustment, I was able to fully resolve this problem, so it's really not a big deal. It plays just as easily now as it did before, and I have the saddle adjusted to its highest level. My only other quibble is that the finish, although beautiful, is very delicate and the neck requires regular polishing so as to not slow you down. Overall it's a great guitar, though.

The strap buttons are kind of tiny compared to a Strat, and if you're a violent player, it's possible for your strap to come off; however, this is probably fairly unlikely. I've had it for about nine months now and aside from the initial action adjustment, everything's been perfect and I anticipate that its record will remain blemish-free for years to come. As long as you're not incredibly abusive, a guitar like this shouldn't give you any trouble.

I haven't had to deal with them thusfar, and hopefully I won't have to.

This rhythm guitar is great for a number of sounds, and I'd be heartbroken if it ever parted from my company. It's an excellent and reliable rhythm guitar that was definitely a stairwell up from the Strat knockoff I had before. It's just a really beautiful and reliable piece of machinery.

this is a 1983 rickenbacker 360, 5 knobs 2 tone, two volume one blend knob. Vintage pickups came with case and finish looks damn good for a 21 year old guitar. this things is a tonal heaven.

Our music is all original . to sum up the sound its a jumbled up
alternative/late 80's new wave/ hard rock. Im plugged into 2 Top Hat club royale 2x12 both of which has miss matched speakers , green back and webber and the other has a greenback and vintage 30. one amp runs dirty the other runs clean. im using a few effects in my chain, in order its
a digitech whammy, analogman clone, maxon ad 80 delay and a dunlop stereo pan tremolo, the other amp has a keeley baked ts-9 , keeley compressor , keeley 3-way rat and a boss tu-2. im using a few true bypass pedals and a few non true bypass pedals. This guitar isnt noisy at all and has the best sound i have every heard. in the past 3 years i have been through 22 guitarssome of them were modified and the others were left stock. I have been a gibson , fender guy for a while but i find it childs play to yeild the tones of a strat and lespaul via rikenbacker. the blend knob makes this guitar so damn versitle and makes me wonder why other company's dont put one in their guitars. it handles alot of clean very well but more importantly it can handle being distorted. if it didnt handle disortion then i would hav eonly gave it a 5 in sound , the fact that a guitar sounds good one way means it only half good , but when a guitar can cover the full freaking spectrum of vintage rock and roll , blues, country picking , rock , hard rock and even some metal then this guitar deserves a 10. and believe me it can cover almost all grounds. i only have 3 guitars at
the moment , Rickenbacker 360 , Burns Brian may , Reverend Rocco.
with those 3 guitars i think i will be pretty much set for life when it comes to tone.

for a vintage guitar the neck is nice and straight , the finish still looks like it was out of a factory. the only thing i hate is restringing the guitar. im just use to the fenders and gibsons i guess. but this aint gonna hurt my rating.

just bought it about 2 weeeks ago , however since its been working perfectly since the 80's i would have to say it must be able to stand the test of time.

dont know dont care

pretty much covered all this ground already. i would def. kill the person who looked at this in the wrong way. I finally found the sound i heard in my head all these years. you should test it out cause its a great guitar.

2003 Fireglow Rick 360 model. See other reviews for full details. Paid $1070. Mainly writing this review as a compare and contrast for people trying to decide between a 360 and a 330/340 model. I actually ended up returning the 360 after a week of playing it and traded it in for a 340. The 360 costs a bit more, however I realized I prefer the feel (especially on the neck), and the look of the 330/340 models better. Also thought I'd mention that the Fireglow color looks a bit different in real life than it does in some of the pictures I've seen, it looks more like a brighter red in person.

I absolutely love the sound of this guitar. This guitar sounds killer in clean mode. But don't underestimate it's distorted tone. You definitely CAN use it for a variety of styles including heavily distorted music. I actual prefer the sound of this guitar to my friend's 1977 Les Paul Custom, the treble notes really cut through the mix providing a very unique heavy sound. People say this guitar isn't good for hard rock, metal,etc. I think that's solely because most people are used to hearing Les Pauls, SGs, Jackson, Ibanez, etc. in the heavy music realm. However that certainly doesn't mean this guitar won't work for heavy music, it just provides a unique sound. Same goes for the 330 model since the pick-ups are the same in both guitars. I'd love to see a heavy metal band all playing Rickenbackers, maybe i'll start one up.

For how well the guitar is made I'll give it a 10. It's exquisitely built and finished. For personal tastes I'll only give it a 8, hence the 9 overall. The action was perfect straight from the store I purchased it at. I mainly dislike the binding on the neck and body of the 360. Especially the neck because it takes away some playing room and like another reviewer said "it serves no purpose". The 330/340 model doesn't have neck binding so it feels and plays better in my opinion. The 360 has a contoured body (which I dislike) and one of the cutaways is shorter than the other and stubby (looks kind of cheesy). Also should note that the lacquer is laid on too thick for my tastes on the 360 whereas it was perfect on my 340.

This guitar may look delicate but it's built like a tank. I'm sure it'll out-live even me (and I'm only 25). Something to pass down to the grandkids someday.

haven't dealt with yet. 10 year warranty from original purchaser, meaning the guitar store not the individual. Which kind of sucks but hopefully I'll never need it.

This guitar is suberbly built and plays and sounds great. I think Rickenbackers are by far the best guitars you can buy for the money anywhere. I also own a Lakewood M-14 acoustic 2002 model. Lakewood are another superb and over-looked brand. Check one out if you are looking for an acoustic, don't just settle for a Gibson, Martin, Guild..Anyways back to the Rick review, overall the 360 is a great guitar. My only real dislikes are the neck binding and some of its looks (the 360 looks too much like a toy in my opinion, whereas the 330/340 looks like a killer guitar). But that's all personal preference. Anyone interested in a 360 be sure to check out the 330 as well, you may prefer it as I do and you'll save yourself $100 or so. I've been on a search for my keeper electric for awhile now. Owned an Ibanez SZ, a Fender Telecaster for a bit but it just wasn't quite what I was looking for, have played my friend's 1977 Les Paul Custom a lot, and a Les Paul is a Les Paul but it wasn't the guitar for me. But I finally found my perfect guitar in the 340. I highly recommend this guitar and especially the 330/340 to anyone interested in looking for something other than the usual suspects (strats, les pauls,etc). Also highly recommended for anyone interested in creating unique and innovative music.

Rick 360 fireglow made '03 fresh out of the factory. 24 frets (although seems to be more when you look at it) born in the usa as all ricks are 2 high gain 'bubble' pickups, bass/treble tone and vol controls and an indispensible 5th mixer dial for versatility. All maple body (I think) laquered to death with the classic fireglow red finish. R stlye tailpiece and tuneomatic type bridge. Schaller tuners + tank like case/cleaning cloth and tools

anyone who mentions the word Jangly and stops there is a fool who has never played a rick in their lives. this guitar goes from the j word right up to fat jazzy earthy sounds. The mysterious 5th dial adds a balance between the pickups that allows a guitarist with enough savvy to exploit the rick and get a huge variety of sounds. from bright airy etheral tones to screaming townsend feedback. Crank up the overdrive and hear this baby growl like a sonofabitch.

Unlike most other reviews I've read, the action from the factory was awful for me - It was high, and the intonation was completely out. However of the 15 or so guitars I've had, only one didn't need a professional and that was a lowden - so fair enough. these guitars play VERY differently to anything you will have played before. Many say the sound is the most unmistakable thing about a rick, I disagree - put a blidfold on me and put a rick in my hand and I will know straight away what I'm playing. no other guitar plays like this the heavy lacquer on the neck and the NARROWNESS of the neck take some getting used to. However - if you are a competent player, you will triumph over this beast. Lead is the biggest obstacle to overcome, but I think anyone who complains that you can't solo on a rick simply isn't prepared to treat this guitar with respect and learn to play it properly. see johnny marr/pete townsend if you don't believe me!!! don't buy this guitar If you don't have any patience and want an easy ride.

In terms of finish this guitar is more beautiful than any girl I've managed to bag in my lifetime. The finish is 8miles deep and I don't know anyone who doesn't come over all gooey when they see one of these beauties close up. slightly quilted with a colour like rasberry ripple Ice cream.

This guitar has been put together better than anything I've ever had (excluding my lowden - which I consider to be my baby) It looks a damn sight more fragile that it actually is. This guitar was designed in a time when guitars (or anything for that matter) were built to last. solid isn't a sturdy enough word to describe this puppy. I wouldn't hammer nails in with it/use it as a snowboard/do a pete townsend/try and kill someone with it/use it as a tennis racquet...........you get the point - but I reckon I could have this guitar until I die.

hear they are phenomenally bad. however I can't think of a reason why I would call them. (unless the neck fell off etc)

Been playing for 10 years and also have a standard tele, and the lowden 035 blackwood. The Rick is a great guitar but don't be afraid to really try one out before you buy it. Push it to the limits of your playing styles and see if it's the one for you. I play art rock (I hate that expression!) indie ish stuff but I also dabble in country/folk n jazz and I use it all the time with the Tele. It rocks as a chord machine but also has great potential as a lead guitar as long as your not into hair rock or indeed hat country. If you play metal or heavy rock with Vai style solos obviously you aren't gonna like it, but it isn't as limited as some guitar shop flunkoes would have you believe.

1998 RB-360, I call it a "loaded classic setup" .Others here have given very accurate discriptions.If you know ric,then you know what it is.

My/bands style we call 'FUNKENROCKMUZIK' 50% originals depending on the room. Stylistically from Hound Dog Taylor to Collective Soul.My amp setup tends to be a Mesa DC-5 head thru a 1 x 12 Mesa Theil Cab w/a Celestion BLUE and a Roland Jazz Chorus 88 w/a Morley A/B box for some different clean sounds . Live I really only use a crybaby wah. I have a Yamaha CH-10M chorus dialed into the effects loop but this I use sparingly. I am searching for a nice delay and flange again to dial in sparingly. I have a Boss ME-6 MULTI EFFECT UNIT but havn't used it with Ric or really at all in the last few years. Any overdrive sounds are the Boogies "DOMAIN". Ric is a lil noisey but that works right into her vibe.
"RIC" is a tone machine,a daunting array of tonal possibility. I came into this guitar through a round about way and it was not my first choice because I have many others that I thought suited my style better. For many years "Ric" just sat there and looked pretty, rarely plugged in and never gigged.I allways would plug him in using the same settings as my main guitars,1972 Gibson ES-325 and 1990 Fender USA TELE PLUS,both fine tough toneful instruments. I have played these guitars for many years and know them intimitly.BUT,what a mistake I was making!I allways thought that Ric sounded dead on my gear and that I needed an AC-30 OR BEATLES/PETTY music.Also I am hard on a guitar and don't really care about smacking my tele around during an intense live performance. I just didn't feel comfortable with the ric in the same way.
One day I sat down with Ric and dialed up some sounds like no others that my other guitars could emulate.The rythmn to lead possibilities between the pickups as well as the pickup blend switch leaves me shaking my head in wonder. The rich tone even at lower volume on a powerful tube amp like the Boogie is very satisfieing.The whammy bar effect of the hinged ric tailpiece is deadly kool live and allways brings a grin from my musician buddies.Nice woody chords on the treble pickup w the treble tone backed off and hot full leads on the bridge pickup wide open. I am still perfecting the elusive Ric chime that I hear so much about but I am sure it is there and is just one more tone to look forward to.
I could go on and on but I am only beginning to apprecieate this fine tone machines possibilities and truly look forward to what my future musical relationship will be with "ric"

Ric is very pretty,beautiful in fact, my wife allways comments that she is our most distinctive guitar.We have a house rule " A guitar in every room " and many fine instruments, Ric allways has a place of honour.I was never caught up in the Beatles thing, I just appreciete beauty.
If I could change anything and I probably will, the lacqeur on the neck is exessive for my taste.Also the bridge makes me cringe by the end of the night because the heel of my hand feels like hamburger. The Ric bridge has some sharp corners and my intense style is sometimes oblivious to the damage until later. Ouch!!
Ric is teaching me a more finesse style with all of her quirks and knobs, unlike Tele who just loves a good bang.

Ric is tougher than I ever thought and can easily be gigged without backup when I get more familiar with all of her tonal possibilities.
RIC'S finish is glossy black ,sparkly white bindings,shiney chrome pickups,bridge,tailpiece,schallers,teak neck "whoa you so pretty,you so sexy".Strap locks are great.
Dependable!

Never used, thought about calling re Ric O Sound but never did.Warranty is long enough 5 years although I never used it.

I have played music for 35 years and play professionally on a regular basis.
If stolen or lost I would miss this guitar but would look around.My only emotional attachment to an instrument is to my Gibson 'just too many years together' That is the instrument that I will pass on to my son.Hopefully Ric and I will develope such a relationship as that, time will tell.
I loved the look of a Ric since as a kid I had the Live at Leeds record with the killer shot of Townsend, I was never a Lennon/Beatle fan,no disrespect to that fine man. I had no idea what a Ric really sounded like except for Petty.Now I am beginning to understand allllllllll of that.
Other gear
Takamine EF-391R, dual pickup small body, archtop, acoustic
Godin 12 string Acousticaster
Gibson 1972 ES-325, FINE RARE Vintage INSTUMENT
Fender 1992 USA Tele Plus, 3 lace sensors and coil tap
Mesa Boogie DC-5
Roland JC-88
Dunlop original Crybaby GC-95
Yamaha CH-10M chorus

I traded a Mesa bass head "400 Plus" for this guitar and the Roland JC-88 because the head had no use to me.Ric hung on the wall for many years as a piece of art and only now am I coming to my senses.

Standard Jet Black 360 bought about 5 years ago for #600 in Glasgow, Scotland. From the serial number it came out of the factory in December 1972, so it is a lot older than other guitars reviewed here. The paint and chrome are still in brilliant condition which gives a good idea of how modern Ricks will last. I had a little plastic shim made to bring the height of the bridge pick up closer to the strings, but other than my guitar is stock.
It has grover tuners which may not be original, but I cannot see any holes screw holes on the head stock where different tuners may have been fitted. From this I reckon they may have been fitted in the factory.

The Sound??? Absolutely brilliant. I only use the guitar with both pick ups engaged and the little tone control turned on a little to add a bit more bass to the sound. The two volume and tone controls are left full on. The sound of open chords through a good valve amp is amazing. It is not going to be everyones cup of tea, but I regularly get asked for the guitar from friends who want to record with it.

It does not give a typical fender or gibson sound, which for me is the real beauty of it.

Hard to comment about the set up as my guitar had over twenty years of playing in it when I bought it, but before I modfied my bridge pickup the output from it was pretty non existant. No rust on the guitar at all though and the paint work is still sound.

Everything on my guitar seems to original, but I do get problems with the pick ups squeeling when the gain on the amp gets turned up. This can be a problem gigging more than recording.

Not sure, but parts in Britain are extremely expensive.

Really is a good solid guitar. I would be surprised if anyone could get by with this as their only guitar but it really does offer a sound which you can only get from a Rickenbacker. Looks cool as well.
It matches my Vox AC30 perfectly and the chimy chords it generates are superb.

Not sure what year this is, although the copyright date on the manual is 1992. The Schaller tuners still have "Made in W Germany" stamped on the back, so I'm a bit perplexed, seeing as how there was no longer a West Germany in 1992. So for all intents and purposes, I'm guessing this is an early 90's model. Jet-Glo finish, which some gripe about smudging quickly, but I find that it doesn't look as dirty as quickly as some would have you believe. Maple thinline semi-hollow body and neck, lacquered rosewood fretboard with sharkfin inlays, tune-o-matic style bridge (with saddles that make the ones on my Gibsons look girly), NICE hardcase, polishing cloth, etc. Dual Hi-Gain single coils, with bass/treble knobs for each, 3-way p/u selector, and the magical blend knob. A nice complete overall package, that should be par for the course for all manufacturers.

I play very tight, rhythmically technical indie rock. Think Fugazi, Don Caballero, Braid, etc. I like a full-sounding, but chime-y sparkly clean tone, the kind that's usually impossible to nail unless you EQ stuff in a studio. Still, I'd like to think I can nail that straight out of an amp. This comes as close as I've heard. I run through a Fender Custom Shop Prosonic twin, and as far as effects go, it's a Boss stage tuner, and a Vintage RAT. that's it. Whoever says a Ric isn't versatile needs to have their head checked. This is the most versatile sounding guitar I own. Hell, it has more knobs and controls than any other guitar I've owned...did anyone actually mess with the controls on these guitars before they deemed them "not versatile"?? There's an infinite number of tones you can dial in, which I suppose may be intimidating to some of the "slower" folks among us. With the Hi-Gains, it has the fattness of a Gibson, and the bite of a Fender, while somehow not being annoying like a Fender. Definitely not thin and wimpy for a single coil guitar, nor is it noisy, even running it through a dual stage rectifier drive channel. There's a LITTLE hum with the gain cranked, but that's it. On the clean channel of my amp, I usually have to leave the bass at around 2.5-3 before the tone starts to flab out on the bottom end with my Gibsons. For a reference point, with my Fenders (even with hotter pickups), I can go to about 6 or 7 before things start to lose definition. The Ric uses the same amp settings tonally as the Gibsons, and has an extra reserve of chime if you really dig into it on the bridge or middle settings. And the middle position...ohhhhh my GOD. It IS the perfect blend of sparkle and fullness once you play with the blend knob a bit. Words cannot describe it's complexity and nuances when played loud through a good tube amp. Solid state (even a nice solid state amp like a JC120) will not do it justice. It rings like a piano, chimes like a bell, drives the input a bit, without sounding "dirty" if that makes any sense. It sounds unreal. Fluid, with plenty of shimmer and fullness. Now I sound like I'm describing a new conditioner. Some complain about the lack of sustain, but I haven't found it to be an issue. Sure, it doesn't sustain like my Ric 650 (Neck-thru-body), but not many things do. It's maybe slightly (if at all) behind my SG in terms of sustain. As long as you leave the treble turned up, ALL the pickup positions sound great overdriven/distorted, which I've never found to be the case on single coil guitars. Natural harmonics also ring through loud and clear on all positions. As close to perfect as I've heard.

Can't speak for the "from the factory" action, but the action is once again...awesome. It is LOW, lower than my SG's, and there is nary a buzz to be heard. Some gripe about the thin neck, and I find it easier to play than a Strat. I have fat, stubby fingers, and I'm used to WIDE necked guitars...yet, I don't stumble all over myself like I do on a Fender. Must be a difference in the radius. Some hate the lacquered fretboard, I really have no complaints, and I'm picky about fretboard feel. Maybe the lacquer is a bit sticky when new, I dunno. There's a bit more resistance to bending strings than on my SG, but nothing to realy gripe about unless you're a complete weak knee'd...err...fingered shrimptoast. The neck was a bit sticky compared to my SG's, but then again I always keep them polished so smoothly they'll slide right out of your hands if you're not careful. ;) The bit o' stick annoyed the heck out of me, so I got brave and decided to go against the manual's reccommendation of only using the Ric cloth or automotive grade carnauba wax to clean the finish, and sprayed a bit of Gibson polish (the kind in the orange pump bottle) on a clean old cotton sock, and went to work on the back of the neck...I figured if it DID damage the finish, no one would notice back there anyways. I'm happy to report the finish is still fine, and not turning tacky or losing shine, and the neck is slippery smooth. Problem solved. No flaws in the finish, none in the fretwork or binding, no misaligned pickups or pole pieces, NO oxidation on any of the metal despite being at least 12 years old. The chrome must be 5 layers deep. Like I mentioned before, some people moan about how tough it is to keep the Jet-Glo finishes clean, but either they finished them differently back when mine was made, or these people have too much to complain about. It doesn't smudge and fingerprint up anywhere nearly as easily as some would have you believe, and a quick run down with the cloth after playing gets rid of any goo. The finish is awesome, like the paint on a Bentley...it's not like paint, it's like a black tinted mirror. The finish has held up well too, as the only evidence of wear after all these years are a few MINOR belt scratches on the back, that judging by their superficial nature, could probably be polished out if I were so inclined. The finish on my Gibsons/Fenders would have dinged or dented at the sight of belt buckle contact. I pity the fool that has to do a refret on a Ric. Except once again, the frets on mine still look almost new, despite the fact the guitar was allegedly played a LOT, and there isn't that much fret there to begin with. Best finishing and assembly I've seen HANDS DOWN. Yes, it's not as aestetically gorgeous as a PRS, but as far as a functional working guitar goes (i.e. not a wall hanger or a "use it for 1-song status symbol"), the craftsmanship is as good, if not superior in terms of durability and longevity. I've seen plenty of other 10-15+ year old Rics that have been gigged nightly and still look almost new.

Yes, this guitar will withstand live playing. I'm not a guitar smasher by any means, but I do tend to get a bit lively and toss my instrument around a bit. While I admit I'm a bit easier on the Ric than I am my SG's, it puts up with me quite well. It's strange, when you pick it up, and tap the back of the guitar, it feels like the flimsiest thing on earth. Then you strap it on, and all notions of 'flimsy' quickly disappear. The neck feels like it would take Herculean strength to break. The body is light, balances perfectly, and is EXTREMELY ergonomically comfortable. I'm kinda on the short side (5'8") and it looks big and dorky (sorry, Rics are beautiful guitars, but large and dorky at the same time) but it plays so superbly I can forget about that. The neck never makes your wrists tired. It NEVER goes out of tune. The Schallers are accurate, and hold a tune quickly, and without fuss, way better than the Grover Rotomatics I use on my Gibby's (which still work VERY well, but not as well as the Schallers). I use locking straps, so I have no fears of dropping the thing. This is the one guitar I would use WITHOUT a backup. Gigged with it the other day, and where my Gibson would have freaked out for a bit due to the temperature changes of being removed from my house (the default climate), being put in the backseat of my car (in FL), and being in the heat until the A/C cooled everything off again, then unloading everything in the humidity again, then getting into an air conditioned building again, which gradually grew to be warm and humid again, the Ric NEVER went out of tune or displated any tuning/intonation weirdness. The G string went out a LITTLE on occasion, but nothing your average person wold even notice (sorry, I have canine hearing). Credit must go to the dual truss rod neck. However, while I'm usually pretty brave about making adjustments myself, if i had to mess with the neck, it'd be one of those rare occasions where I would pay someone else to set it up. I wouldn't suggest trying it at home. I've heard lots of complaints about warped necks on Rics (huh?) and my only guess is amateurs messing with the truss rods, as the necks on both the Rics I own are Golden Gate bridge-like in their stability. Don't try to hit home runs with it, defend your property, or beat overzealous groupies with it (use a disposable guitar like a Fender for that), and it should last forever.

Ric only has one service center. The factory. This is a blessing, and a curse. BUT I understand the reasons behind it. First off, it keeps the quality of repairs consistently top notch (hopefully), and the quality on these instruments is equal or better to others at twice the price new, and they have to cut corners (I hate using those words, but bear with me) somewhere...so they basically make it a complete pain for you to make a minor warranty claim, in the hopes that you won't bother sending it back to them to tighten a knob or something. It's not that they don't care, but A) those things are EXTREMELY rare on these guitars, as they are S-O-L-I-D, and Ric's QA seems to be much more thorough than Fender or Gibson, and B) they keep the cost of the instruments down by simply making it difficult for the consumer to send the instrument back with a *minor* issue, and pointlessly costing them money. HOWEVER, if you have a legitimate problem, they DO take care of you very well. My 650 was delivered with a bridge pickup that somehow became very "quiet" during shipping, and it was handled quickly and superbly, considering I'm on the other side of their universe, and it's not exactly their most expensive instrument. If I had minor issues with any guitar, I wouldn't even bother sending it back and having to play the waiting game. I'd just take it to a local tech and deal with it. I'm coming to the conclusion more and more often nowdays that the customer is not always right, and this is why policies like Ric's exist. People are lazy, refuse to take responsibility for their own destructive actions, and basically think everything should be guaranteed and last forever. For those who insist the factory take care of every little detail, and call customer service when you break a string, when a jack starts to fuzz after you've yanked the cord out of it the wrong way 300 times, when you've damaged the finish while trying to do your Tom Morello impression with an allen wrench, or when you've effed up the neck messing with the truss rods so you could tune down to A and play some PHAT SHIZNIT KORN riffs, here is my suggestion: you might want to pass on a Ric, and cough up twice as much for a nice Les Paul, so they can pad your inevitable silly warrantly claims. Also, Ric's warranty is from the date of manufacture, NOT sale. I assume this is to prevent claims on an instrument that's been beaten on by stupid kids at Sam Ash/etc. Once again, it's not so great for the consumer, but if retailers would take care of their stock, and not let kids bang on $4000 instruments, maybe it wouldn't be an issue. In that case I'd be wary of anyplace trying to sell me a Ric that wasn't hung on the highest hanger on the wall. Ric seems to be more helpful over the phone, rather than email. Most (if not all) companies are, simply because of the volume of junk we all must wade through anymore. Anyways, enough babble. I can understand why they have a somewhat convoluted warranty, and I'm fine with that. Others may not be.

I'm 23 and have been playing for 10 years. I own an '87 SG, a '91 SG, an '89 Japanese Strat, and a new Ric 650 Sierra in addition to my 360 (yep, SG's and Rics...you suppose I'm a Fugazi fan?). My 360 has quickly become my most valued instrument in the short ammount of time I've owned it. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING comes close in terms of sound, playability, and quality of construction. With the exception of the 650 (which still doesn't even compare to it's older sibling), all my other supposedly NICE guitars look like shop projects. Owning a 330 or 360 will warp your perspective. Humans just don't make things like this anymore. The construction harkens back to a bygone era of hand tooled gun cases, fancy smoking jackets, and giant cars with tail fins. I always find myself just staring at all of it's little complex details in awe for a few seconds before I put it back in the case. A work of art that happens to work as well, and a downright steal for $700. Usually, a nice used one fetches between $800-1000+, and I'd have no qualms paying that kind of money (or just buying a new one) if this were lost or stolen...if it couldn't be recovered by other, more sinister means, heh heh...