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Topic: Rich to Rick? |
Bill Willingham
From:
New York, USA
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Posted 7 Mar 2004 12:56 pm |
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Hi All- Will one of you historians please tell me when Richenbacker became Rickenbacker?
I recently bought a Bakelite on Ebay that's a bacher. Great guitar!
Thanks,
Bill |
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J D Sauser
From:
Wellington, Florida
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Posted 7 Mar 2004 1:00 pm
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I would have to check because there is an exact year, but it's after WWII. The word is that they wanted to de-germanize de spelling.... 1947(?) comes to my mind but I have to check.
... J-D. |
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Ian McLatchie
From:
Sechelt, British Columbia
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Posted 7 Mar 2004 5:45 pm
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| The name was officially changed to Rickenbacker in 1950, but your guitar may well have been made after that, as the company apparently continued to use name plates and decals with the older spelling well into the 1950s. The specific features of the guitar are a much better guide to its age than the name on the peghead. What's the pickup width, 1-1/2" or 1-1/4? Does the guitar have a tailpiece, or do the strings pass through the body? Does it have a volume and tone knob, or only volume, and what style are the knobs? |
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Bill Willingham
From:
New York, USA
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Posted 7 Mar 2004 9:56 pm
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Hmmm. There's a tailpiece. 2 knobs, black, ridges on the sides, sort of a 3 layer effect on top of the buttons - as decoration. Nameplate says Electro,
Bill |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 8 Mar 2004 6:45 am
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Is it a "T-logo" ... RickenbacHer across the top with Electro pependicular to it.
I have a B6 with the original owner's initials and '47 etched in one of the compartments.
I also have a D12 ... 2 T-logo bakelite necks and a cast aluminum body. "April 1947" is written inside the body.
I love "T-logos" .... 
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www.horseshoemagnets.com |
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Bill Willingham
From:
New York, USA
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Posted 8 Mar 2004 9:30 am
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| Rick- T Logo; yes, that's what it is. Very cool. |
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Karl Oberlander
From:
Austin, Texas, USA
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Posted 8 Mar 2004 3:34 pm
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Both my Rickenbacher B and my Rickenbacher D-8 bakelites are from before 1947 and they have the T logos. The Allan Bradley pots are not dated in either one and the mfgrs started dating them in 1947. So that is a good way to guage the age. My Rickenbacker DC-16 has the all aluminum body and sounds great as well. It's post 1950 but I understand they quit that model around 1953. Not sure about that but I have a 1957 catalog and it's not in that one.
Kobe
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Gibson D-8 Console Grande - Stringmaster T-8 - Alkire EHarp D-10
Fender Super Reverb
kobe@austin.rr.com
http://home.austin.rr.com/kobeco
[This message was edited by Karl Oberlander on 08 March 2004 at 04:17 PM.] [This message was edited by Karl Oberlander on 08 March 2004 at 04:18 PM.] |
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James Quackenbush
From:
Pomona, New York, USA
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Posted 8 Mar 2004 6:00 pm
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Ian,
The "strings thru the body" is not always an indication of a pre war model... My post war Ric has "strngs thru the body" and has all the other markings of a post war model ..This is not a really common Ric, but a post war Ric just the same ...It has the flip up headstock, the chrome all around the 1 1/4 inch pickup, and the volume and tone knob on the same side ...It's also an 8 string ad sounds as good as any pre war bakelite that I've heard ..I think it has mostly to do with the strings thru the body ...Jim |
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Ian McLatchie
From:
Sechelt, British Columbia
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Posted 9 Mar 2004 3:19 am
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James: I'm sure you're right, that the strings-through-body design has a lot to do with the sound quality of your instrument. Going back to that design and abandoning that goddawful tailpiece was about the only wise design change Rickenbacker made after the early days. Every other major change, including going from 1-1/2" to 1-1/4" pickup, adding the tailpiece and pickup housing, thickening and steel reinforcing the neck, as well as apparently changing the composition of the bakelite -- all seem to have had a harmful effect on the sound.
Having owned a number of Rick. instruments, though, I'm convinced that the tailpiece did more to hurt the sustain and tone than any other modification. Plus, it's a royal pain trying to dislodge the ball end of strings that slip into the tailpiece grooves.[This message was edited by Ian McLatchie on 09 March 2004 at 03:21 AM.] |
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