Hoss
Joyfulnoiseologist
i've been completely taken over by G.A.S.
Rickenbacker 660 G.A.S. !!!!!!! :smack: :smack: :smack: :dance:
here's an awesome article/review...
Rickenbacker
660
Electric Guitars
Manufacturer: Rickenbacker
Model: 660
Category: Electric Guitars
Purchase: It was my 55th birthday. I'd been playing guitar at that point for 45 years. Thought I'd buy myself a good guitar to mark the occasion. Cost was not a major factor but vibe, sound and pedigree were. I plumped for the six-string version of Rickenbacker's Tom Petty signature model, the 660. I live in Singapore, where there's no Rickenbacker agent, so I went surfing and discovered Dave's Guitars in Wisconsin. They answered my e-mail enquiries and the whole deal was done without any fuss or drama. I sent a banker's order and a week later UPS delivered the fireglo beauty to my home. The cost of the guitar was US$1250, shipping was another US$150.
Likes: Three things really appeal about this guitar - its sound, its looks and its build quality. The 660 is built along the same lines as Rickenbacker's early "tulip" models from the 50s in that it is a one-piece, neck-thru-body construction with "wings" added to give the body shape. It's made entirely of rock maple, which in the case of my instrument is beautifully flamed and figued on the sides, body and top, and is a cresting wave shape - very retro, very cool. The toaster pick ups (bridge and neck)are the new vintage-specs alternative Rickenbacker has been offering for a couple of years now. Output is around the 5.0K mark in terms of resistance and they deliver THAT jangle as only a Ric can. More significant to me, being British, is the fact that the guitar sounds quintessentially American. Plug it in, turn it up and it couldn't be anything other than a Ric even though it's a solid-body construction and only six strings, the sound is all there. And so are the looks - Ric's traditional fireglo finish (this model is also available in turquoise) is set off beautifully by chequered binding on the top edge of the body, a bound neck and a gold, two-tier pickguard. Vintage-style (but not oven style) control knobs and Kluson-style tuners complete the look along with those (crucial to real Ric fans) shark's tooth diagonal position markers on the deep red rosewood fretboard. Talk about eye-candy! The build quality is quite flawless and, apart from one truss-rod adjustment after the guitar had been in Singapore's humid climate for six weeks, the action was spot on straight out of the box. The "box" by the way is a gorgeous silver case made by the same people as make Fender's tweed cases. It has a discreet Rickenbacker badge near the handle, a blue plush lining and is built to last. The thing that sets this Ric apart - like its 12-string TP big brother - is the extra width of the neck compared to standard models. TP himself asked for this so his fingers didn't get all confused on a thin neck with 12 strings. Translate that into six-string territory and you have a neck that's not unlike a clubby-style '56 goldtop Les Paul or an ES-175D. Very playable and great if you like beefy necks. I also am of the opinion that such necks do wonders for a guitar's tone and when you hear it, you'll know just what I'm talking about.
Dislikes: OK, the downside to my best-ever birthday present falls into three categories, namely weight, neck finish and power. First up, it may be a small guitar but, as I say, the neck is beefy and the weight of all that lovely rock maple is too much for an ageing hippy with a bad back to tote for too long. Shame, I was expecting it to be lighter because the body is small compared to, say, a Strat or a 335. The finish on the neck is Ric's standard high-gloss nitro-cellulose - not normally a problem but in these humid climes it can get pretty sticky, pretty quickly.
cont'd
Rickenbacker 660 G.A.S. !!!!!!! :smack: :smack: :smack: :dance:
here's an awesome article/review...
Rickenbacker
660
Electric Guitars
Manufacturer: Rickenbacker
Model: 660
Category: Electric Guitars
Purchase: It was my 55th birthday. I'd been playing guitar at that point for 45 years. Thought I'd buy myself a good guitar to mark the occasion. Cost was not a major factor but vibe, sound and pedigree were. I plumped for the six-string version of Rickenbacker's Tom Petty signature model, the 660. I live in Singapore, where there's no Rickenbacker agent, so I went surfing and discovered Dave's Guitars in Wisconsin. They answered my e-mail enquiries and the whole deal was done without any fuss or drama. I sent a banker's order and a week later UPS delivered the fireglo beauty to my home. The cost of the guitar was US$1250, shipping was another US$150.
Likes: Three things really appeal about this guitar - its sound, its looks and its build quality. The 660 is built along the same lines as Rickenbacker's early "tulip" models from the 50s in that it is a one-piece, neck-thru-body construction with "wings" added to give the body shape. It's made entirely of rock maple, which in the case of my instrument is beautifully flamed and figued on the sides, body and top, and is a cresting wave shape - very retro, very cool. The toaster pick ups (bridge and neck)are the new vintage-specs alternative Rickenbacker has been offering for a couple of years now. Output is around the 5.0K mark in terms of resistance and they deliver THAT jangle as only a Ric can. More significant to me, being British, is the fact that the guitar sounds quintessentially American. Plug it in, turn it up and it couldn't be anything other than a Ric even though it's a solid-body construction and only six strings, the sound is all there. And so are the looks - Ric's traditional fireglo finish (this model is also available in turquoise) is set off beautifully by chequered binding on the top edge of the body, a bound neck and a gold, two-tier pickguard. Vintage-style (but not oven style) control knobs and Kluson-style tuners complete the look along with those (crucial to real Ric fans) shark's tooth diagonal position markers on the deep red rosewood fretboard. Talk about eye-candy! The build quality is quite flawless and, apart from one truss-rod adjustment after the guitar had been in Singapore's humid climate for six weeks, the action was spot on straight out of the box. The "box" by the way is a gorgeous silver case made by the same people as make Fender's tweed cases. It has a discreet Rickenbacker badge near the handle, a blue plush lining and is built to last. The thing that sets this Ric apart - like its 12-string TP big brother - is the extra width of the neck compared to standard models. TP himself asked for this so his fingers didn't get all confused on a thin neck with 12 strings. Translate that into six-string territory and you have a neck that's not unlike a clubby-style '56 goldtop Les Paul or an ES-175D. Very playable and great if you like beefy necks. I also am of the opinion that such necks do wonders for a guitar's tone and when you hear it, you'll know just what I'm talking about.
Dislikes: OK, the downside to my best-ever birthday present falls into three categories, namely weight, neck finish and power. First up, it may be a small guitar but, as I say, the neck is beefy and the weight of all that lovely rock maple is too much for an ageing hippy with a bad back to tote for too long. Shame, I was expecting it to be lighter because the body is small compared to, say, a Strat or a 335. The finish on the neck is Ric's standard high-gloss nitro-cellulose - not normally a problem but in these humid climes it can get pretty sticky, pretty quickly.
cont'd
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