1967 Rickenbacker 450 Vintage Electric Guitar Fireglo Toaster Pickups 100% Stock Clean w/ OHSC | Reverb (2024)

FAQs

What are Rickenbacker guitars known for? ›

Known for their bright jangle and chime, early Rickenbacker guitars were often favored by folk rock, and British Invasion bands such as the Searchers, The Beatles and The Who. The early models were equipped with low-output toaster pickups.

Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.).

Prior to The Beatles, all Rickenbacker guitars had been made at the original Electro String factory in Los Angeles. But in the wake of Beatlemania, demand had exploded, and Hall had to move to a larger factory in Santa Ana in 1964. By the mid-60s there was a six-month waiting list to get a Rickenbacker.

After George Harrison used it on The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night," a 12-string craze began. The most notable adopter of the instrument was Jim (later Roger) McGuinn , who used it to define the sound of The Byrds on tracks like "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn!

Rickenbackers are unique in a multitude of ways. They were one of the first guitars to be made with neck thru construction, meaning the neck and body (or at least part of the body) are made from a single piece of wood. This helps with sustain, which is a big part of the iconic Rick sound.

Overview. The 325 was designed by Roger Rossmeisl, a guitar craftsman from a family of German instrument makers. Production models had a 20+3⁄4 inches (530 mm) short scale, dot fretboard inlays, and a small ( 12+3⁄4-inch-wide [320 mm]) body.

The Hi-Gain bridge pickup is of a more conventional design than the horseshoe pickup. The bridge pickup also features a removable metal bridge cover designed to emulate the look of the original horseshoe magnets. Rickenbacker also produced six-string and 12 string guitars and a short-scale bass, the 3000 model.

Rickenbacker was now a national racing figure, earning the nickname "Fast Eddie". One sportswriter called him "the most daring and...the most cautious driver in America today." The top-ranked Peugeot team lured Rickenbacker away from Duesenberg at the start of 1915.

Nicknamed the "Frying Pan" because of its shape, it was also the first solid body guitar. It was invented and designed by George Beauchamp and then manufactured and marketed by the Rickenbacker Company. The "Frying Pan" utilized a 1/12 inch horseshoe electro-magnetic pickup.

When did John Lennon stop using Rickenbacker? ›

Early in their career, Rickenbacker was the best of the American imported guitars John Lennon and George Harrison could get their hands on. They used these on record and onstage until 1966.

RICKENBACKER IN THE 70'S & BEYOND

They were, after all, supposed to be the go-to guitars for psychedelic, jangly music. But before the decade was over, one of the most important bands to come out of the punk scene came to its rescue: Paul Weller would use a Rickenbacker 330 as his main instrument in The Jam.

At that point, the Rickenbacker was synonymous with jangle pop and progressive rock, but thanks to Burton's open-minded approach to music, the 4001S was able to escape its own preconceptions and transcend to a whole new world of genres and styles.

Heavy-gauge flatwound strings (like Pyramid . 012-. 052) are also a critical element of Lennon's Rickenbacker 325 Capri setup. Because the 325 has a short 20-inch scale length, modern lighter gauge slinky strings are too floppy and loose.

John Lennon became very fascinated with the Rickenbacker 325c58 Capri. Some famous guitarists who have played a Rickenbacker guitar include John Lennon and George Harrison of The Beatles , Pete Townshend of The Who , Tom Petty , and Johnny Marr of The Smiths .

Undoubtedly, part of this 'do different' philosophy is due to the way Rickenbacker is owned and run. Unlike Fender and Gibson, it's a family owned business, headed by John Hall, who purchased the firm from his father, Francis C. Hall.