Rick Electro Vibrola help needed

[dain]

hi guys, i've got a friend that has an old Electro Vibrola Spanish Steel with the motorized vibrato he's restoring. only thing
someone got sick of the motorized vibrato and tossed it! (i know i know, it's better that way, etc...) anyway.

i was wondering if any of you guys have one of these creatures and could maybe throw us some detailed pics of the internals,
we're looking to get it as back to original as possible. he's also missing the back panel so we'd love some detailed measurements

thanks!
dain

[Ron Simpson]

The best place to start would be the Rickenbacker book by Richard R. Smith. pages 49 and 50 show the patent drawings for this model including cutaway views of the innards. I'm sure it would be extremely difficult to fabricate the necessary pieces from patent drawings. The back of the body seems to be a separate part altogether.

Good luck with the project.

[AnnieDoucet]

It's only the Rickenbacher with the plug in vibrato system that came with the stand. I should know, I have one just like the photo, with the amp and stand! Too cool. The guitar itself has a hookup area on the back -- so regular electro-spanish players couldn't have used one without drilling into the bakelite on their guitars. Some of the earliest musicians who made use of premature or early electric guitar is Perry Botkin. He used one of Rickenbacker's short-lived Vibrola Spanish models. In the 1930s, Rickenbacker made a clunky Vibrola Spanish guitar with motorized pulleys that jiggled the bridge to create a vibrato effect.

Thanks
Annie

[8mileshigher]

Annie - welcome aboard the RRF !
Tell us about your Rickenbacker collection ..... post pictures, etc.

[rshatz]

The whole Vibrola thing is interesting, but really should be discussed in another forum. The Vibrola was never to my knowledge used in a Rickenbacher steel guitar.