New 2022 Rickenbacker 330 Matte Black 330JG *IN STOCK Authorized Dealer Free Ship! 756 GET PLEK’D! | Reverb (2024)

FAQs

Who uses Rickenbacker 330? ›

Experience the classic magic of the Rickenbacker 330 Electric Guitar, a coveted instrument that has won the hearts of renowned artists like Tom Petty, Pete Townshend, and Johnny Marr. This model boasts the iconic semi-hollow crescent moon body, crafted from premium maple for a rich, resonant tone.

HANDCRAFTED IN THE USA

Every Rickenbacker guitar is built by hand in our factory in Santa Ana, CA. Each guitar begins in the wood shop.

For each of the 330's two pickups there are two knobs that control tone and volume. However in 1961, a fifth "blend" knob was added to the guitar to expand the possible adjustment of the guitar's tone.

Known for their bright jangle and chime, early Rickenbacker guitars were often favored by folk rock, and British Invasion bands such as the Searchers, The Beatles and The Who. The early models were equipped with low-output toaster pickups.

Roger McGuinn

The Byrds' co-founder's fascination with Rickenbacker guitars started when he saw George Harrison's 12 string in 'A Hard Day's Night', the 1964 musical comedy starring the Beatles themselves.

Rickenbacker in the Modern Day

In today's world, Rickenbackers are still around. However, they aren't as popular as they used to be. The jangle of the 60s isn't the dominant sound, and Rickenbackers are not very affordable for most. Fender, Ibanez, PRS, Charvel, and more are much more common than Rickenbackers in 2023.

Unlike companies like Gibson or Fender, Rickenbacker is still a family-owned business – the current CEO is John Hall who purchased the company from his father FC Hall.

Eastern hardrock Maple is our wood of choice for necks and bodies, while other woods such as walnut, vermilion and shedua are used for decorative details. Though some of our newer instruments sport maple fingerboards, our more traditional models have African rosewood fingerboards.

Dual parallel jacks / sockets

These inputs are in parallel, which means that you can connect your amp to one (so it's an input) and then connect a second cab to the spare one - the parallel wiring means it acts as an output. This is called "daisy-chaining".

The 330 is the basic of the two models with a symmetrical unbound body, dot markers on an unbound neck and one mono output. The 360 has a softer body shape, rear bound body, bound neck and triangular markers with dual or stereo outputs. The stereo output only works with a non supplied breakout box.

How can you tell the age of a Rickenbacker? ›

Dating a Rickenbacker produced between 1960 and 1986 is comparatively easy. If you look at the jackplate, you'll see two letters above the input jack. The first letter is the year and the second is the month.

Thanks to John and George, Townshend and 12-string icon Roger McGuinn of The Byrds would pick up Rickenbackers and in turn, turn, turn, turn a bunch of kids like Tom Petty, REM's Peter Buck and ex-Smith Johnny Marr onto that “jingle jangle” sound.

The Classic Rickenbacker bass -famous for its ringing sustain, treble punch and solid underlying bass. A subtle strip of binding graces the elegantly curved body and the Rosewood fingerboard. Deluxe triangular inlays and stereo capability are standard features. 4.1 kg (9.0 lbs.)

However it is worth nothing that over the years, a number of notable blues guitarists have opted for jumbo frets. This includes Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rory Gallagher – and more recently players like Philip Sayce and Kenny Wayne Shepherd.

Performing live solo, with the Heartbreakers, as a Travelling Willbury and other collaborations, Tom Petty was a guitar collector of sorts, sporting some choice pieces along the way, beginning with the Rickenbacker 625/12-string on the cover of Damn the Torpedoes.

Inside was a 1969 Rickenbacker 325 Sunburst guitar with the word “ACME” written on the head in yellow paint. The guitar was Fogerty's main instrument during the peak of his Creedence Clearwater Revival days and the one he played onstage at Woodstock, The Ed Sullivan Show and countless concerts all over the world.

Rickenbacker 4001

Prior to getting his signature model, Lemmy used several Rickenbacker 4000 series basses. As early as his time with Hawkwind, photos show Lemmy with a 4001 in "mapleglo" (natural) finish, already adorned with what appears (an educated guess based on Lemmy's interest in Nazi memorabilia and given ...

The 360/12 was given worldwide attention when George Harrison used it on many Beatles recordings, introducing the distinctive new sound of this guitar on "I Call Your Name", which the band recorded in March 1964.