hey, so I've been a fan of rics for years now, but its my first time purchasing one, and am looking for a little advice. I put up a wanted ad on kijiji for a 300 series rickenbacker last night. I got two offers so far, one a 1987 ruby red 330 with black hardware and trim, the other a 1999 360/12. Three main question as of now:
1. assuming both are in good condition, and come with all accessories, how much do you think would be a fair price?
2. Does black hardware make it more rare/valuable, or is it just preference?
3. Do 330's and 360's sound much different, or is it just the aesthetics?

(PS: my major influence is The Beatles, though I do write my own music)

The 360/12 has more of a Beatles vibe lot's of Jangle & chrome, even better if it's Fireglo.
The black trim is a personal thing which is not my bag at all, very 80's like "big hair and shoulder pads".

yes, I do agree, black trim is not as attractive to me as white trim or no trim. But I think I found the guitar for me, a 360WB! can anyone give me any insight on this guitar, like besides combining the looks of a 330 with the deluxe features of a 360, are there any other things that set it apart from a standard 330 or 360 ('cause I hope not, unless its better sound lol)

360WB is a lovely guitar, all you have to do now is find one!

I can understand why Black Trim is not to everyone's taste - but I have two BT Rics (a 1989 350MG which is now kind of 'honey coloured' and a 2001 620/6 in Desert Gold) and both these guitars look absolutely stunning with the Black Trim - even to family/friends who know nothing of the Rickenbacker colour range or heritage!

Incidentally, am I correct in assuming that the guitar which you describe as a 360WB is also known by its original name of the 360V64 (one of the Reissue series, which has the body shape of a 330, but comes with double-binding and triangular fret markers) - in which case a 6-string model is pretty collectible. There are plenty of examples on the web, if you want to compare.

I'm pretty sure the 360v64 is the George Harrison reissue, if I'm not mistaken. The 360WB doesnt have the double bound I believe, only single bound, 24 frets instead of 21, and ric-o-sound, maybe some other differences too. Problem is that they're discontinued, so its harder to find one. I've found 3 so far, but problem is, there all going for around 2200, and I only have 1800 atm, so unless I can find one for this price, I gotta keep saving up :( maybe by the end of christmas break, hopefully. And after some more looking, I do agree, black trim is very nice looking, but only when the guitar is a certain colour. For example, I like white trim better on a mapleglo, jetglo (obviously), fireglo etc and black is nice on white, silver, gold, red... but now im getting into another topic lol. Just wondering, if I got a 12 string, could I string only 6 strings, and when I want put the other 6 on so I can switch between 6 and 12, or is this a nono?

Thanks for the info - very helpful.
I have a number of 6-string and 12-string Rics, but I can't imagine having six redundant machine-heads on the headstock, even if it does work. There may also be issues re neck tension and truss-rod set-up.

True, I never really thought of that... Well, I still think that although I'd be fine with a 6 string, I'd prefer a 12 string, since they're so unique, and would give me more of a variety of tone selection when recording. Then I can cross one guitar off my list! :)

HI

I have a 1995 370/12WB FG - which is double bound... great vibe ;-)

Re stringing up a 12 as a 6... best avoided IMHO, its possible to get the Truss Rods adjusted to compensate for teh reduced tension, but you would also really have to cahnge the nut as the string spacing will be quite 'odd' - best solution is save the penniees and buy a 6 and 12 ..matched pairs are nice.... still looking for someone who will swap a 660/6 AFG (to go with my 660/12 AFG) for a 660/6 JG (as cool as it is, would love the matched pair)...

hah, I wish lol, Ricks are really expensive, if I get a second Rick it will probably be a 325, or a 4001, but just to spend $2,000 on the same model... I just don't have that kind of income lol I'm only 18