Brand

Used Rickenbacker guitars

Rickenbacker grew out of Electro String, which Adolph Rickenbacker and George Beauchamp founded in Los Angeles in 1931 to build the Frying Pan lap steel, one of the first modern electric guitars. F.C. Hall, who had been Leo Fender's distributor, bought the company in 1953 and steered it toward rock and roll. Neck-through construction came in 1956, the 4000 bass in 1957 and, in 1958, Roger Rossmeisl's Capri hollow bodies, named after the Hall family cat. The Beatles did the rest. Lennon played a 325, Harrison got the second 360/12 ever built and McCartney took up a 4001S. Production moved to Santa Ana in 1964, the low-output toaster pickups gave way to hotter Hi-Gains around 1969–70, and R.E.M. and the Smiths brought the jangle back in the 1980s. John Hall took over in 1984 and his family still runs it. In a listing, read the jackplate serial first, since Rickenbacker's own online decoder will date it. Then check the pickups fit the year, and watch for copies, because Rickenbacker says fakes have turned up wearing genuine nameplates and R tailpieces.

6 guitars we cover.