Rickenbacker 620

Bought like my other guitars on eBay at a snip of the retail price, so am VERY happy.

2004 Fireglo 6-string, features as described by other reviewers.
In my opinion ultra high-quality, by far the best guitar I have ever played. Ric hard shell case included, also of a very high quality.

The high-gloss finish on everything gives the guitar a quality feel and classy look. Neck is comfortable and all controls are in easy reach.

'R' shaped tailpiece onto which you hang your strings. This is the only let-down I think. Have only re-strung it once so far, but it took me 3-times as long to do, simply because of the fiddly, hard to get to tailpiece. Maybe there's a knack - we'll see.

I play covers of everthing from the last 40 years and so far the guitar is at home with any of them. The output from the pickups blows every other guitar I own out of the water. At least 4x louder than a Fender. But very bright and punchy.

Played through a Line 6 POD XT Pro into a Fender Hod Rod Deluxe. A little reverb, chorus and some delay and to my ears at least it sound wonderful.

The blend control is useful to go from bright and glassy to warm and punchy with more Bass.

Very light and thin in construction but ultra-resonant and powerful.

In another class as far as I can see. Bought used but is to all intents and purposes new and hence flawless. The fit is gorgeous and the high-gloss finishes oozes class.

Turns heads like no other guitar I own.

I tried several Rics in the shops but didn't get on with them - 330's etc. Too bulky. This 620 is a little beauty and is so much easy to hold and play. The over-size headstock looks unusual but is also a nice feature - different from the rest.

Wood looks gorgeous, especially on the rear where is comes throug the 'glo' finish. The neck-through element looks nice also, not too obvious, well matched.

I can find NO issues whatsoever in the action, fit and finish. I re-strung it as soon as I got it and lowered the action slightly using the grub screws in the bridge assembly. No fret buzz, choking and any other issues.

The case is just as good - no nasty Fender-type latches. Very clever, smooth latches and a perfectly balanced holding position.
Nice material inside too.

This guitar will be gigged in rotation with others and will be looked after like my first-born. As mentioned above, the whole thing feels top-quality and so I have no expectations of any problems.

n/a

Been playing for 5 years or so and more seriously for last 2 years.

Have several other guitars:

2003 Fender USA Telecaster
1998 Fender USA Stratocaster
1998 Fender Hellecaster 'John Jorgenson'
1998 Fender Jazz-A-Caster 'Will Ray'
**** really want the Jerry Donahue to complete the set!!!****
2005 Fender Classic Series '72 Telecaster Deluxe Re-issue
2003 Ovation Celebrity Deluxe semi-acoustic
1992 Squier Precision Bass

I wanted to buy something different - something to offer alternatives to the sounds I can already get from the above guitars. I knew the Ric would do this but I have to say - contrary to my expectations, this Rickenbacker beats the whole lot hands-down in every area.

I would seriously consider another Rickenbacker - thinking about a 4003 Bass and I nearly went for a 660/6 I saw on eBay, but it was over #1,200.

Fireglo 6 string with Rick single coils. Stereo output, etc... Lots of tonal options here, so long as you realize you are in single-coil territory.

In the clean guitar tone area, I love the 620. It seems darker and richer than a Tele or G&L. It has more character and presence, IMHO.

For dirty channel work, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the pretty Rick growl!

To my ears, a good instrument delivers in both arenas. Rickenbackers can handle any style you throw at them with clarity and depth.

After an initial set-up, the Rick plays really well. The action is very fast and works for strumming and fingerstyle with aplomb.

My Rick arrived in gorgeous condition and gleams, begging to be played.

I would emphatically suggest to all purchasers of a new Rick to immediately get it set up to your specs.

I've gigged hard for over a year with this instruments in a variety of climates... (Hawaii, Vegas, Florida)

She stays in tune and plays well in any situation!

The only ding I have with Rickenbacker is their supply! I want to buy another one and can't find one anywhere! Especially the 620.

Seriously Rick, you need to make more of these guitars and market them. Everyone is sold out of the 620... What does that tell you?

I've owned and toured with many Fenders, PRS's, Gibsons and custom instruments. The Rick has more character and class than any other production brand. Good luck finding one in the style and color you want, but if you find one, buy it ASAP.

2005 Midnight Blue, white binding "R" tailpiece, hardshell case, made in USA, High-Gain single coil pups, ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL FINISH.

This guitar sounds exactly like I hoped it would. Clean is outstanding, add a little (or a lot) of gain and it again sings. I play Bryan Adams-type rock to Foo Fighters and it sounds great with it all. I play through a Johnson JM120 Amplifier, but will probably soon switch to a "vintage"-type tube amp.

Perfectly set up and beautiful. This guitar is a work of art.

Have had many Rics and they are all great.

Great customer support.

I own a 2003 Mapleglo Rickenbacker 6-string 620, made in the USA, purchased in November, 2003. This is a 3/4-size guitar (like the far more famous John Lennon Ric 325), with a fairly slim body and long neck that is cut away enough for you to get way up the neck. Two high-gain single-coil pickups, solid maple body and neck with 21-fret rosewood fretboard. Everything but the chrome metal parts are saturated with multiple layers of high-gloss varnish. The neck is fairly slim and chunky, and the 3/4-scale body has a through neck with trapeze bridge. There are separate volume and tone knobs for the two pickups, plus a fifth mixing knob -- all within easy reach. The pickup selector switch is also very handy. It comes in a very sturdy hard-shell case, with a custom form-shaped velvet interior that provides a perfect fit for this guitar.

This guitar is so awesome. Why don't we see more professional musicians playing it on stage besides Mary Chapin Carpenter? This guitar is versatile enough to satisfy lots of different tastes. I use it for a variety of country, pop rock, and folk music styles. It has a nice full sound, both clean and in overdrive with great sustain. The high-gain pickups are super bright, but do not have as jangly a sound as do the vintage (toaster top) pickups that you might want to swap as a replacement. The various control knobs for the 2 pickups give you lots of room to play around with different sounds.

This guitar was set up just right for me, with moderately low action. I don't care as much for the extra light strings that Rickenbacker puts on these guitars, but that's a matter of taste. The chrome tuners, bridge, pickups and strap buttons are gorgeous and hardly need more than a quick swipe with a towell after playing. Fit and finish are exactly what everyone else has said -- totally flawless. Rickenbacker puts all the others to shame in this regard.

Dependability? This guitar is built like a rock -- with a solid maple through neck and body. Unlike other Rickenbackers (beware jetglo folks), the mapleglo finish seems to defy my usual clumsiness on stage and shows no nicks or scratches. Although it's pretty light weight, I'd definitely recommend Schaller strap buttons. Depend on it? I always have this guitar with me, whether as the first-stringer, or as a dependable second guitar to back up my les paul and tele when needed.

I have not had to deal with the folks in California, but I've heard good things about them.

I have been playing guitar for 20 years, and own an Epiphone Les Paul, Fender Telecaster, and a semi-hollow body Rickenbacker 330 in addition to Ovation and Wechter accoustics. This guitar is a nice compliment to these others, with its own distinctive sound and feel. It is, by far, my most versatile guitar I own -- well-suited for just about any style of music except where you want the les paul-style fat humbucker sound. I'm hoping to get some of those vintage toaster-top pickups to replace the modern ones on this guitar. I also wish I'd spent another $100 and gotten the 12-string version.

This is the second and final update to my previous review. I have replaced the bridge pickup with a Rickenbucker (my personal name for a Ric humbucking pickup). Now the sound is perfect, plus I've gotten used to the thinner neck. Now all I need to do is have someone attach the old single coil to the guitar in the middle position; inactive because the insturment is much more versatile sounding now and I wouldn't want to mess that up. Just for visual impact.

This is an update on my previous review (see below). I have stopped playing the style I described and moved on to something more eclectic (it's described my Ric 360 review), and I've found that the sounds produced by this gutiar aren't always as suitable as I thought. I'm either going to replace the bridge pickup with a Rickenbacker humbucker or just trade it in for a 650 Colorado so I can get a cresting wave style body with a wider neck and humbuckers in Fireglo, because sometimes when playing arpeggios I feel like I'm tiptoeing around the strings, and sometimes the hum can be overwhelming and the feedback unusable.

Made in the USA in 2004.
21 frets, Fireglo finish, 2 high output single coil pickups, maple neck and body wings (neck-thru construction), "cresting wave" body style with "R" tailpiece, 24.75" scale, different feel than Ric 300s (Their website says it's the same size, but it feels wider and chunkier to me). Case and cleaning cloth included.

Think a Tele on steroids. I play mostly poppish punk with old school attitude and aggression (think early Green Day/late Descendents with East Bay Ray on guitar), but I also like to branch off into lates 80s/early 90s alternative rock (think Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Pixies) type stuff, you know, when "alternative" meant something. This guitar is great for all those kinds of music. It buzzes, but that's what you get with single coils, and the lead tone is a bit muddy when cranked (although that could be my crappy solid-state Crate amp). I would suggest it for any style of music except really heavy metal, too twangy (though it can do Smashing Pumpkins' heaviest moments pretty well IMHO).

The only adjustment this guitar needed was a little tuning. Other than that, I could play it right out of the case. The finish is nothing short of a work of art; the grain shows through the lightest part of the burst. It's so smooth, almost like a table, though the neck can feel a bit tacky after some hard playing. The bridge and tailpiece are flawlessly constructed.

Maple is one of the toughest, strongest woods out there. After a nuclear war there will be cockroaches, KISS, and this guitar. My strap holds pretty well, but if you move around a lot, I'd suggest getting straplocks. My back craps out before this guitar (it's not heavy, though).

I've never dealt with the company myself, but I hear good things. They offer a pretty good warranty.

I've played a number of guitars (Epiphone Les Paul, Strat, Jaguar with humbuckers, Ibanez Artcore Talman, 12-string acoustic, Ric 360), and I must say it's the best. This is the second Ric I've got (the other is the aforementioned 360). If someone stole it...for reasons of taste, I won't go into it. Suffice to say the thief would SEVERELY regret their mistake. Sometimes I almost wish it had a thicker sound, but I'm not playing death metal, I don't need that. Before you travel the beat-flat path of Fender or Gibson try a Ric. When I first saw it and saw the price, I was like "You gotta be kidding! That dull thing should be no more than $300!" Trust me,
their design might be simple, but that's what makes it timeless, and if you ask me, it's damn sexy. Rics might be expensive, but they are worth every cent.

Made in 2003 in USA. 20-fret neck wider and chunkier than the 300-series Rics (a good thing, IMHO). All-maple solid-body neck-thru with dual truss rods, finished all over (incl. neck and headstock) in glossy Midnight Blue lacquer, white body binding. Chrome hardware incl. adjustable bridge with cover, R tailpiece, enclosed tuners (Schallers I think). White 2-piece adjustable-height pickguard, 2 modern hi-gain Ric single-coil pups, 3-way selector switch, volume and tone for each pup, pup blend, mono and stereo outs (all passive, although use of the stereo outs requires purchase of an accessory processor from Ric). Body shape is a cross between Ric bass and other Ric guitars: cresting wave upper horn, short 330-style lower horn. Light reddish-orange rosewood fretboard with triangular pearloid inlays and finished in glossy clear lacquer. Comes with HSC, toolkit (no truss rod wrench, though). Only wish item is I wonder if a middle pickup with out-of-phase switching like a strat would give you those kinda tones? You could leave the Ric neck-bridge combos intact as-is, but add in the in-between strat tones. Just a thought

I play mostly rhythm with some simple hook-type lead work, basic rock-n-roll styles from mild pop to blues/classic rock, clean to moderate distortion, lots of 1st-position chords. I'm just starting to experiment more with effects but the Ric doesn't seem to need much because it's got such a harmonically rich sound by itself. My main amp is a well-tweaked Epiphone Electar Tube 30 (see my review in the amp section) and I have used/am using an old Boss chorus; Ibanez "Soundtanks" including FL-5 Flanger, TS-5 Tubescreamer, and Digital Delay; a Rat 2; Guyatone VT-3 Vintage Tremolo; I have other effects but have not used them much yet.

This thing sounds very rich and full, and is also more versatile than I thought it would be. And I haven't even used the stereo function yet. Both pups on is the heart of this guitar's tone -- it's classic Ric, bright, thick, punchy, and, yes, jangly. Kinda Tele-like but richer and not as piercingly bright. The 20-fret neck puts the neck pup way back there, and I think this gives it more warmth and bottom than maybe other Rics are known for. The blend control seems to just pan toward one pup or the other, although it's whimsically backward, so that turning it toward the neck pup makes the tone brighter and turning it toward the bridge pup makes it darker. All the tones throughout the blend range are usable for either lead or rhythm, and neither extreme completely cuts out either pup. I've heard this control is really there for the stereo out, but I find it really useful in mono. The neck pup alone doesn't have the midrange punch of the typical neck pup, although it's a nice meaty sound, and I also find it useful for an almost "acoustic" tone in quiet passages. The bridge pup alone gives maximum jangle but you obviously lose bottom.

This thing is so harmonically rich it sounds pretty rock-n-roll even relatively clean (think early Beatles, "A Hard Day's Night," "You Can't Do That," etc.), but it also works as well with distortion as any other guitar I've owned (American Standard Strat, Yamaha 1-1-2 strat copy, Danelectro Baritone). I guarantee it will sound glorious through any good tube amp with the gain set clean and the master cranked for power-tube distortion. Any distortion effect or high-gain preamp that preserves the character of the guitar's sound (e.g., my Tubescreamer and Rat) will work great. If you're into the really heavy stuff, it can do that, but there are better and/or cheaper guitars for that kinda stuff (check out the Ric 650 if you like it heavy but think you want a Ric). Like any floating-tailpiece guitar, sustain is not optimal, although no worse than, say, a strat with a traditional tremolo.

There is nothing I don't like about the way this guitar sounds. There isn't a sound in there that isn't usable.

This guitar is absolutely beautiful. Ric is justly famous for gorgeous paintwork, and this guitar lives up to the rep. Thought I wanted Jetglo, but when I saw the midnight blue, I had to have it. Everthing shines and glows and begs you to keep it clean and polished like a classic car in your driveway.

I don't know how well it was set-up at the factory, but when it got to me it was a little off. The action was too low and buzzed if I played hard. I adjusted the truss rods a little because it had no relief that I could see, and raised the bridge a little and now it's fine, except that the g-string saddle is all the way back and the intonation is still not right. I'm gonna try different string guages so the jury is still out on this. It arrived in Chicago UPS on the coldest day last winter, something like 30 below with windchill, so I can forgive a few setup foibles.

A few legitimate gripes, though: the toolkit did not come with a truss rod wrench; the R tailpiece gets in the way of adjusting the G, B, and high E saddles, so you have to completely unstring it to get at them; the glossy finish all over the neck is pretty but your fingers stick to it so it impedes smooth playing; the pup selector switch and output jacks required a lot of tuner cleaner spray before they stopped crackling every time I moved.

I am confident this guitar will stay looking, playing, and sounding good for a long time. The finish looks as deep as the ocean, the chrome is thick, the hardware is stout and firmly attached. Neck-thru construction and dual truss rods will keep the neck true and stable. I routinely use it on a gig with no backup

The noisy switch and jacks are disappointing, but an easily solved problem

Never dealt with Rickenbacker

Been playing 24 years, electric 15. Other gear described above.
I love just about everything about it -- the sound, the look, the feel of solidity. Probably the feel of the glossy neck is the wierdest thing.
I looked at Fenders, both Teles and Strats (I have owned a Strat before), as well as Gibson and Epiphone semi-hollows. For me Rics have more character to their sound without sacrificing much, if any, versatility. I looked at the semi-hollow Rics but didn't like the skinny necks and felt the set-neck joint felt somewhat flimsy. I am very happy that I settled on the 620.
Wish it had a 3rd pickup (see comments in "Features")

2003 Made in USA. 21 frets. solid maple, neck-through construction. Two volume and two tone knobs, 3-way switch and blend knob. Two Hi-gain pickups, stereo and mono outs, rosewood fretboard, Solid turquise finish with just a hint of metallic, body and neck binding, R-tailpiece, Schaller tuners, 25-inch scale, Thick C-shaped neck with medium frets. Includes standard case with keys, polish cloth and allen wrenches.

I play all forms of rock and dabble in folk, jazz, blues, etc. I play mostly through a 30W Roland Blues Cube but sometimes get to go through a 68 Fender Twin Reverb. The Hi-gain pickups give a bit of hum but nothing unbearable. This baby sounds like a Ric. Not the full jangle of a 12-string but the pure 6 string sound that you'd associate wiht R.E.M., Petty, The Who, The Jam, etc. Very versatile sounds available with the blend knob once you understand what it actually does. It gives me exactly the sound I was looking for, rich, jangly, bright. Every note within a chord rings and sustains.

The action is perfect, the intonation and factory settings are pure. No guitar can match a Rickenbacker for finish. It's just a work of art. From the intricate neck binding to the R-Tailpiece dripping in chrome to the sharkfin inlays to the countours it's just gorgeous. Handcrafted in the USA with an attention to detail that no other manufacturer will attempt for anywhere close to the price. The only flaw is the neckthrough joints show slightly in the light on the back of the guitar. It's a flaw that is at the wood joint, there is no seam that can be felt in the actual finish. It's barely noticeable but to a trained eye it's there. Still, the finish and binding is much better done than any other guitar in my collection.

This guitar is meant to be played live. It's built very thin so it's light but it sustains for days because it's a neck through. All of the hardware is top-notch. The finish, while beautiful, is durable as well. Strap buttons are solid and it's going to my next gig. I would always carry a backup for a Rickenbacker since changing strings on an R-Tailpiece is time consuming.

I haven't had any direct dealing with Rickenbacker. Warranty is 1-year on finish and 5-years on the guitar itself.

I've been playing poorly for about 20 years now. I own a 1987 MIJ Squier Stratocaster, a 1997 MIJ Squier Venus, a 2002 MIM Fender Stratocaster, a 2003 USA Fender Highway 1 Telecaster, a 1998 MIK Squier Affinity Telecaster refinished and modded with a Bigsby tremolo, an SX LP Clone, two custom built strats and one custom tele. I play through a 30W Roland Blues Cube occasionally with a Chorus, Distortion and Crybaby Wah.

If this were lost or stolen I would save up and buy another one, possibly a 330 or 360. I still want a hollow-body Ric. I bought this one for two reasons. I've always wanted a Ric and it was such a great deal I couldn't say no. MF is closing out the turquoise Rics and they may still have one if you're looking for one. It's got so much quality for $800. It's basically a 360 in specs, finish and features without the hollowbody and 21 instead of 24 frets. But the neck-through construction adds a dimension that the 330 and 360 don't have.

Purchased new 2003 model in Jetglo

I am in a jangle-pop/country outfit, this is the sound. TONS of sustain, augmented by compression, to me a must for any single coil.
This guitar practically plays itself, sings like a bird, and looks like a T-bone steak five days from payday.

What can you say about rickenbacker finishes, save that they are the standard by which all others are measured. Absolutely stunning.

Obviously haven't had it too long, but it feels as tough as a baseball bat.

I can't see any reason to call. but I have heard they are slow to respond.

I played this guitar once and sold all of my Fenders, 2 teles and 2 strats. 'Nuff said.