Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Thanks for the correction, Si, although I'd be interested to know where you got your information about McGuinn's first Ric. I was under the impression that all of the information in the Guitar Player article came directly from McGuinn. I think it's highly unlikely that whoever wrote the article was doing guesswork on McGuinn's gear based on his tone on that first record. After all, the author also mentions McGuinn's use of the exact thumbpick/fingerpick arrangement you noted, not to mention Roger's preference for the bridge pickup and other assorted tips. Keep in mind that McGuinn was still an acoustic 12-string player when he purchased his first Ric, and that he was definitely accustomed to the traditional stringing. Thus it wouldn't have seemed such a shock if he reversed the octaves when he replaced the nut on that guitar. Listen to the intro and outro to "Mr. Tambourine Man," and you can clearly hear downstrokes on the D and G pairs (not to mention the high octave strings being struck before the fundamentals).

The traditional low/high Rickenbacker string configuration has become a huge part of McGuinn's tone, but not from the beginning. I would argue that sometime between the albums "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Fifth Dimension" McGuinn reverted to Ric-style stringing and altered his approach to the instrument. To my ears "Eight Miles High" was definitely recorded with a 360/12 strung factory stock.

Folkie,

I asked him in person after a show he played at The Basement near Circular Key, Sydney Harbour in April 1998...he was signing stuff for fans that hung back. I mentioned the 1997 article and the stringing and asked if his rick was strung conventional or rick standard. He hesitated for a second in thought and responded that Guitar Player was wrong, but he said Tom Petty's rick (you'd assume TP had several ricky 12's?) was strung that way and it sounds different. That was pretty much the extent of the discussion on stringing.

Also all early pics/vids of his first rick (DJ451) where you can just make out the strings, show the guitar as strung up rick style. So FWIW I think Guitar Player got it wrong somehow..misunderstanding with RM?...dont know. Can I be 100% certain...not really.

Cheers,

Si..

Hello Si,

That's really amazing that you got to ask Roger about this in person. But I guess the real issue is not how McGuinn strung his guitar in 1998, when you spoke to him, but how it was strung in the very beginning. We all know from his DVD (which came out in 1996), and from various interviews over the years, that he has preferred the stock low-high string configuration for a very long time. He has said repeatedly in interviews that he prefers the sound of his own 360/12 to Tom Petty's traditionally-strung one. I suppose it's very possible that his first 360/12 was strung factory stock, although my ears tell me otherwise. I would very much like to see some of those photos of his first 360/12, especially if any of them are in fact close enough to see how his guitar is strung. It sounds like you really know your stuff. Would you mind sending some photos?

Robert

Robert,

Sorry I wasn't clearer above. When I got to speak with him in 1998, the Guitar Player article was fresh in my mind still and I asked specifically about his 1st Rick 12, I guess that's why he momentarily reflected before answering. 1964/65 was a long time ago even in 1998..perhaps he remembered incorrectly. I'll trust your ears..Im almost tone deaf.

PM me with your email if you like and I'll send you some pics of Byrd 1.

Si..

Thanks, Si. PM Sent!

Does anyone out there have a genuine closeup of Roger McGuinn's first Rickenbacker 12-string?

Is it this one?

http://storage.lfpress.com/v1/blogs-pro ... 1371834268
[Roger McGuinn (Jim McGuinn earlier) of The Byrds, London Arena, June 21, 1966 . . . Courtesy of Valerie Chapman, who was at the shutter & show]

http://cheap-cds.com/surf/play/176920ag.mp3

Here's Tom Petty's hands on his Rick 12-string neck. You can see it's strung high/low.
http://storage.lfpress.com/v1/blogs-pro ... 1371834511
[The hand of Tom Petty, Budweiser Gardens, June 18, 2013 . . . Photograph by Derek Ruttan/The London Free Press]

I understand that Roger acquired his first 360/12 almost two years before this photo. I thought it was Mapleglo, whereas the one in the photo appears to be Fireglo. But the real problem is that the camera isn't close enough to the neck so that I can see the string arrangement. Anyone else have any closer photos?

This is the later Rickenbacker that sold at auction, but you can see the string arrangement pretty clearly.

http://www.goldminemag.com/wp-content/u ... ker_HA.jpg

Thanks for the photo. Yes, this one appears to be strung stock. But that still doesn't answer my question about the nut replacement on Roger's first 360/12. There must be good resolution photos of that guitar somewhere. Help, anyone?

Does this one help? This is going to be tough. I believe the particular guitar in question was stolen a long, long time ago. So close ups may be impossible to find.
JimK

Thanks, Jim! Excellent photo, though still not quite close enough to see the strings. Even though I'd prefer a picture of McGuinn's first Ric, I'm thinking that just about any clear picture of his Rick 12 from 1964-66 should do the trick. Hope that makes things easier. And even if we can't find a closeup, this could be the beginning of a wonderful Byrds photo album thread!

I just thought of something, Jim. Is there any way to zoom in on this particular photo? From my vantage point (looking at the low E-pair between the two pickups), this could possibly be a traditionally-strung guitar. There must be a way to enlarge the photo, no?

The low E-string is pretty close to the binding so hard to tell as they kind of blend in. If you look at the A down by the p-ups it kind of looks like the larger A is first.

Still hard to tell. I suspect if you had the original print or a much better/larger scan you could tell.

Maybe a change in the photo resolution would make it easier to see the guitar neck. That would be a dead giveaway.