02 Mar Spotlight on Rickenbacker
An iconic guitar brand, Rickenbacker manufacture electric and bass guitars.
Instantly recognisable as a ‘Rickenbacker’ their guitars come in iconic finishes too such as Fireglo and Jetglo. Their toaster top pickups are legendary and much copied.
Today they have 46 models in the range across 6 and 12 string electrics, basses and acoustic guitars. This includes the 300 Series, 600 Series and 4000 Bass Series
360, 325 and 330 Models
360 in Fireglo The 300 Series guitars are semi-acoustics with maple bodies and necks. All feature triangular pearloid markers on the fingerboard, toaster pickups and stereo output.
The 360 has a softer ‘deluxe’ contoured body that is the most comfortable guitar in the range.
325 in Jetglo Three toaster pickups and plenty of jangle!
330 in Jetglo Full double cutaway with access to all 24 frets.
620 Model
620 in Fireglo Features the famous ‘Cresting Wave’ Maple cutaway body based on an innovative design from the 1950’s. Solid body in maple with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard with triangular pearloid inlay markers.
4000 Bass model
4003 in Mapleglo The Classic Rickenbacker bass – famous for its ringing sustain, treble punch and solid underlying bass. A subtle strip of binding graces the elegantly curved body and the Rosewood fingerboard. Deluxe triangular inlays and stereo capability are standard features.
History
They were one of the first manufacturers of fully electric musical instruments and amplifiers, starting in 1931.
Specialising in steel guitars until the new era of rock and roll took hold in the fifties when they introduced two instruments with the “neck through body” construction that was to become a standard feature of many their guitars, including the Combo 400 guitar, the model 4000 bass, and, later, the 600 series.
In 1958, Rickenbacker introduced its “Capri” series, including the double-cutaway semi-acoustic guitars which would become the famous Rickenbacker 300 Series.
In 1963 Rickenbacker developed an electric twelve-string guitar with an innovative headstock design that enabled all twelve machine heads to be fitted onto a standard-length headstock by alternately mounting pairs of machine heads at right-angles to the other. During the 1960s, Rickenbacker benefited tremendously when a couple of Rickenbacker guitar models became permanently intertwined with the sound and look of The Beatles.
Expect to pay from £2000 – stocks can be limited across the world making them more desirable!
See their website for more information: Rickenbacker
Links to other pages
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Best Electrics under £500
Best Electrics under £1000
