Model 330 by Rickenbacker
The Model 330 is part of Rickenbacker's 300 series of guitars, the series for which Rickenbacker is perhaps best known. The 330 entered the Rickenbacker product line in 1958, though at the time the 300 series of guitars was known as the Capri series. It was designed by the German luthier Roger Rossmeisl. The guitar is associated by many players with the jangle-rock sounds of bands from the 1960's and 1980's.
The instrument incorporates many features standard on Rickenbacker guitars, including a three-ply maple/walnut neck, a shallow headstock angle, and a thick rosewood fretboard finished with clear conversion varnish. The 330 also features a body with Rickenbacker's crescent moon double-cutaway shape with sharp, unbound edges, and an R-shaped trapeze tailpiece. One idiosyncrasy of the guitar is its dual truss rods, which allow for the correction of problematic and unwanted twists, as well as curvature, of the guitar's neck. The 330 is equipped with a monaural jack plate, lacking the Rick-O-Sound stereo functionality of other Rickenbacker models such as the Rickenbacker 360.
The Rickenbacker 330, like all Rickenbacker models, is manufactured in the US, specifically within the Rickenbacker factory located in Santa Ana, California. It is not mass-produced, but rather produced-to-order for dealers and individual customers. It carries a MSRP of $1,999.00. The 330 is the top-selling instrument within Rickenbacker's lineup.
From 1970 to 1974 Rickenbacker offered the 331, or what became known as the Light Show guitar. This version had a built in light organ, with an external power supply.
Prior to 2008, this model was also available with an additional pickup (Model 340, 340/12 12-string version). Also offered as a 12-string version (Model 330/12). During the Rose Morris Rickenbacker export to the UK, this model was available as the model 1997, and the 340 was called the 1998.
