JOHN LENNON'S RICKENBACKER 325 GUITARS: Tone Demo [Part 3 of 3]

PART 1: • JOHN LENNON'S RICKENBA...
PART 2: • JOHN LENNON'S RICKENBA...
DONATE: nickmartellaro... :)
Well, here it is....the long awaited tone demo. Sorry if it's not as flashy as you'd hoped! A lot of guitar demo videos on KZbin seem to make every instrument sound flawless, so I wanted to do a realistic video showcasing what this guitar ACTUALLY sounds like. I wish I could play more Beatles tunes, but KZbin will block this video otherwise. :(
TONE: My guitar is a 1999 Rickenbacker 325V63. This was played through my Vox AC-15. I'm at 25% on the top boost volume knob (going too high creates distortion), bass at 50%, treble at 75%. Reverb is analog from the amp. It may sound a bit heavy, but this is how I would record it (keep in mind, Abbey Road would have had nice acoustics). I had it around 60%, but I probably could have gone a bit lower (I'm sure someone will comments on this!).
Plugins are Waves' Abbey Road RS124 compressor and REDD-37 console (as The Beatles would have used). Microphone is my Audio Technica AT2035 condenser - normally for guitars we'd use dynamic mics, but I think The Beatles used Neumann condensers for everything at Abbey Road.
The strings are D'Addario Chromes 13-52, but 13-56 will also work. As long as they are 13s - I switch off with Thomastik-Infeld and Pyramid Gold strings as well, but I like the D'Addarios because they are less expensive. I can't stress this enough - this is a 20.75" scale guitar and it needs heavy strings.
Rickenbacker pickups are microphonic, and the percussive attack they put out is quite apparent.
I also use handmade guitar cables because they will outlast me. Vintage-spec German-made Neutrik tips are the only way to go, and I prefer Canare GS-6 cable for instruments.
I didn't bother doing tone knob adjustments because there's just too many variations. I also labeled these clips by "position" because I'm honestly not 100% sure what the pickups are wired to. I believe the neck position includes both the NECK AND MIDDLE, and the middle position is ALL THREE. As for the bridge position, I'm not entirely sure if it's the bridge pickup alone or the bridge with the middle.
I use the bridge on my recordings mostly - and BY THE WAY - if John really did disconnect his middle pickup on his first 325 [V81] (on accident or otherwise), he may have had a VERY different tone in the middle position! Who knows?
Well, this ends my series on John Lennon's Rickenbackers! Now stop making fun of me for saying "Ricken-BACH-er" ;)

[@frankboyd.]

Yes, there's that distinctive range of sounds that's embedded deep in our Beatle brains. Love this video 😍

[@jltrem]

Somewhat of a demonstration why in the Nov. 1987 Guitar Player magazine interview when describing the blend control knob George said " It never seemed to do anything."

[@madgun2537]

The bridge tone on Money though...😍😍👌 that's why you buy a Ric 🥰

[@karmicselling4252]

Rickenbacker has made some quite amazing instruments over the journey. Many of the tones this 325 makes are so far removed from the 12 string 3xx and 6xx models that one would be forgiven for thinking they come from completely different manufacturers.

[@johnnymouse886]

Great Job, i was waiting so long for this, thank you so much😁🎸 keep on rocking!

[@vandood]

Been waiting so long for this thank you

[@Theparadoxband]

Finally!!!! THANK YOU!!!

[@rogerspalding5673]

I'm drawn to the 325 like a moth to the flame. Gotta have it before I die.

[@AcousticJamDad]

I’m just in awe of the tone coming from that guitar…I SO wish I had a that guitar, I’d be pumping out Beatle songs left and right. Question: What type of strings you got on it? Roundwounds?

[@vayabroder729]

I had a three pickup 1997 SPC model from the early ‘90’s (a reissue of the Rose Morris import that Pete Townshend used with The Who) and it had the exact same electronics and settings.

[@jorgevassia4495]

Excelente Nick!!!

[@williamsmyth5047]

Great demo!

[@stringmantony]

Nice job!

[@M5guitar1]

I feel fine!

[@joellebrodeur1015]

I gotta tell you, this sounds thin but it's KZbin compression and not representative to what the sound is in the room. I tend to use a bit more depth on my 325 tone and sometimes use chorus to mimic 12 string. I have hot toasters in mine which make it killer for distortion and overdrive in modern music. It cuts through to hear the notes. I also have a heavily modded 1983 320 that sounds just as good. No hi gains, only HB1 pups with custom harness. In some combos, you cannot tell the difference from the 325. I do need to note about the 325v63. When not modded, the middle and neck pups are wired together. So the middle position on the switch is all pups are on. Neck position is actually the middle and neck together. Bear in mind when you're doing demos UNLESS you rewired to turn the middle volume off. Lennon did this on one or two of his 325s.

[@vayabroder729]

Circuit is identical to Pete Townshend’s Rose Morris Model 1998.

[@packersprik]

Love it!!!

[@thefstopshere]

Cool guitar. Is this the one your dad told me about Dwight Yoakam wanting to borrow for a recording session? I was amazed recently while watching the CCR @ the Royal Albert Hall film to see how much Fogarty played his '69 325 and that he played so much bluesy stuff on it. I bet he didn't use 13's.

[@vayabroder729]

Fogerty did retrofit it with a Gibson humbucker in the bridge. People used to do those crazy mods back then.

[@mr_bassman6685]

@@vayabroder729 and the ACME truss rod cover...

[@osmaromolina753]

I want one!

[@allisterwhitehead]

It sounds far more like a semi acoustic. Very different. You can hear the 325 clearly on 'I'm Happy Just To Dance With You', sounds 'exactly' the same here, which is what you want if you're buying a Beatle guitar made today. Does really authentic country and Gretsch style licks. Better than I would've expected, even with the toasters. Harmonically rich. Unusual guitar. Certainly has plenty of character. You can really hear just how much John's playing influenced the sound of the early Beatles. Even as a fan I'd not considered that. Would like to see if it can handle funky style licks. Great demo. I heard the guitar, not you. Thanks.

[@dennisperusse3837]

Silly question but what amp are you using for this video? Sounds great. :)

[@The_910]

Check out the description. He lists everything he is using.

[@dennisperusse3837]

@@The_910 Oh, didn’t know that.

[@Desaulnierspf]

Hi really nice, but can you please redo it comparing each sound to conventional guitar like stratocaster and telecasters just to hear the difference , nobody have done it on youtube yet.

[@bigbear450]

nice

[@boomerrocksUSA]

If you look at Lennon's guitar on stage its 99% of the time in the middle pickup position.

[@andresr7769]

y con pedales efectos? saludos! :D

[@solololojr2638]

za mały ten model RICKa

[@743lplkp]

too much reverb

[@eljodon]

Great! But please tune your guitar!