Rickenbacker 330/12 Thinline Electric Jetglo, 1990 [USED]

This Rickenbacker 330/12 Thinline Electric in Jetglo finish (gloss black)  dates to January of 1990 and is in overall good condition with light fret wear and light finish wear with some checking.  Recently set up, it plays very well and delivers the distinctive shimmering Rickenbacker jangle.  

As part of its recent service, a damaged tailpiece bracket was replaced with a genuine Ric replacement part. 

The original Rickenbacker hard shell case is included.

Construction and Materials

The Rickenbacker 330 and 360 model bodies are uniquely semi-hollow, with the top, sides and internal cavities routed from a block of Maple. Those cavities include the neck mount position, and the back is installed after the neck has been fitted.  Ric necks are generally two or three Maple sections with Walnut separators.  Fingerboard woods have varied over the years, though the choices have been generally listed as Maple or 'Rosewood'. On this guitar, the fingerboard is Chechen or Caribbean Rosewood with a catalyzed conversion varnish finish.   From 2000, the boards have often been Bubinga, sometimes called 'African Rosewood'.    

Hardware and Electronics

For hardware, this Rickenbacker 330/12 uses a double set of Schaller M6-mini tuners, along with the standard Ric bridge (the cover is in place) and the cast R tailpiece.  The electronics are mono, with a pair of Hi-Gain pickups through  individual volume and tone controls, a three-way pickup selector switch and a blend control to control neck pickup volume while in the center switch position.   The output jack is on the side, and its mounting plate carries the instrument's serial number. 

Model History

Introduced in 1965 as a dressed down version of 1964’s ground-breaking 360/12, the Rickenbacker 330/12 was immediately popular.

In the early 1960’s, the rise in popularity of Folk and blues music also brought the acoustic 12 string to prominence. Recognizing a market opportunity, Rickenbacker introduced the 360/12 as one of the first electric 12 string guitars. Fatefully, one of the prototypes was given to George Harrison while in New York to appear on the Ed Sullivan show – though not in person as he had stayed at his hotel due to illness. Harrison was quite taken with this instrument and started using it on recordings and in performance.

One of the key differentiating features of the Rickenbacker 12 string is how it is strung. The headstock is short, with the keys mounted alternately on the side and back; this reduces the overall length of the instrument and helps keep the center of balance towards the body. As well, the strings are mounted so that with downstrokes, the heavy string is plucked first. This results in a somewhat fuller sound that still has the top-end and chime provided by the octave strings, and helps the sound really stand out.

The 330 model guitars used the pointed horns and sharper corners of the early 360 models, but without body or neck binding and with dot instead of triangle position markers. In 1964, the 360 body shifted to a New Style, with rounded top edges and cutaway horns, and while this has been the most prominent body shape for the 360, the 330 and 330/12 have retained the original design.

The 300 series models have changed subtly since the 1960’s versions, notably with the extension of the fingerboard to 24 frets and a switch to ‘Hi-Gain’ pickups instead of the vintage low output ‘Toaster Tops’.

Here is what Rickenbacker says about the 330/12:

“Basically the same as Model 330 but with twelve strings. Careful acoustic research has resulted in the full, rich and warm sound of this popular model. Two single coil pickups on a full size body are accented by a traditionally shaped sound hole.

The 24 fret Rosewood fingerboard is punctuated by dot inlay fret markers, with full double cutaways permitting access to all the frets. Standard output is monaural through a single jack plate.

Also available with an additional pickup (Model 340/12) and as six string versions with either 2 or 3 pickups (Model 330 and Model 340 respectively).”

 

There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here

 

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DETAILS: 

• Instrument Model: 330/12
• Instrument Manufacturer:  Rickenbacker
• Instrument year:  1990
• Instrument Finish:  Jetglo (Gloss Black) 
• Instrument Class:  12-String Electric Guitars
• Instrument serial number:  A3 9839, dated to January 1990 at Santa Ana, CA
• Country of Origin:  USA
• Instrument Condition: Good
• Playing Condition:  Very Good
• Right-handed 
• CITIES Documentation Required: No
• Instrument Weight Imperial: 8.63 lbs
• Instrument Weight Metric: 3.9 kgs
• Scale Length Imperial:  24.75 in
• Scale Length Metric: 628.6 mm
• Nut Width Imperial:  1.657 in
• Nut Width Metric:  42.1 mm
• Case included:  Yes
• Case original:  Yes
• Case Type: Hard
• Items in Case: N/A
• Consignment: Yes
• Product ID: 190561

 

There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here