Model 380?

loverickbass · Post by **loverickbass** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:03 am

Does such an animal exist? I think I read somewhere that it was like a 381 only without the pickups.Maybe I just dreamed it. I sure hope it had a thin top.

Cole

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:01 am

380L was the discontinued Laguna semi-hollow with the walnut body and the piezo option. Basically a 360 shape, not carved like the 381V69. Rick's website still shows it on the "models" page.

loverickbass · Post by **loverickbass** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:03 am

No, I know about the Laguna. I should have said it was back in the early 60s. Maybe I have the model number wrong.

Cole

Scastles · Post by **Scastles** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:24 am

Cole..you may be thinking of the 380's made in the late '50s. They were full length neck scale with a deep body. Large body acoustics really. I don't know much more than that.

loverickbass · Post by **loverickbass** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 9:26 am

That may be it Stan. I was thinking it had a carved top like the 381. Maybe it was just an acoustic.

Cole

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 7:28 pm

Cole, on the RIC website I found the following page in the 1960 catalog:

Reference: http://www.rickenbacker.com/images/cf68-6.jpg

"... Model 380 is a double cutaway with arched and carved top and back. The superb fingerboard, neck, sound hole, and handsomely crafted body feature custom binding.

"The guitarist demanding an acoustic with rich wide range tonal performance combining the appearance of a thin hollow body, will find all this and more in the 380.

Model 381 has all the features of the model 380 plus two exclusive Rickenbacker wide-range electric pickups ..."

So, it sounds like the original 380 was a pickup-less 381.

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 12:22 am

Interesting...Has anyone seen such a creature??

the_55th_beatle · Post by **the_55th_beatle** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 12:47 am

In the late 50's Model "380" was indeed a flattop acoustic with a round sound hole - here you can see a photo of Rick Nelson with his "380", as seen on Rickenbacker's website :

http://www.rickenbacker.com/us/nlacstc.htm

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 1:02 am

Hi Stefan. Welcome to the forum.

A very good detective like third post.....

loverickbass · Post by **loverickbass** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 2:29 am

I'm seeing it but it doesn't really look like what they described in the catalog.

Cole

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:18 am

If one clicks on the link in my post above, one can see that the line-up includes a Model 385, which is a jumbo acoustic similar to the one Ricky Nelson is holding.

BTW, as described on that same page of the catalog, the Model 386 apparently was a jumbo acoustic with two toaster pickups - now that would be one really strange beast!

loverickbass · Post by **loverickbass** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:24 am

Where are these guitars now? I've never seen one.

Scastles · Post by **Scastles** » Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:09 am

Cole, other than seeing a few pix in books, I haven't seen any of the 380 series acoustics made in the late '50s. There was also a 390-394 series of acoustics which weren't made after the early '70's. They were single cutaway with a carved top and back and 21 fret.