Rickenbacker 325C64

A Rick Unlike Any Other

There is no guitar in the world that sounds quite like the Rickenbacker 325, so the team at Wildwood Guitars is jazzed to show off Rickenbacker’s killer reissue of a singular sixties classic! Originally designed by master German luthier Roger Rossmeisl, the 325 was introduced in 1958, and it quickly became associated with an upstart guitar player named John who played in this weird, arty band that was named after a type of bug—the Beatles, I think they were called. But the 325 is much more than a guitar for those interested in emulating the jangly sounds that emanated from Great Britain in the sixties and seventies! Over in America, another future rock legend named John slung his 325 over his shoulder and rocked stages all over America with Creedence Clearwater Revival.

This begs the question: why did these two Johns from opposite sides of the pond who played very different music love their respective 325s so much? Well, the answer lies in the 325’s inspired combination of wood, wire, and scale length. The Rickenbacker 325C64 features a solid maple body and three vintage-style toaster-top single coils that provide classic Rick jangle in spades. Ordinarily, this combination of bright pickups and bright wood would result in quite a bright guitar, but the 21” scale length does some really interesting things that help this short-scale beauty stand out from the pack.

Short-scale guitars tend to have a warmer, fatter overall tone, and they also have a bit more “give” in their attack due to their lower string tension. So, the scale length winds up adding some low end in to go with the signature Rickenbacker chime. Also, we mustn’t discount the effects of the expressive Accent Vibrato system, which adds just a little bit of extra rock and roll raunchiness to the front end of every note. So, you get a sound that has all the crucial elements of classic Rick tone, but with a little more warmth and fullness and a little more attitude. It doesn’t matter if you like CCR, the Beatles, the Ramones, the Stones, or Springsteen: the 325 sounds pretty darn good!

The 325C64 has a completely singular feel, too. Because there’s less tension on the strings, the right-hand action is delightfully slinky, and it’s easy to make huge stretches and play chords that are normally impossible to reach without undergoing a serious flexibility-training program. Also, the rosewood fretboard atop the thin neck has a vintage-accurate 7.25” radius, which most players find tremendously advantageous for chording.

So, why did John Fogerty and John Lennon both play their 325s to death? Well, because it’s the perfect bright-sounding rock and roll rhythm guitar (and the short scale lets you do some pretty adventurous lead work, too!). Every aspect of the neck is there to make playing chords easier, and every other aspect of the construction is there to make this guitar sound full yet aggressive. The 325C64 has a sound unlike any other, and the Wildwood staff is sure it will inspire you just as much as it inspired your heroes.