Nothing says “the sixties” like a Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar. After late 1963, when George Harrison of the Beatles received his first, rock n’ roll would never be the same. Thousands of aspiring rock n’ rollers saw Harrison use his Rickenbacker 360/12 in the movie
A Hard Day’s Night and were motivated to seek out this exotic instrument so they could create the same shimmering sounds.
American players were surprised to find that these stunning guitars with the German name were made in California. British customers bought their guitars through the U.K. instrument distributor Rose, Morris. The features of the Rickenbackers made for Rose, Morris (like this month’s featured guitar) differed subtly from the American versions. The most notable change was a traditional “F” shaped soundhole, compared to the “slash” soundhole of the U.S. models. Rose, Morris also assigned its own model numbers.
This month’s featured guitar is a Rose, Morris Model 1993 dating to April of 1965. Its features are similar to those of a 330/12 except for the body binding on the top and back – this style of binding was used on the original 360s before the change to a rounded top in mid-1964.
A Model 1993 was used by The Who guitarist Pete Townsend as a “chord machine” on many of the band’s early records. A great example of this sound is heard on the song “I Can’t Explain.” Those wanting to find out more about Rickenbacker guitars can check out these books:
Rickenbacker by Richard R. Smith and
The Rickenbacker Book: A Complete History of Rickenbacker Electric Guitars by Tony Bacon and Paul Day.
Dave's Guitar Shop
Daves Roger’s Collection Is tended to by Laun Braithwaite & Tim Mullally
All photos credit Tim Mullally
Dave’s Collection is on dispay at:
Dave's Guitar Shop
1227 Third Street South
La Crosse, WI 54601
608-785-7704
davesguitar.com