1987 Rickenbacker 360/12WB

Modern years of Rickenbacker Guitars from 1984 to the present

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laking
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1987 Rickenbacker 360/12WB

Post by laking »

I have been looking for a nice Rickenbacker 12 string to add to my guitar collection. My primary focus was on a 360 (any year) with the Fireglo finish. While doing my search, I found a 1987 360/12WB that was listed at roughly $2500. I negotiated it down to $2250 due to some finish issues on the headstock. It has been hard to find a discernible value on that year/model guitar. I figure ANY 30 year old guitar is going to have some condition issues unless it was never played.

The guitar has been shipped to me and I will have roughly three days to determine whether I want to keep it. Any advice from experienced owners would be appreciated.
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jdogric12
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Re: 1987 Rickenbacker 360/12WB

Post by jdogric12 »

Should be a great guitar. Hard for me to say on how good of a deal you got. A lot of Rick 12ers are going for a lot less, so if you specifically wanted a 12/WB model (kind of rare), and were tired of waiting, that might not be such a bad price.

What to look for are a straight neck, truss rod nuts not too close to the headstock wood (so you can get the correct tool around them to adjust them), bridge not bottomed out (so you can lower it if needed), and all the usual guitar stuff, like no overspray, cracks etc etc. You should be able to see some writings in the cavity left by the builders, or evidence of an original finish. On refins, this is often painted over. Fireglo is rarely faked anyway so that's unlikely to be a problem. Most refins are jetglo over fireglo. Post some pics. Oh you can also tell if the wiring is original - I'll let others here chime in on those.
laking
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Re: 1987 Rickenbacker 360/12WB

Post by laking »

Here are some photos that I created after picking up the guitar today. From what I can tell so far, action is very nice and it plays great.
Attachments
This is the front of the guitar - very clean
This is the front of the guitar - very clean
This is the headstock with a shot of some of the damage there
This is the headstock with a shot of some of the damage there
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Tommy
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Re: 1987 Rickenbacker 360/12WB

Post by Tommy »

That's my dream guitar -- thee best looking Rickenbacker ever made. Just that simple addition of the binding around the soundhole makes such a difference. Good luck with it. You won the prize.

The guy from The Plimsouls played one. It's where I first saw one. Watch it in action:

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8mileshigher
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1987 Rickenbacker 360/12WB

Post by 8mileshigher »

Yeah, that's a fantastic video .... one of my favorites !! That's Peter Case with the shades, singing the lead vocals and playing the Double Bound Rickenbacker. Eddie Munoz is playing the Fender guitar
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Tommy
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Re: 1987 Rickenbacker 360/12WB

Post by Tommy »

8mileshigher wrote:.. Eddie Munoz is playing the Fender guitar
He really adds a lot to the song.

"Million Miles Away" in my mind has always been a quintessential Rickenbacker 12 string song. One of the very best and a great example of what the Ric 12 does. But this live version has a lot of muscle to it and that's because of the Fender. Sure, the Ric 12 is amazing in that video, but it is the interplay between the 12 and the Fender that makes this live version incredible.
laking
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Re: 1987 Rickenbacker 360/12WB

Post by laking »

Thanks for the video. When I think of the Ric 12 string, I've always thought of Harrison, The Byrds, and Petty.

I went to the guitar show in Dallas and began looking at the Rickenbackers - love the classic look of the guitar. I was focusing on the 360/12, but when I saw this WB I fell in love with the look of the white binding on top. I see very few of them for sale and most seem to be in the upper $2K to $3K range.

The guy that had it before me, had a "Tom Petty" bridge installed, but the original bridge is still in the case. On the pictures that was sent, I noticed the finish issues on the headstock. You can see that in the picture on the high-E side next to the nut and at the top where the issues are. As it is, I love the guitar and apart of the headstock there is nothing. It is very clean for a 30 year old guitar. I think at $2250, I'm a happy man.
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