Hall to Beatle George Harrison in February 1964.ĭuring the 1960s, with luck on their side, Rickenbacker would go on to enjoy an incredible endorsement when a couple of Rickenbacker models became permanently intertwined with the sound and look of the most popular band of the 1960s and arguably the most influential band of the 20th century: The Beatles. The second Ric electric 12 string prototype which was somewhat different was given by F.C. Hall to a persuasive and insistent country and western music Las Vegas entertainer Suzi Parker. The very first prototype of this 12 string electric guitar originally produced as a “show and tell item” only was ultimately sold in 1963 by then Rickenbacker CEO/Owner F.C. 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. In 1958, Rickenbacker introduced its “Capri” series, including the double-cutaway semi-acoustic guitars which would become the famous Rickenbacker 300 Series. In 1956, Rickenbacker introduced two instruments with the “neck through body” construction that was to become a standard feature of the company’s products — the Combo 400 guitar and the model 4000 bass.
Rickenbacher (shortly afterwards changed to ‘Rickenbacker’ to avoid German connotations in light of the world wars, as well as to capitalize on the distant relation between the company owner and WWI flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker) continued to specialize in steel guitars well into the 1950s, but with the rock and roll boom they shifted towards producing standard guitars, both acoustic and electric. During the early 1940s, Rickenbacker amps were sometimes repaired by fellow Californian Leo Fender, who would notably go on to start his own famous musical instrument manufacturing business.
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Lansing of the Lansing Manufacturing Company designed the speaker in the Rickenbacker professional model. Shortly thereafter, design engineer Ralph Robertson was hired to further develop the amplifiers and by the 1940s at least four different Rickenbacker amplifier models were made available. Van Nest, designed the first Electro String production-model amp. Right from the start, Electro String also sold amplifiers to go along with their electric guitars. By the time production ceased in 1939, several thousand frying pans had been produced. They had huge pickups with a pair of horseshoe magnets that arched over the top of the strings. These instruments, nicknamed “frying pans” due to their long necks and circular bodies, are the first solid-bodied electric guitars, though they were not standard guitars, but a lap-steel type. They chose the brand name Rickenbacher (later changed to Rickenbacker) for these guitars. The company was founded as the Electro String Instrument Corporation by Adolph Rickenbacher and George Beauchamp in 1931 to sell electric “Hawaiian” guitars designed by Beauchamp. Rickenbacker is the largest guitar company to manufacture all of their guitars within the United States. All production takes place at its headquarters in Santa Ana, California. Rickenbacker International Corporation is an electric guitar manufacturer, notable for having invented the first electric guitar during the 1930s.