Rickenbacker 650 DAKOTA

I have used the 650 Dakota, gigging and recording, for 3 years. It has a great feel and a modern look, but with classic Rickenbacker tones. Excellent tones! I play through a Peavey classic 50, the tube warmth helps, offering a very bright and clean sound. Minor tuning issues though. I set the intonation with every string change and usually have to retune between songs. This is a guitar that requires upkeep and regular maintanence to keep the natural finish from darkening. Mine is definitely a 'working guitar' the chrome has begun pitting. Paid $750 at Don's Pawn and vintage guitars, Jax. FL.

2007 Maple thru neck and walnut body sides with rics own high gain pickups in a hum-hum config with three way toggle. Hard tail bridge adjustable on three axis. Non locking Shaller tuners. 24.75 in. neck scale and 24 frets. Maple fretboard. Made in USA with case. Standard features as Les Paul but different woods and 24 frets. Cool look and vibe. Good tones.

Great tones. Clean is nice and distorted screams.Single note definition while distorted and arrpegiating a little blurred from pickups. Not too bad. Used thru Mesa Dual recto and mesa 4x12 cab, VHT Deliverance 2x12 combo open back and Digitech GSP1101 rack modeler/effects unit. It's it's own guitar. Don't look for other guitar sounds here...it's not a strat...it's not a paul.

Here's where this guitar faulters a bit. I have owned three of these. Each one had minor issues. Rickenbacker really needs to step up here. The fret work is not done to high tolerance. There is always a high fret or two on every one I have ownwed. I have not found a local store with these in stock so I order online when they are available. The other two I had I sold when I needed the cash. I'll hold on to this one though. BUT...it is three weeks in my hands now and every day the fret ends are sticking out more and more. The neck wood is not cured it seems. I went to the ric website and emailed them but after a week no answer. I have delt with other companies in the past and ric loses points here. They just don't hold a candle compared to Ernie Ball Music Man. Also, there are sanding marks on the fret board and the nut is wider than the neck. 'Cmon Ric!??

Seems hefty...I really do like this guitar overall. Heavy too.

O% so far. :-(

I really like this axe...aside from the wood shrinking issue. I am in humid south Texas...so they can't say it's the climate. I did the look and feel. The sound is good...it's USA made with a case. It has alot going for it. I hate to say it...but my Korean Ibanez Prestige is a little nicer and the finish is better. All that said I still really like the Ric 650D.

The guitar is made from American farm-grown hardwoods. I was surpised by this because it's sold by Musician's Friend and I thought they were on a corporate mission to destroy all of the world's rainforests as quickly as possible with their Rogue cheapest-wood-we-could-rape-from-the-Earth products. But I digress...

The 650D comes with a beautiful oiled wood finish. The guitar is balanced well, it's light, and has two humbucker pickups. It's kind of a "no frills" guitar, but that's what I like about it. I actually wish it had two less knobs (on guitars with pickup selection, I never use the ton knobs anyway).

The guitar came with a hardshell case, and an owners manual (no strap, cable, picks, stickers, etc.).

I was never able to plug it in because it was damaged.

A lot of people have been whining in various reviews about the neck being too thick. The neck isn't noticably thicker than that of a Fender Telecaster. The neck feels great, the frets are properly shaped (although a little crude/rough). Other people have been whining that the routing for the pickups is too oversized. Not true, the pickups fit in nicely. The fit and finish is great except that I received my guitar with the the chrome electronics cover completely detached and two screws floating loose in the case. The pickup selector switch was also broken. I therefore returned the guitar.

It looks and feels like a solid guitar. It looks like the wood will need to be oiled now and then, but that wouldn't be a problem. I really really really like the near total absence of plastic on this guitar. I've always thought the huge plastic pickguards on Les Pauls and pickguard/electronics covers on Telecasters and Stratocasters felt and looked so cheap and cheesy. However, I'm giving this rating a 3 because my new guitar arrived broken. If this guitar were manufactured and shipped correctly, I think it would be a very durable guitar.

I've heard horror stories, but the people at Rickenbacker have always been nice to me. They answered all my questions, and I applaud them for making a responsible guitar. This issue of wood is serious. The vast majority of thousands and thousands of guitars being made today are from totally non-renewable forests and it seems like absolutly no one cares. People are looking for a cheap Chinese piece of crap. This Rickenbacker doesn't fall in that catagory. I'd rather deal with Rickenbacker than some completely unknown Chinese patent pirate.

This guitar broke my heart because I've wanted a Rick for years. When I finally get one, it's totally busted and I have to return it. What a huge letdown!

This guitar has amazing sound quality and that is for one reason...its mane feature is a built throw neck. with a built throw neck it makes it easyer to hold out long notes that are hard to hold when playing and TAPING!!!the finnish on the guiar is amazing. it is pure wood nothing else. the string lay right on the frets and there is no buzz at all. its neck might be a little bit "thicker" for lack of a better term than other if not most guitars but that is not hard to get past at all.

well....i play this guitar and a gibson sg in to a ORANGE ROCKERVERB100 head and a marshall jcm 900 cab.all i have to say is fuck that gibson sg. I play in a pro-rock band. we play stuff like The mars volta, At the drive-in..stuff like that. there is not a better guitar out there for this type of music. i have also played a lot of hard-core on this beast and its still amazing. people might thing becouse its a rick its will be bright...and that is true its not like the 360's. with some time you can take all of the brightness out.

The one thing that a lot of people dont like is that if you press to hard on the frets it will change the note that you are trying to play. i love that. i got the guitar the day it came in. i watched the ups guy walk it in the store. when i opened the case the first thing i noticed besides the smell(witch when you open the caes the smell of the wood is breath taking) i saw the finish when was no pant or any type of coating at all, just wood. there where NO FLAWS AT ALL on this guitar.

so far so good

you will not need them at all.

i could not be happyer about this guitar.the only thing that was "bad" is that i had to wait 3 months for it to come in. for thoses who dont know it is very hard to find this guitar in ANY store and be able to play it. every thing about this guitar is PERFICT!!

It's a simple electric guitar, but that's one of it's strengths.

Almost a 10. It's different than anything else made in America at the price that I know of. The neck has dead spots like all simple wood necks, but is otherwise superb sounding in all respects. This is not vintage Ricktone, it cuts and has guts. Perfect for high gain players, as the pickups are dead silent due to excellent shielding.

This is the problem. The itty bitty lower horn means it sucks for playing while sitting, which is 95% of the time for me. Standing up, it playes great, and it reasonably light. RIC should dump this old 450 style body and give it a decent lower horn like all the Strat stylr guitars. Get some of these RIC HB-1 humbuckers and have a luthier install them in a superstrat style body if you want the ultimate in tone and comfort. You will have to hone the sticky fret ends after the maple fretboard seasons out, but that's a simple job.

Not likely to give much trouble, but RIC still refuses to reinforce their flatsawn necks that can easily warp with graphite or other stable material. The dual truss rods is a gimmick carried over from their 4003 bass that needs them.

Ha! Get a use done off of eBay and forget about dealing with RIC.

These are available all the time on eBay, so no need to get a new one for $700-$800. Get one with several years on it, to see where that neck is going to settle down at. Have the final finishing work done on the neck, set it up to taste, and play on. It should last you a lifetime with reasonable care and normal use. If you like to play your axe while sitting, then I would look at something else, unless you like that sawed-off lower horn sticking you in the leg. It's a standy-up guitar for gigging. The final rating is for how it suits me personally. If I played standing up, I would rate much higher.

See the website. This has turned out to be Rickenbacker's most popular model, and for good reason.

The sound is very clear with shimmering overtones. Much more bass output than most other Rickenbackers. Very suitable for high gain use as the pickups are well and extremely quiet. The sustain is excellent. The sound is extremely open due to the light oiled finish. Twin volume and tone controls allow extreme variation in sounds.

Excellent for the price. The oiled walnut finish looks nice and adds to the tone. You are in contact with the wood, and it gives the guitar character and makes you want to play it. The hardware is very good quality. The frets are highly polished and allows you to bend notes easily easily. Hangs well from a strap. Very easy to setup to your taste.

I really don't know how you could break this guitar in anything remotely close to any kind of sane use. If you break this axe, you will break any axe.

If something major happens in warranty, they will fix it. If something minor happens (most likely) then it isn't worth a trip back to the factory.

The best American made electric guitar for the money, and it's a neck-thru design at that! For just flat out playing, I will take this one over any Rick I ever played, except maybe a 230 that isn't made anymore.

Dual humbuckers, dual volume, dual tone controls. selector switch, neck-thru construction, maple/walnut wood.

No bindings or fancy inlays, no tremolo, but high quality hardware.

The sound is the whole reason for being. I will not repeat what others have said, except that you probably never heard humbuckers so clean before. There is infinite variability between each pickup, with separate volume and tone controls for each. The VERY quiet pickups are a natural for high gain work, though Rickenbackers have never been particularly noted for that. These pickups are available on no other brand of guitar. Lots of resonance, sustain, and a lively sound. As in any flatsawn necked guitar, there will be a few dead notes on the fretboard, so consider that if high gain playing is your style. I would have preferred graphite reinforcing instead of dual truss rods, but I guess that's a minor gripe for the price. I have heard that dead notes can be partially eliminated by tightening and loosening each truss rod, but cannot confirm this rumor personally, and really have no need to. Anyway, you can pick the sound of this guitar out of a crowd. You probably heard that before about Rickenbackers.

Everything is very good considering the price. Not quite in the custom boutique range of fit and finish. I had to file my fret ends a bit, which is normal with maple fretboards as they age and shrink across the grain. The frets are highly polished and note bending is very easy. had to give this axe a complete setup to my liking. I was surprised how good the Rickenbacker strings really were, and keep them on after buying a bunch of sets. The neck has been very stable and the guitar holds a setup well. The natural wood finish is beautiful and well sanded, but it picks up scratches easily, which are nevertheless easily sanded and oiled to reduce their appearance. The neck is very fast and smooth. The bridge is adjustable in every way in all three axes.

This guitar will thrive on heavy use. It will pick up dings and scratches, but they are easily minimized. This is a simple and sturdy guitar. I only dislike the nut. I would have preferred the nut slots be deeper to prevent strings from inadvertently slipping over. I may have another nut put on at a later date. The Schaller tuners and other hardware look like they will last for many years.

No problems so far.

You can get these a bit cheaper than what I paid, but I had return privileges which is what I wanted since the wood grain is a big deal with a naturally finished axe like this one. I don't like the fact that the dinky lower horn is not very comfortable for playing while sitting down, but when standing up and using a strap, the balance is very good. The weight is rather light, which makes it a natural for a live gig guitar. My old Les Paul is taking a long breather as I just like the sound and lighter weight of my 650D a bit better. The neck feel is not very different, not as fat as some have said. Since this guitar will feel and sound quite a bit different than anything else you can buy, give it a long trial period before you pass judgement. This guitar will accommodate any size strings as the neck seems very solid and new slots shouldn't be necessary when you change string gauges. This is one badass little axe, and a definite keeper. If you need fancy bindings, finishes, and figured maple wood, etc., look elsewhere. The body design will win no beauty awards, but the sound is stellar. With most USA guitars costing well over a grand these days (and few of them worth their asking price), this has been a pleasant surprise.

This is simple guitar, with solid fundamental hardware and little in the way of frills.

24 fret maple neck-through construction with dark walnut wings in the Rickenbacker "cresting wave" shape. Small dot-markers. Rubbed oil finish throughout. Nice and light (aprox. 8.5 lbs,) with a small body.

The neck is not as thick as many would make it out to be--it's virtually the same size as a current production Les Paul. Dual truss-rod. It's got medium-jumbo frets and an extremely thick finger-board. A side-effect of the oil finish is that the neck and fingerboard can easily be smoothed with a fine-grit sandpaper/abrasive pad.

2 samarium-cobalt magnet mini-humbuckers, with 2 volume and 2 tone controls and a three switch. Features a large chromed aluminum pickguard which is my least favorite part of the look.

Excellent high-quality, high-mass Schaller roller bridge and Schaller tuners. I especially appreciated the standard Schaller strap-locks.

This guitar lacks binding, a hard laquer finish and fancy inlays, but the basics are top-notch, so I give it a 7.

I play jangly-rock, blues, country(ish), and a combination of all of the above in an indie-rock context. I tend to gravitate to single-coil guitars with simple appointments, with the telecaster being the standard all others are judged on.

I tried several Gibson SGs and various Les Paul-alikes (particularly the Heritage H150)in my search to add a nice dual-hb guitar to my collection.

The Dakota feels and sounds most similar to the various Gibson SGs I tried. The mini-humbuckers are surprisingly powerful, and have great character, articulation, and balls when driven hard. The bridge pup is pure rock-n-roll when overdriven or played through heavy-distortion. These pickups are the quietest I've ever used. Dead silent.

The neck pickup has that fat, wide-open solo tone when the tone is rolled off, and the sustain is terrific--the entire neck-through construction rings from headstock to strap button, with the neck being especially lively.

But Rickenbacker calls these pups "single-coil voiced", and when you back off of the distortion, these things clean up beautifully. The pickups have a wonderful chime and jangle that you just can't get from most dual-hb guitars. This isn't a Rick 330 hollowbody chime, but still a clean, articulate and chimy tone with plenty of character and power. The bride + neck pup position is fantastic clean, nice and woody, clear and not too boomy.

This is a dual hb equipped guitar for those who love single-coil tone. It hits the SG territory quite well, but it's got a "snap" and a "bite" to it due to the maple neck and the lower placement of the neck pup (due to the 24 fret neck)causes it to be clearer and less muddy than similar guitars. The pickups are quiet, powerful, clear and yet can get quite chunky and heavy. The sound is everything I want in a dual hb guitar.

The guitar was properly set-up when I recieved it in the sealed factory box. I only needed to tune it, the relief and the action were great. No buzz, no dead spots through the 24 frets.

The frets were particularly well finished, and the ends were quite well filed, perhaps slightly more filed than most new guitars (a slightly deeper angle, if that makes sense.) They may be paying extra attention to the frets on these now, as the fretboards are particularly subject to shrinking/expanding due to the weather, but my frets were perfectly rounded, and not extending over the fretboard in the least.

The guitar was well sanded, and the wings were well-joined to the neck-through construction. As a side note, the Rickenbacker strings that ship from the factory are top-notch. Durable and nice and snappy. I'm a DR Tite-Fit user normally, but I'm going to order more Rick strings when I get a chance.

This guitar is light, simple and well put together. There is no finish to wear. It has the unique ability to be sanded and buffed to smooth out wear and keep the neck fast. Tung-oil can be applied to keep the wood from drying out and to keep it sealed.

Nevertheless, it will collect nicks, bumps, and wear because of the lack of a proper finish (ie "honest wear".) I believe this is part of its character, and I embrace this. The finger-board has the tendency to show marks and wear far quicker than a sealed maple board.

It can be cleaned with soap (Rickenbacker's John Hall recommends Simple Green, but warns it leaves some of the green color behind!) It can be buffed and sanded, and the fingerboard is super-thick, to withstand much wear. The neck can be kept smoother than any nitro or poly coated neck.

So the durability is something of a toss-up. The Dakota is subject to more wear than normal, but can be maintained by the user with simple, cheap tools.

I emailed a question to Rick support and got a prompt response. I don't expect to need too much support, though I'd like a wiring diagram.

I've been playing for about 10 years. I own 8 or 9 other guitars, mostly sub-$500 instruments. I'm giving this guitar an 8 in comparison to the other guitars in the $800-1200 range that I tried out when shopping for a dual-hb guitar. It has the sound, playability and feel to compete with pro quality instruments, but lacks the binding, finish, and inlays of the instruments in the top of the range.

Compared to my lower-end guitars this guitar is a 9. There is something hard to put my finger on that seperates a budget guitar from a competent instrument--whether it's "resonance" or the liveliness of the wood, or the smooth action, I can't put my finger on it, but this guitar crosses that line, despite being Rickenbacker's budget offering.

This was a RIC 650 Dakota purchased from musicians friend.Very beautiful guitar with natural woodgrain,a blond maple neck and dark walnut wings on the body,dual mini-humbuckers with a 3-way switch,a neck-thru design with 24 frets and Schaller tuners.Guitar was smaller than I had imagined,but not in a bad way,very nice unit.It was just slightly out of tune out of the nice case it came with.This guitar was manufactuered in June of 2002 according to the SN.

I have been playin for about 2 years,my last guitar was a Ibanez S-470qs,The 650 Dakota had a sound I really didn't care for compared to the Ibanez.I played it thru an Ibanez Tone Blaster 15 amp with a SM7 and DE7 fx pedals.As you can tell I am not too experienced in the technicalities of sound,so I won't pretend.

I had this guitar for 3 days,it was returned due to it was a factory second as I would call it.Upon inspecting it for flaws,I noticed 4 dark small spots on the back of the blonde headstock(appeared to be stain spots)Then the kicker was about a 1 inch long cut in the walnut wood on the inner heel the top horn on the body.It appeared to be a saw blade cut made at the factory and was not sanded deep enough to remove.This meant the axe had to be returned.I feel this guitar should not have left the factory.They could have put some finish on this and made a Colorado or Atlantis out of it.

This guitar was returned to Musicians Friend.

I have sent for a Rickenbacker Catalog about 2 months ago,but have not received one.

This guitar is very beautiful in my opinion.But make sure you get a mint one,if you pay full price for it.

I am updating my previous review due to a QC issue that I found later.

Anybody thinking about purchasing a Rickenbacker with a tung oil finished neck needs to read this review, as it may apply to you in the future.

The QC issue had nothing to do with the sound.

At least one person on The Rickenbacker Forum who also had a 650D mentioned that his guitar had very rough fret ends that stuck out and cut his hand. I also had some noticeably rough fret ends on mine, but not to the extent that they cut me. However, they were noticeable and it was also mentioned in The Rickenbacker Forum that dry winter weather could shrink the maple fretboard and cause a slight stickiness of the fret ends to develop. Since indoor humidity is running about 25% at my place right now, it may have been partly to blame. My Tacoma Chief with an uncoated rosewood fretboard was not having this problem, however, and it just came from Nevada. Only a few of the 650D frets were really bothersome, and very close inspection revealed that frets #13, #14, #18, and #20 and been replaced at the factory, as I am the original owner. Whoever replaced them did not roll the edges as much as the other frets, and that caused them to feel different when sliding my hand over the fret edges. This was a very simple job for me to set straight, since you can always take off some fret end, but not make up for a short one. There were no short ones, thank goodness. Being a skier, I have in my possession a DMT Diamond Mini Ski Hone, model# WS7C. It is 70x25x4mm and is a blue color, meaning Coarse 325 Grit. Finer and coarser grits are available. That is coarse in ski edge maintenance terms, where only removal of burrs is in order, as well as removal of rust and just generally getting the edges nice and slick. It is not a replacement for a ski tuner's file that shapes the ski's steel edges, and it removes metal very slowly, so it is very good for finishing out your fret ends. It actually put a much smoother finish on the end of the frets than the Rickenbacker "fret filer" did, whoever he/she may be and whatever he/she used. My ski hone has deburred my skis many a time, however, (I ski at Taos and rock induced burrs on ski edges are a way of life for me) and it is smoother than a new one would be. Still, it took down the extended fret ends and beveled the edges of the four replaced frets in about 30 minutes. That was working slow and being careful, by the way. It is easy to tell when you are biting into metal or sliding on maple. Clean off the hone and the neck very frequently with a clean rag, put on your reading glasses, and check your progress constantly under very good lighting. My fret ends are now smoother than many a guitar neck with a thick finish coat. Thick finishes hide a less-than-stellar fret filing job on many a guitar, but the tung oil finished 650D neck has no way to hide it. I am a bit dubious about the claim that low humidity caused shrinkage of my maple fretboard. Rickenbacker is supposed to used well seasoned and dried wood of the highest quality in it's guitars. That seems to be the case on my guitar. Some frets were sticking out by the tiniest amounts, and maybe that WAS due to a humidity change in the wood. Maybe Mr. John Hall can enlighten us in that regard. What I saw was less than excellent work on finishing the fret ends, especially by the person that was responsible for filing the 4 replaced frets. The 650D is Rickenbacker's lowest priced guitar, and when some guy gets to quit sweeping floors and stacking wood at the RIC factory and move on up into production, guess which model he gets to gain experience on first? 650D buyers beware! Ask the dealer about rough fret edges before mail ordering this guitar like I did. Or if you are the do-it-yourself kind of guy, just buy a $10 ski hone and be prepared for any future rough fret end touch up jobs. I gave the 650D a 10 in my previous review, and I am going to downgrade it to an 8 by giving it a 6 in this review. When rework on a neck is in order, it should be inspected even closer than it originally was by the person that found the original flaw. That's just good QC procedure. I used to work in failure analysis, so I would be interested in hearing Mr. John Hall's

This problem did not affect the reliability or durability of my guitar. Well, it might affect the reliability and durability of my left hand. :o)

Are you kidding? You fix minor things like this yourself, or take it to a local luthier. Paying UPS to slam your guitar around twice and losing use of your guitar for an extended period of time is not something you do over a few rough fret ends. The guy on the Rickenbacker Forum actually SOLD his 650D because of the rough fret ends. Talk about being picky, lazy, and ignorant!!! Rickenbacker COULD send out a ski hone in fine diamond grit with each tung oil finished guitar it sells, if this is going to mean future problems for the owner due to low humidity climates. They could also include a free truss rod adjustment tool just like Tacoma does with its lowest priced Chief model (it even has a small Phillips screwdriver on the handle end). Ever see what some people do to their truss rod nuts and access openings due to lack of a proper tool (along with lack of common sense)? Then again, your dealer should make these adjustments and minor repairs. Trouble is, Rickenbacker owners frequently mail order their guitars due to lack of local stocking dealers. So it's pay a local luthier for something that should be covered by warranty, or do it yourself. RIC warranty work is performed ONLY at the factory. John's lawyer wife may want to cancel my warranty now for fixing my guitar myself, so I am NOT going to reveal my true identity. Read a RIC warranty card closely; your warranty can run out while the guitar hangs on a dealer's rack, since it starts on the date of manufacture and not the date of sale. Buy your RIC from a dealer that moves stock. Most big RIC dealers do, but beware the small time dealers whose market does not include many typical RIC buyers. I guess the 650D was made to help break into a younger buyer market that cannot afford $1800 model 660 or $1500 model 360 Rickenbackers. Too bad their warranty is only useful for really big problems, which are very rare with a Rickenbacker anyway. The bottom line is that they will rarely have to do any warranty work due to the inconvenience it would put on the owner to fix a minor problem. The dealer may be willing to fix minor problems, but it does not necessarily carry the blessings of RIC with it, so be careful of that as well. What you do get with RIC is the best quality in an American made electric guitar at the lowest cost, just like Tacoma does for acoustic guitars. Oddly, Tacoma has a warranty policy similar to RIC, with all work done at their factory also. You just have to trust that both companies are doing their best to build good guitars while keeping small nuisance warranty problems from jacking up their prices unnecessarily. If you just don't like it, there is always someone like Gibson and Martin to buy from. I'm sticking with RIC and Tacoma for the time being. I saved enough to cover a lot of small problems through local luthiers or through doing the fix myself.

Diamond Machining Technology, Inc., Marlborough, MA, 01752, USA, can supply you with your own diamond mini ski hone, as well as many other types of diamond hones. I suggest the Red model, Fine 600 grit, if you use it only for fret touch ups and will not be dulling it on bigger jobs like I do. You can find them on the internet, or just stop by a good ski shop. My ski hone also doubles as a fishing filet knife sharpener on backpacking or camping trips. Now it has a third job to perform, and you can get a lot of goodwill from fellow musicians by attending to a very common problem with many cheap guitars. I give it a 10 on quality and usefulness.

The Rickenbacker 650D is still the best $1000 class guitar you can get for well under $1000 by shopping around, in spite of my little QC problem I had to fix myself. I am still............