Rickenbacker 620/12

* Finish (Satin, transparent, quilted top, flamed top, etc...)MAPLEGLO

* Body style (strat, tele, dreadnought, cutaway, thinline, etc...)RICK STYLE, SOLIDBODY. NO SHARP CUTAWAY, BUT CRESTWAVE BASS HORN.

* Bridge style (Tune-O-Matic, Floyd Rose, Wilkinson, Tele-style, String-thru body, stop tailpiece, etc...)SADDLES AND R-TAILPIECE

* Tuners (Locking? Non-locking? brand of tuners - Sperzel, Gotoh, Grover, Schaller, etc...)11 SCHALLER AND 1 GIBSON DELUXE TUNER

* Neck/Scale (Fat, Thin, Jumbo Frets, Rosewood, Maple, etc...)
NOT BAD! NOT TOO THICK! PROBABLY A LIGHT ROSEWOOD WITH TRIANGLE INLAYS!

* Any included accessories? (Case, gig bag, strap, cable, tools, humidifier, etc...)OHSC

* What year was it made? Where was is made? (Japan, Mexico, USA, etc...)US MADE IN JUN 1985

* How many frets?ENOUGH

* Solid-Top? Laminated top?MAPLEGLO

* Which controls are given (volume, tone, 5-way selector, 3-way, tap, etc...)?4 CONTROLS WITH A SMALL CONTROL KNOB

* Pickup configuration? (S/S/H, H/H, S/H, Piezo, etc...)2 SINGLE COILS

* How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)?I GOT IT BECAUSE I WAS INSPIRED BY FRED 'SONIC' SMITH.

* What amps and effects are you using it with?FENDER

* Is it noisy? On what settings?SOUNDS GREAT!

* Rich/Full sound? Bright sound?RIC SOUND!

* What kind of sounds can the guitar make? How much variety?
IT WILL BE VERY VERSATILE AS A 12-STRING OR 6-STRING

* Likes and dislikes?I THINK THE INPUT JACKS ARE KINDA MESSED UP. ONE WORKS, BUT THE RIC-O-SOUND JACK DOESN'T. NOT GOOD! THAT'S THE BAD THING ABOUT BUYING USED, BUT IT WAS TOO COOL TO PASS UP.

* How well was the guitar set-up at the factory? (How was the action?)ACTION WAS GREAT!

* How well were the pickups adjusted?GOOD!

* Did the guitar contain any flaws? (misaligned bracing, poorly filed fretwire, finish flaws, poor quality wood, rusted or oxidized hardware, loose tuning pegs, poorly cut nut, poorly fit saddle, noisy pickup selector, loose controls, etc...)ONE INPUT DIDN'T WORK. ONE ORIGINAL TUNER WAS MISSING. OTHER THAN THAT, IT'S COOL! I GOT THE GUY TO TAKE $150 OFF THE PRICE!

* Will this guitar withstand live playing?OH YEAH!

* Does the hardware seem like it will last?SURE!

* Is the finish good enough to last, or does it seem thin and easy to wear off with lots of playing?SURE!

* Are the strap buttons solid?YES!

* Can you depend on it?I'M GONNA HAVE TO!

* Would you use it on a gig without a backup?SURE!

I WEAR BRIEFS!

* How long have you been playing?20 YEARS

What other gear do you own?SURE

* Is there something you wish you had asked before buying this guitar? "CAN YOU FIX THIS THING BEFORE YOU CHARGE ME TOO MUCH?" AND, "CAN I FINANCE THIS WITH 12 MONTHS INTEREST FREE?"

* If it were stolen or lost, would you buy it again or get something else?PROBABLY ANOTHER RIC!

* What do you love about it?IT'S JUST TOO COOL! IT'S A RICK!

What do you hate?I HATE WHEN PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE AND MISREPRESENT IT AND DON'T TAKE CARE OF WHAT THEY HAVE AND THESE STORES HAVE TO SELL THESE THINGS AND NOT REALLY FIX ANYTHING ON IT AND THEN CHARGE YOU SO MUCH MONEY!!!

What is your favorite feature?MAPLEGLO FINISH AND THE 12 TUNERS! IT'S A RICK!

* Did you compare it to other guitars?WELL, IT WAS IN A STORE WHERE EVERYBODY PLAYS "METAL" AND NOBODY REALLY CARES ABOUT COOL VINTAGE GEAR. I HAVE TO GO INTO THE VINTAGE ROOM AND COME OUT SMELLIN' LIKE MOTHBALLS, BUT I KNOW I HAVE A COOL GUITAR!

Which ones? Why did you choose this one?FRED 'SONIC' SMITH

* Anything you wish it had?A COOL PICKGUARD LIKE THE 450 MODEL.

* Anything else you'd like to share?DON'T ORDER THIS FROM MUSICIANSFRIEND BECAUSE THEY'RE ON BACKORDER.

The Rickenbacker I have is a Fireglo 620/12 purchased in the mid 80's. The guitar was ordered with the custom black option(bindings, pickguard and hardware). The guitar has a stunning finish and is extremely comfortable to play. It has 2 new style Rickenbacker pickups and a R tailpiece. I replaced the standard 6 saddle bridge with a 12 saddle bridge and the intonation is much better. This should be a standard option on a 12 string and not a $100 dollar add on option. There are 2 outputs, standard and RickoSound. 2 volume, 2 tone and a master blend control which is very useful.

I play a wide range of music and use the guitar when appropriate. The sound is unique and I try to place it in the right songs. I use the guitar for the traditional Rickenbacker 12 string sound and have not tried to get other sounds from it. I am sure that an adventurous player could do wonders with it.

The guitar came out of the box setup and ready to play. ( other than the bridge which I replaced. The guitar is impossible to tune for the lower 3 strings and get the harmonic strings intonated properly without the 12 saddle bridge. Other than that, the bridge, the fit, finish and setup were excellent. I am giving a lower rating here due to the intonation problem with the lower strings. They intonation really was horrible.

The guitar is a very study guitar and can be taken where ever a gig may be. That is with the exception of the R tailpiece. Mine, like many others I have found in forums on the web, just broke one day while the guitar was sitting in the case. Rickenbacker customer service and my local dealers know this is a problem. This may be why Rickenbacker discontinued the black option. The story of the Rickenbacker R repalcement policy is under customer support.

This is where for me Rickenbacker falls on it's sword. The best word for describing what I encountered is arrogance. As long as you do not need to use Rickenbacker customer service it's great. The R tailpiece that broke on my guitar is avaiable for $75 dollars plus shipping from Rickenbacker. Although this is a known defect in their manufacturing, they will not do what I believe they should which is just send a replacement for the broken one. A one piece non moving part tailpiece should not break unless hit with a very big hammer. They do want the broken tailpiece though and in order to sell you a new one demand that you send the broken one to them first at your expense of course. I have a number of guitars from Gibson, Guild, Fender, PRS, Martin and Ovation. I have never had a experince with a company that would not admit there is a problem and take care of it for the customer. The customer service representative seemed as frustrated at the policy as I was. I guess the decision makers at Rickenbacker do not play their own instruments.

I have been playing guitar for 15 years. I really love my Rickenbackers. I have 2 and was very happy until there was a problem. I would really think twice before I bought another Rickenbacker or suggest a friend buy one. It's like having a delicious meal and finding a bug on your plate after you've eaten. It just doesn't leave a good taste in your mouth.

Made in Santa Ana,Ca. 1988. 21 frets, solid Maple body.Neck-thru design. 5 controls: Two vol and Two tone and a fifth "blender" knob.

Two Hi-Gain single coil p/u's. Neck: Maple with Walnut.Rosewood fingerboard. Jetglo finish. "Cresting wave" body style. "Easy-stringing R tailpiece". Tune-o-matic bridge with 6 saddles. Schaller tuners. Neck scale is 24 3/4. Hard shell case. The 620 is the deluxe solid body model, not to be confused with the now discontinued 610 model.
The 620 is the 360 of the solid body line: bound front edge on body,bound neck, triangular neck inlays and has the "Rick-O-Sound" jack.

Bought her used in "good" cond. in Dec ' 03. After some neck/bridge adjustments, and a new set of Pyramid flats she sounds wonderful. Many years ago I owned a 330-12 and didn't care for it's tone. Not quite bright enough and slightly lacking for sustain (I'm getting a bit off-track here. Now I understand why Roger McGuinn used compression with his 360-12).
My 620 is a solid neck-thru body so this enhances treble and sustain allowing me to play without the aide of electronic compression. Of course if I tried this effect, I might become a believer, but I'm a bit of a purist.
Sounds best through my Fender Super 112. Despite the red knobs and lack of snob appeal, these amps really deliver a pleasing clean tone; perfect for "Mr. Tambourine Man" et al. Generally I use the bridge p/u and sometimes the middle position with the blender knob about half-way. This position is ideal for "You Can't Do That" for those old enough to know about the Beatles! (I'm so old!).
This guitar is a blast to play! She's got a serious "fun factor". With the Jet-Glo finish it even bears a resemblance to John Lennon's little black 320-to those who aren't guitar buffs. This the reason I'm keen on Jet-Glo for my Rickenbackers: there's a certain subliminal John Lennon..."Mojo" when people see someone playing a black Rickenbacker IMHO.
Now to a design flaw and my only real problem with this guitar. The "Easy stringing R tailpiece" is difficult for re-stringing, but one can learn to live with it, just as re-stringing is laborious, but it just comes with the territory.The hand-bound front edge is rather sharp on the inside of the musician's forearm while playing, but a long -sleaved shirt helps here. Again, no big problem-and remember it's a stunningly beautiful guitar!Rickenbacker quality is top notch; I've owned several.
The main problem with the 620's "Easy stringing R tailpiece" is it's proximity to the bridge!With most any guitar one can fine tune the bridge with the strings still on the guitar..virtually impossible with the stock 620! There's a fairly simple remedy: Buy a replacement "trapeze" tailpiece from some place like..Pick of the Ricks. I did and it makes bridge adjustments and stringing much easier.
The Tom Petty 660 models have this simple tailpiece. I think John Hall should consider making this change for all stock 620's.
On the plus side The Rickenbacker 620 is well made, ( an understatement) fun to play and thrilling to hear and see!I've got t "thing" for Rickenbackers.

I bought this guitar used, but have owned several new Rickenbackers and they were all ready to play-stright from the case! There is a problem with the jack-some noise when I touch the plug directly.
Still working on this . I don't anticipate a problem.
Rickenbacker finishes are arguably the industry's most attractive.
The bridge,nut and p/u's are all fine-and that's after three years of showroom shopwear on a guitar that's 15 years old.

Rickenbackers are Ideal for live applications! They look stunning; real eye-catchers. Finishes are beautiful and I'm partial to Jet-Glo.
Everything about Rickenbackers is built to last. But they are a bit delicate and some people claim that the "Easy stringing R tailpiece" isn't built to last, especially on 12 string models. I wouldn't know from my experience about this claim.
One should always bring a back-up to a gig, but I've never broken a string on Rickenbacker live-they were always semi-hollow. Less intense vibration of the string. (my theory).

No dealings with Rickenbacker except some 20 years ago when I called and asked for a catalog and they sent me one straight away.

I understand that John Hall is "legalistic" when dealing with customers and dealers. No personal experience with him.

I've been playing for..25 years, Jeez! I own many guitars and three nice Fender tube amps. Rickenbackers capture something magical about the 60's..it's probably a subliminal thing. With my Rickenbacker I feel like I've got bangs, long hair and a cool British accent! LOL

Thier "slim, fast-action neck" is a bit too slim; especially for a 12 string, but I can accept this. I'll accept the challenge and mount
my soap box!
Stratocasters, Telecasters,Les Pauls are popular for a good reason!But many of those who own the aforementioned guitars wouldn't think of owning a Rickenbacker. "Blues" snoberry? Could be, but while Rickenbackers aren't the best choice for serious jamming and blues, they've got thier place and are more versatile than thier reputation (I'm talking mainly about 6 strings), and a savy performer who's conscious about trying to get an audiences attention may want to consider a Rickenbacker for his next purchase.
Nothing else looks or sounds like a Rickenbacker.

Twelve string solid body, two single coil pickups. Pickups have individual volume and tone, both pickups together have an additional "blender". Also has "Ric O Sound" stereo (if you want it!).This guitar is in Jetglo finish with white binding, rosewood board and sharkfin markers. The body shape is the "cresting wave" and is to say the least the prettiest guitar I've ever owned, I can look at it for hours! Hardware includes Schaller machines and a "tunomatic" style bridge with a very useful cover/rest. The tail piece is that elegant Ricky "R", straplocks fitted as standard.

I play a very wide range of styles to include Texas Swing, jump blues, country and rock a billy. I play in a 60s band so the Rick fits in very well indeed. The sound is everything you've ever heard about Rics and more!! Everything from McGuinn to Tom Petty but this is no one trick pony..... It suits indie and loves a little chorsu and compression. The chord sound is so crisp and clean, it adds to anything you're playing. Biased? Course I am, I love it.

The guitar when I bought it had 8*s on, the equivalent of 5 amp fusewire! A new set of Ernie Ball 9s and a little tweak to the action and it plays very well. The neck is very narrow and took a bit of getting used to especially the string spacing, (I invented some very strange new chords). The finish is nothing short of faultless. I own 335s and Teles which I love dearly but this shows them "how it's done". The guitar is so well put together, I can't really fault it at all. Just one little drawback...."Restringing". Noyt a short job, allow a good hour or so and think it through, it's not as bad as I've been led to believe, more tedious really.

This guitar is built to last but not "like a tank"! It stays in tune, doesn't let me down and feautures at every gig. It looks absolutely stunning.

Can't comment, haven't used it.

40 years, (oh my God!). I have 70s Teles and Strats and a newish 335. I play through a Fender 65 Twin Reverb Reissue (get one!). I do tend towards a clean sound, I use a Line 6 DL4 delay and Boss chorus and compression. If there was a fire I would grab this and my little black Tele! It is a "real" guitar, Rickenbacker rightly deserve all the kudos heaped on them, it looks like they really care. Not the easiest guitar to play but it rewards effort. My best mate said, "Steve you're crap on six strings, will you be twice as bad on twelve?. Oh and yes now I MUST have a 620 or a 360 six string.....

Neck-through construction, 24 3/4" scale, solid maple with rosewood fretboard. Two single coil pickups, two volume, two tone and one mixer control, and stereo. Twelve string with tune-o-matic style bridge. Body and neck binding, and triangular fret markers. Jetglo (black) finish with white and chrome accents. I find the stereo feature to be insignificant, as I have no plans to use it. The single coil pickups look like a soap-bar but are as bright as a telecaster. My only complaint would be with the 1 9/16 string spacing at the nut. Fortunatly I found this guitar in a local store which had it for 5 years, it was made in 1995, and was still new. This not only got me a great deal, but it has the slightly thicker rounder necks unlike the slimmer new Rickenbackers. The contour is somewhere between a Strat, and a 335. The new ones feel like mandolins! It also came with the newer SKB/Rickenbacker case, but I prefer the older tolex models. One word of warning though changing strings, and truss rod adjustment are time comsuming due to Ric's alternating key headstock, and truss rod cover which the strings rest against

I play A variety of music, but this was bought for folk-rock, and there is no other choice. I have owned other electric twelves, and despite the difficulty of playing a Ric - there is only one sound like it. The single coil pickups are surprisingly quite, and just a bit of compression, and it sound just like Roger's. I had previously owned a 330/12 hollow-body, but this solid body has a sharper tone and better sustain even without effects. I paly mostly in the bridge position but there is a wide variety of tone available - probably more useful on the six-string version.

The action was pretty good when I got it home, just a couple of small tweaks for my preferences. Again, it is difficult to play a Ric-12 because of the narrow neck, but the low action, and ease of fretting the strings is amazing. This is definatley a solid, well made professional guitar. I was not able to find anything that I would term a "flaw". The fit and finish are excellent. A look inside the electronics compartments reveals great care and excellent quality components, and the ease of access is the complete opposite of the headstock problems.

The guitar is extremely solid - the neck through design means you would have to break it in half to seperate the neck. The strap buttons are one piece construction, and Rickebacker does offer a Schaller strap-lock compatible version. It is dependable and stays in tune very well in the case. I would have no problems trusting this guitar on a gig.

Rickebackers have a one year warrenty, Although I have never had a problem with Rickenbacker they seem very helpful. When I was looking for my first I spent an hour talking to customer support (I had only called to locate a dealer), not only about models,but about sound, and recording techniques. It is also very encouraging that the president, John Hall, occasionally leaves comments on a least one on-line discussion group.

I have sold far to many guitars in my time (I have been playing 30 years) this on definatly stays. I can't live without a Ric 12 again. As I said before there simply IS no other electric twelve string. I've tried a Fender Strat XII (owned one for a while), Danelectro, Ibanez, Epiphone, even a Univox (someone did me the favor of stealing it), but the Ric is the only one that sounds right, and has the lowest action. By the way the Ric strings are part of the formula, I've tried others, but the don't feel or sound the same.

The usual Rickenbacker high quality is clearly here. My Rick is a 1989 fireglo, made in the good ol' USA and it is immaculate. It has the Ric "toaster" p/u's mounted on a gorgeous pice of what I believe to be maple. Two tone, two volume adn a master tone control with 3 position selector switch give it a fantastic array of sound through my Crate GT-35 amp. It has Ric-O-Sound which is something else again. The 620 is the quintessential "cresting wave" style that Rickenbacker is known for.

I play mostly 60s R&R, fusion and New Age stuff, and this guitar adds a new dimension to sound! The sound runs from the Byrds' "jangle" to a John Scofield purr to a silky smooth almost violin sound, with no add on effects boxes. I can't say enough about the tone quality and versatility of this guitar.

All Rics I have ever had the pleasure to play are of the highest quality, basically hand made. Everything about this guitar suits me to a "t", and it will NEVER be for sale.

The 620/12 is bullet proof and it will stand up to damned near anything you can reasonably expect it to. I also have a Ric 330, and they are the only two guitars I ever gig with.

I have never had to contact Rickenbacker for any reason, so I can't comment, but I am sure that a company who makes a guitar of this quality will render excellent service.

I have owned and played a wide variety of guitars for over 30 years (Sheesh!) and this one is with a doubt the best 12 string I have ever owned, including a Gibson 335/12 and a Vox Phantom 12. I will never be without a Ric 12 again!