NGD: Rickenbacker 620/12

chrisj1602

Picked this up recently and I love it...

It’s a 2011 but absolutely mint, no evidence it’s been used at all.

richardhomer

I’d love one of those! Congratulations - it looks fantastic.

stickyfiddle

Fantastic. Top of my list of potential 12 strings for whenever that itch gets too much

Neil

Beautiful.

Alterlifeson

Lovely, very classy.

Jackobean

Lovely guitar, but I do have to question why so many Ricks seem to be completely unused. 
Does no one fancy playing them?

guitars4you

They always look cool - And of course the sound, that few, if any, capture

TheOtherDennis

Jackobean said:

Lovely guitar, but I do have to question why so many Ricks seem to be completely unused. 
Does no one fancy playing them?

I can only suggest that they're such fucking gorgeous guitars their owners treat them like the crown jewels. I know I would.

chris45

Very nice!  Would be interested to hear your views on 2 things that always get mentioned WRT 620/12s:
- neck is too narrow and some players find it difficult to play chords
- intonation is off as it doesn't have 12 individual saddles

chrisj1602

Jackobean said:

Lovely guitar, but I do have to question why so many Ricks seem to be completely unused. 
Does no one fancy playing them?

I suppose they’re not many people’s number 1, especially the 12 strings.  There’s some great used prices if you’re patient. The day I got this a 330/12 was listed on eBay and sold very quickly with a buy it now of £999! It had some some marks but still a great price.

ICBM

Jackobean said:

Lovely guitar, but I do have to question why so many Ricks seem to be completely unused. 
Does no one fancy playing them?

The standard ownership pattern with Rick 12-strings is to buy one, play it for a couple of weeks while enthusing how beautiful it is, plays and sounds, then find that electric 12-string is actually not a universally useful instrument and put it in the case, then after a year or two realise that you've got a lot of money tied up in something you don't play, and sell it.

Or you find that the strings need changing, and after staring hard at it for a couple of days and realising that they don't change themselves, put in the case to be done later... and after a year or two, proceed to Step 3 above.



Also, Rickenbacker finishes are actually quite durable, much more so than nitro - older ones were polyurethane 'conversion varnish', now they've switched to UV-cured polyester, I think. The CV ones can actually suffer from reaction to stands though, so don't assume they're indestructible.

Mine are certainly not pristine, but they're 47 and 52 years old, and have clearly had quite a hard life. They're in much better condition than a similar nitro-finished guitar with the same history of use though.

chrisj1602

chris45 said:

Very nice!  Would be interested to hear your views on 2 things that always get mentioned WRT 620/12s:
- neck is too narrow and some players find it difficult to play chords
- intonation is off as it doesn't have 12 individual saddles

It’s the same nut width as the 6 string, so you do have to be a bit more careful in the first couple of frets but it’s fine. I tried it in the shop and could instantly play it.

No intonation issues to report so far.