Rickenbacker 360Carl Wilson Ltd.Edition 6 string

Starting with the trusty old 360, Rickenbacker has made a number of small yet very worthwhile upgrades. First off, the string spacing is wider than the standard Rickenbacker fare and this is very welcome. Also, the top is relatively thin (about half the thickness of a standard 360) which gives it a very acoustic sound quality as well as being a noticeably lighter guitar than the standard 360. Finally the cosmetic touches which include a nicely flamed top, usually reserved for the 381 series guitars, and a 'signature' pickguard.

Vintage spec pickups and silver re-issue case complete the package, along with a Certificate of authenticity stating that only 500 of these beauties will be made.

It sounds wonderfull, all the Rickenbacker shimmer but with a slightly 'softer' more airy sound - very much like a cross between a 330 and 360. It is just classic Ric and then some.

This is my second Ric (my other being a 381v69/12) and it came set up to perfection. Fit and finish are exemplary and re-inforces Rickenbbackers excellent reputation for quality and consistency.

Well, they have lasted the test of time and I have no doubt this guitar will endure the elements. It's a few years old now, played regularly and looks as good as new.

Never had any reason to call them.

This guitar is at the top of the Ricky game for sound AND playability. If you find the string spacing on regular Rics a little hard to adjust to, but love the sound, then this guitar may well be the answer. Fantastic.

I have always been a little leary(no not Timothy) of The narrow necks on most of the Ricks I have had the pleasure to play,but when I was informed of the improved string spacing on the Carl Wilson 360,I decided to roll the potato,and order one.The figerboard width is just perfect,for players with normal to larger hands.I have always been a fan of the Beach Boys,and Carl Wilson has in my opinion has been very under rated as a guitarist,but Rickenbacker pulled out the stops on this model,which I think Carl would be smiling to know bears his signature.The guitar has 21 frets,square neck heel,and the scatter wound toaster top pickups,that have a very vocal like quality,the early to mid 60's Rick sound is back..HotDamn Sam!!!!
The thin carved top has a lot to do with the overall sound of this guitar,even unplugged it is very pleasing to the ear,and the eyes...
speaking of which..My guitar, Certificate#40 of 500 has one of the tightest tiger striped flame tops I have ever seen..this fella will put many triple A tops to shame,and thats no bull(go to the rickenbacker registration page,and look in photo section-Suminski collection-and you tell me).I am very critical of guitars that list for $2000.00 or more so read on,and we can take it down peice by peice,feature by feature.This is one Mean,Clean,Strummin' machine.
The chrome hardware is A#1,The vintage style tuners are..well lets talk about this for a moment.Mine arrived with 3 craped out tuners,and once replaced are very good,but thats another story kids(read customer support).I have to say overall this is THE finest Rickenbacker I have ever owned,and it feels,sounds,and looks damn good!!

Rickenbacker guitars have always had a special sound,I think you can always spot one in the mix(try that with a LP,or Strat).The scatter wound toaster tops are true to the original tone that they became famous for.They are single coils,and all the buzzes,and hums from lighting sysems,etc..are right there like the ghost of Christmas past,but it's not a bad thing,hell strats,etc..go the same way.
They have a much more true tone than the later hi output units that Rickenbacker has used for the last15-20 years,thanks for getting it right again.My 360CW6 has the typical 3way switch 4 controls+the dreaded blend control,which when you get used to is a very versitile
little knob to twiddle.No Rico-sound on this baby,but dual mono outputs.I have played it through a non master volume silver face Twin Reverb,a Vox AC30,A Thomas era Buckingham,anda little tuck&roll Kustom practice amp.The Beatles,Byrds,Stones sounds are right there with the Vox stuff,lots of chime&bell like tones to be had,and just enough overdrive to set the output tubes to doing their magic thang!
I prefer it through the Fender,with high clean volume,the Twin and my 360 are a tough sound to beat.One note..the scatter wounds require you to turn the amp up a little more than your used to,but once you get ther you will know what BIG sound is all about.This guitar like all Ricks is a specialized sound.It does not do strat,or ES335 sounds,but thats why I own those also.It is a real rythm guitar players dream.If you want to stand out in a combo setting,this may be the way to go.

This area is where I have a couple gripes,but they are minor.The finish is typical Rickenbacker,no orange peel anywhere,glass like finish,beautiful fireglo finish,spot on checkerboard binding.The neck finish is straight A,glossed,but not sticky,the fretwork is top notch.
the nut is great.The maple used to build this limited run is breath taking(at least mine is!)highly figured flame maple with tiger stripes so deep&tight you can't stop looking at it.the book matching was on the money.All in all..great...BUT...The tuners left a lot to be desired.Mine came with 3 flawed tuners,excessive lash,this guitar would not stay in tune.I thought maybe it was the strings,so I put on a new set,streched them out,but still it would not hold to pitch.
I should have known with the feel of the lashing as you de-tune & raise it to pitch,but I was in hopes it was just the strings,no go.
after changing the tuners,all is well with the world again.

This guitar is built to the hi standards of Rickenbacker.It is a solid working guys guitar,sure it's a ltd.edition,but a signature does not make this one to put under glass..even though you can bet some non playing Yuppie will have done that.I would never go to a gig with just one guitar,This is no different than hitting the bandstand with only a strat in hand,or a floyd rose equiped axe.you are asking for trouble,and the devil is sittin it the front table,just waiting for you to go into that solo you worked so hard on! But I have no qualms about it being a very reliable guitar.This 360 is styled after the late 64 360's,and carries the same era styled hard wear,the strap buttons are the weakest link in the chain,soI always check before jumping around.Overall a GREAT guitar.

This is where the story gets ugly folks.
When I found out the tuners needed to be replaced,the guitar had to be retuned to the dealer.and the tuners had to be sent back to the factory,before they would replace them...this is so stupid I can't stand it.The customer service people were rude,and most of all NON-CARING.They stink on ice!My guitar was tied up for over a month.
If I would have known the S%$# I had to go through,I would have just bought a set of tuners,and replaced them myself.The people at the store I bought it from were not to blame,I have dealt with them for a lot of years,and we NEVER had this kind of trouble with any manufacturer.I will never use my warranty ever again.If ther is a problem,I will fix it myself.I think the bean counters took over the company,and They have no understanding of a musicians needs.To tie up a customerwho spends good money..to make sure said customer is not ripping them off for about $26.00 in parts is a bad joke.I was sent an Email from some tech(who would not leave his name) telling me of my unfortunate grammer,guess I did not spell" stinks on ice!"correct.
But this was my only complaint.In my opinion-Rickenbacker should learn to treat the customers a liitle better.The craftsmanship is great,the dealership is A#1,but the warranty and service people I had the pleasure of dealing with were the pits.