I have never so quickly disliked someone.

even after this, i still want one

Someone call the wah-mbulance?

Not gonna lie; as much as I adore my Rickenbacker guitar it took an crazy amount of tweaks over a number of years to finally get it to where I want it to be. They’re great guitars for rabid Beatles fans or heirloom collectors, but the standard players typically are turned off by them.

Why buy it in the first place... most of the critisim could have been identified prior to purchase.

As a Rickenbacker owner and admirer, I would like to say a few words of explanation of this most different of all guitar brands. I know your guitar is long gone and happily so. Rickenbacker, as a company, produced electric guitars before anyone else did. The family that now owns the company was the original finance and distribution arm of Fender instruments. F. C. Hall, who loaned the money to Leo Fender (and was never paid back), wanted to control all aspects of production and sale of the guitars he was handling. Leo was delivering defective and incomplete instruments to Hall which frustrated him. He went on to purchase Rickenbacker and is responsible for the design which you purchased. His son owns the company and the guitar you bought is a modern adaptation of a mid, late fifties design. This is a classic design which bears no resemblance to any other on the market. It is a complete original. Therefore, it is due some patience from people who are used to Fender, Gibson designs. These are a "hi-fi" design that enhances the adjustability of the instrument and the sonic fidelity, as well. That was the intent and it is a sound (pun intended) design that has influenced modern Rock n Roll on a profound scale. The tone is extremely precise and needs to have a precise adjustment. The tuning issues, which may not be as apparent on other guitars, is pronounced on these. The guitar mechanically as well as electrically produces the distinct and full frequency tone. In order to do this, the pickups are very low gain. The company continues to produce extremely high quality guitars in a limited number to avoid outgrowing the long term market and therefore prevent any outside financial institution from controlling what the customer gets. Rickenbacker pays all their own bills and owes no money. I hope this clarifies.

I own a 2010 Rickenbacker 360 Fireglo and i love it! It is without a doubt the best rhythm guitar ive ever played and when i bring it in the studio, everyone begs to play it! Coincidently, i didnt like the first rick i ever tried either, a 340, but this one had all the magic. Ricks can be hit or miss, especially the newer ones, my suggestion is try one from the 90s to 2012, youll find a lot more gems than duds in this era.

this is the first time i've ever heard someone describe a guitar neck as "gross", idk why that makes me giggle.

The very expensive "R" tailpiece seem to fly apart after a while, but there are good replacements

Keep the guitar, return this guy

Is this satire? Complaining about how volume and tone knobs work haha.

I have the 325c64. It can be a little wonky sometimes but it's still my favourite guitar.

I have a 360/12. This has been my holy grail since I was 14. (am now 71) I love it! Plays well, sounds great. Mine is a 2008, bought slightly used from someone who didn't particularly like it. Granted these are not for everyone, but if you want that 60s sound there is nothing better. I think it plays very well. I don't know if the blend knob was the best idea, but use it to my advantage. I am a drummer so only use it in the studio. (drums about 65 yrs, guitar a bit over 50 yrs) I will never let this thing go.

The third syllable of Rickenbacker should be pronounced as "back", not "bok".

best video Ive seen . I felt the same way I sold my 325 short neck for a loss But I love my 360 cheers

Rickenbackers are definitely not for everyone. I love mine, but I've heard the same complaints from more than a few who have tried one. There's a guitar out there for everyone!

I do agree with a lot of your critiques, especially in regards to price but I have to ask what strings you had on it? Shprtscale guitars tend to require heavier gage strings to maintain tension and stay in tune

I have three. I adore one of them. Like another and would let the other one go. My fave is the 330. Perfect for me.

The trouble with the 350 is that it's too long for the size of the body. Should've got a 325.

You should try one that’s not a reissue, I have three I bought at Guitar Center in person, they stay in tune and play wonderfully. I do agree the old bridge looks bad, or at least not as good as the R shaped ones on mine. When I was younger I tended to play with more gain, now I use considerably less, maybe that’s why the sound suits or maybe the pickups on the reissue are different. I’m also so stubborn so maybe I forced myself to like them? lol

As a proud owner of a Rickenbacker 325 i can tell you that they’re not easy at first but once i got the hang of it and got used to playing it and saw its potential, i loved it. I will agree it is not for everybody and since I’m a Beatles fan i was more keen on playing it. Lastly if too many buttons put you off i would suggest you don’t go near a Brian May red special guitar.

Funny video. I'm not exactly Eddie VanHalen, or a guitar virtuoso. I f*** around with with them & play power chords/punk stuff. That said, I got a Rick 360 due to my love of The Jam. And yes, other than the beautifully look & undeniable history, a very annoying guitar for the price. The switch & knobs really are annoying. Later, I got the Tom DeLonge signature Epiphone (Gibson copy) & recently released Delonge Fender (for my daughter), and for what I/we play it for, one knob, one pickup, sounds great, with so much ease & simplicity. Others may need a more sophisticated guitar, but Rickenbacker has these irritating qualities. And I haven't even mentioned the floating tail-piece & trying to change strings with it! LOL!

Have a 320: love it! Use Pyramid Heavy Gauge Strings & it stays in tune just fine. Hey - different strokes for different folks!

Did you not play it before buying it?

Yeah there is the "this guy" group and the "me guy" group. I think Rickenbackers are fantastic. I've owned a 370/12, and a 330 in the past and currently have a 330 and a 360/12. My 360/12 was the same price. Only a Rickenbacker can do a Rickenbacker. I do hear your opinions often. They are not for everyone. I'm different in that I only buy American guitars (so no Gretsch) and American guitars from manufacturers that have decent left handed support (so no PRS). I love all of the guitars I have and I do NOT hang them on my wall or otherwise leave them out of their cases. When did this become a thing?

What a whiner. -Can't palm mute with the bridge cover on? Funny...I've been palm muting on my Rickenbacker for 40 years with the bridge cover on, so there goes that theory. But if you really need the bridge cover off, it comes off. You'll have to find a luthier who can operate a screwdriver, though. -The controls are not difficult to figure out. There's this thing called the Internet where you could find a tutorial on the function of the controls in about a minute and a half. -If you ever had a Rickenbacker guitar with the "R" tailpiece, you'd be glad to have the stamped metal one. -The only issue you have that I'd actually agree with you on is the price. This guitar should be $1200 to $1500 AT MOST, but the endless parade of John Lennon fetishists out there have driven the sticker price to a ridiculously inflated figure.

Not me looking for a Chinese copy😆 I have always hated when I see guitars that don’t seem to cool enough for there price. Don’t get me wrong, the guitar has good history behind it (Lennon) but just because they don’t mass produce uncomfortable guitars anymore doesn’t mean they should sell it for such a big price. I am in market for a Chinese copy. I have seen enough reviews to trust it. (Enough) Because I ain’t payin almost 3000 dollars for such a small guitar!!

Thank you brother!! 🙏🇧🇷

Sure, the guitar is over priced, but most of the complaints here are purely personal...

Stick with it fella-they take a bit of getting used to.

Probably should have played it before you bought it. What a maroon.

You probably had the wrong strings for that model. The 325 Lennon played was strung with 14 gauge flats. I played a 325 strung with 9's and it couldn't stay in tune from one strum to the next. With any short scale guitar you'll need heavier gauge strings.

Reason: its not for you. The thing your guitar should be: feels right period. No explanation needed.

You can get the 5th knob disconnected you know... Or figure it out. I never could but some people love it.

Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed. Just brutal! I've got two Ricks, a 330 12-string and a 620 six-string, and both sound and play amazingly well. Of all the Ricks, why on earth did you pick out the one with a 21-inch scale length? I wouldn't cut off 3-4 inches for anyone! 🎈

The Guitar is not Short Scale, it is a Rickenbacker 350, With a Full Scale Neck and Headstock and shouldn't really need 12-54 heavy guage strings to Stay in Tune. 🎼🎸🎶🎸

Should've gotten a 330. For one, they're slightly cheaper and shortscales are known for having crap tuning stability, so a 330 would probably stay in tune. Although, I'm surprised a $3600 guitar would be like that. Edit: Come to think of it, just by a Fender Tele, they're way cheaper and sound akinned to a Rick if you want that sound. The quality control is better as well.

Yes. They are ridiculously expensive and all but the new Rickenbacker guitars aren't made like the old ones. Ben is taking shortcuts on productions. I bought a 360/12 and had nothing but problems with it.

I also had one of those Lennon 325 short scale Rickenbackers, and sold it off for the same reasons. It's like trying to play a child's toy guitar. The fretboard is small and uncomfortable. Even Lennon retired it for the Epiphone Casino.

I think you were playing and using it wrong. Set it to the middle position and use the blend knob to get the tone you want. Ric's are great guitars and I'm not a super fan. I just own a 12C63 and had a Lennon model.

(Bit of a lengthy post, but I tried to chunk it up) They're definitely marmite instruments! (Seriously, people either think they're flawless works of a deity or the biggest POS ever devised) that in mind, I'll say a few things objectively: I cant tell if that's a 350 or a 325, but if it's the latter, you really need to have at least 12 gauge strings on there, for tuning stability. (The 325 is an extremely short scale (20.75 inches) Not sure what the gripe over the tailpiece is about, it's a typical trapeze style tailpiece, Standard Ricks have had the more decorative "R" tailpiece since the 60s, but the flat steel one shown here is actually far better, in terms of structural design. The controls are strange... but simple once explained, If it's a 2 pickup guitar, you get 1 volume and tone per pickup, like a Gibson. 3 pickup guitars complicate this, but iirc the middle pickup shares controls with the neck. The small 5th knob is redundant nowadays, but it's just a secondary volume knob for the neck pup. If you ever come across one, i suggest giving the Rickenbacker 650 a try, it's a simpler, more contemporary version of a solid body ric- A modern bridge, wider fingerboard, 2 humbuckers, and no silly 5th knob to impede playing!

Geeky.

Don’t sugarcoat it. Tell me what you really think about that 350. I’d like to be able to make an informed purchase decision. It seems like you’re holding back in your comments.

Hi Chris, your reasons for not liking the guitar are a bit vague. I was getting one of these now I am more confused. Did you not try one first? If you dislike it that much why did you buy it?

like the guitar or not, eitherway i don't peronally think it's worth $3500

I had an early 90s 330 and a mid-90s 360 and they both had the exact same problem - WAY too much lacquer on the fretboard. It's almost as if they lacquered OVER the frets. What a stupid idea. With my sweaty hands it got tacky quick. They should have a bare rosewood fretboard and a bone nut.

I owned one of these. It was probably the most beautiful of my collection. I can agree with many points, some objective, some subjective: - too many knobs, i agree, not my style. - slim baseball bat neck, i loved it! my favourite But also some points that makes it a bad guitar for the price: gets out of tune very easy, plastic nut and the most important for me: size and weight. It is so small and lightweight it feels like a toy guitar. Is it worthy? Maybe if you find it at $2kish.

If I was paying 3.5k for a guitar, I think I would try one first.

haters will hate

First of all you didn’t mention what model it is. Looks like a 350V63. I have one, and I love it. It’s not my first Ric, and I loved them all. Hey but if it’s not your cup of tea well, it’s not your cup of tea.

These type of guitars are more like an investement + Instrument. I want a Rickenbacker 325 so bad for years already and buying a cheap fake chinese copy is not an option. So i have to wait till I can afford it. It is definitely not worth the price but unless one is able to build the guitar on his own there is no other way then to buy it. I already searched for custom builds where you can type in exactly what you want but no one offers a short 21" neck that this guitar has...

Dude Xanax helps

Don't listen to him. It is a great guitar, I own one. It has that magical Beatles sound that is hard to get on other guitars. Yes, it is expensive but it is a Cadillac of a guitar.

You can give it to me :) I love ricks

If John Lennon hadn't bought that second hand Rickenbacker in Hamburg out of desperation to replace his Hofner Club 40 under conditions of limited choice and constrained funds, Rickenbacker would have faded into utter "Who?" obscurity and no one would want one today. Even as it is being of a Beatles afficionado, there is no way while gravity exists I could ever bring myself to pay AUD$6k for a Jet Glo RIck 325! Just NO. John would never have either back when they were broke before fame if he had the choice we have today.

tengo una rick china y decearia tener una original rick 325, porque tengo manos pequeñas y es perfecta para mi :D

It’s a Rikkensenditbackken 🤔

Dude, is everything ok at home?? Something has gotta be wrong somewhere, and it's not the guitar.

When did the dollar sign move to the end of the number? $3,500

I feel ye. I recently got a 325C64 being a Lennon fan. It helps if you put on 12’s due to the short scale tension. Tuning adjustments will take time if you have the patience meaning you’ll have to keep tuning after every couple of songs or so until it sets in. I can understand how many will not want to. I just love the look and sound it creates when paired with a Vox. For Beatles and other specific tunes its perfect. But it aint versatile. 😅

You are 100% correct. It is a total piece of junk. I will happily pay for the shipping to Australia if you sell it to me for $100USD. Cheers from the Land Down Under.

You must have seen the buttons lay out before you decided to shell out 3 or 4 grand. Why did you even buy it? I think Mattel still makes plastic guitars with a crank handle. Might be a better fit for you.

Did it also make you feel nauseous? I wouldn't be surprised if you said you were nauseous after playing it. Pass the salt, please...

As soon as you got to the point where you said that you couldn't figure out the control's you lost whatever credibility you might have thought you had. Just go and buy a Les Paul Junior with a dog ear P-90 and your world will return to it's axis.......They take pedals well and if you can figure out how the controls work on THAT guitar, you'll find out that you don't need any pedals. I do thank you for the late night comedy.........

The reason you not liking the rickenbacker is because Rickenbacker guitars have thin frets, a lacquered over fretboard, 24.75 scale length, and a different neck profile that tapers out different than other guitars. For a lot of people that is the reason they love them while others it is the reason people hate them. Like you in this situation. You don’t like the way it plays. You should have played one before you purchased.

Lol ignore these connoisseurs, because these are terrible instruments. The fact they have the nerve to charge these crazy prices, just makes sense why they're not successful and are trying to make up for their losses. Don't ever feel bad or regret returning this!

Should of bought a Telecaster 😉

Tu no eras para esa guitarra y menos aun esa guitarra para ti.

Maybe you should stick to bass.

But you knew all that before you bought it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So why did you buy it?

The knobs are literally the same as every guitar on the market. Tone and volume. Put the 5th on in the middle and leave it alone. However, if you want to use it, its basically a tone cut knob. All of your other complaints have zero substance behind them. The tail piece is just a piece of stamped metal? Ever see gibson ES tailpieces? The same thing. Also you can remove the metal on the bridge if palm muting is something you need to do.

I've never heard more whining in all my life.

I can vouch for Reverend Guitars. If you’re looking for a 12 string electric the Airwave 12 is a blissfully good alternative to a Rick and for 1/3 of the price. I own a 4003sw and I’ll never buy another bass it sounds so kick ass but something about these 12 string Ricks just didn’t seem worth the price in the current electric 12 market.

They have a unique sound and can sound fantastic. You just can't play. IMO !!! If you could you would hear how great they are. I have one and i tis excellent.

I own nothing but Rics. Got a 325v63 and a heavily modded '320 (see profile image). It's not everyone's speed of guitar but the kind of complaints people have are rooted in ignorance of the instrument itself. Shit, not all guitars are two or three control knobs set ups. Don't whine about controls on a Ric because you can't simply look at the manual in the case or a quick little fiddle will tell you what does what. Neck isn't for everyone, however different models and even different production years will yield variances in the neck radius and width. My 325 has a skinny profile compared to the ever so slightly rounder profile on the 320. Oddly enough, the 320 neck is a 1/4" longer than the 325, so there's a tad more real estate to play with.

Rickenbacker called. They don't like you as well.

You bought a 325. I don't know anyone wo would buy this model unless they were a Lennon freak (he did quite well with it) did you not do research? You spent $3.5k without researching it? A fool and his money... A 330 or 360 is what you should have bought

Please tell me you sent it back and someone who understands the instrument bought it and is enjoying it. I hope, many years from now, you look back at the video and be suitably ashamed. John Lennon wrote and arranged most of the early Beatles songs on one almost the same. John Fogerty wrote all of those amazing CCR songs on his. Yes, it’s not a Strat or a Tele or Les Paul or a PRS. Gretschs play different too. Grow up.

Guitars are like women. I'd walk across broken glass for mine. Find the one that suits you and you will understand. This is NOT the one.

This went from criticism to just whining after the first point.

Next time, do your research before buying a vintage specs guitar... or... did you buy it just to make this annoying video and then return it???

You dont deserve it, get yourself a £100 guitar.

Sounds like a you problem/skill issue

bro its known as a niche unique guitar, why didnt you try before you bought or at least learn about them, they are well known as not being for everyone

stop talking and being like that

Too green to have a guitar channel son.

Why…why…why…whine….whine….why buy it?

Whining baby, if its a genuine Rick, it feels and plays weird its because it needs to be gotten used to. all the stuff he is crying about were obvious before buying, as for going out of tune, REPLACE AND STRETCH THE STRINGS !!!! I have NEVER bought a guitar thats stayed in tune with original strings, I own and play the following, Fender 80s Strat, Gibson Les Paul 2018, Rickenbacker 2020 6 string, Hondo 1986 LP, Fender 12 string acoustic, Gibson 6 string acoustic. All bought new, all needed restringing and setting up. The strat went out of tune and played worse than the Rick until set up. and every guitar sound and plays different. work with it dont whine about it.

Almost all your complaints you could have educated yourself on PRIOR to buying one by spending five minutes on the internet. The thin necks is pretty common knowledge and has been discussed EVERYWHERE. It’s hard to find a discussion of Rics on any forum, group or social media without this being mentioned multiple times. The bridge cover can be removed in five seconds by turning two screws. If this is beyond your comfort level you had better avoid doing any mods or setups on guitars because my five year old removed mine for me the last time I did a setup. The controls aren’t really that confusing, but again there are literally thousands of pictures and thousands of discussions on line about them and so this should have not been a surprise. There are plenty of inexpensive, one knob guitars with wide knocks out there if that’s your thing. Why buy something that is clearly not going to work for you?

I have a V63 350 so the necks longer than the one you have but I’ve picked mine up after not touching it for weeks and it stays in tune. So I’m not sure what the issue is there. You can say what you want but admitting you can’t find a tone to use on one of the most recognizable guitars ever built makes you look a little stupid to be honest. For example I think Michael Jackson sucked as a musician but his millions of fans would disagree. So I’d be inclined to say it was me! To say that a Rickenbacker has no value and is incapable of producing a musical tone is laughable. I don’t play my Rickenbacker a lot probably because I’m not talented enough to make it sound like it should. That’s still not the guitars fault. Go grab a Strat I’m guessing that’s more your style. You can wine on that while you’re playing the blues.