HOW DO YOU SPELL "Rickenbacker"?

[ajish4]

Hey Sergio,



I'd bet it would eliminate buckle rash too!

[elysrand]

Sérgio, I think it would be too hard to play because of the thick neck, if it had no truss rods

[simer4001]

I usually use RIC. They make the instruments so that's good enough for me. McCartney calls his 4001S Ricky. Is that different from us referring to every guitar as Ricky?

[karl_teten]

I do NOT like "Rickys".

I use "RIC's" all the time.

Being of Germanic descent myself, I pronounce Rickenbacker as "RickenBACHer". I don't care what the "story" is, like most Spanish Americans in the U.S., I am sure Adolph got tired of correcting people and just accepted the Americanized version of it. My great grandfather did the same thing with our name.

[jimk]

I thought the story was that Adolph wanted to capitalize on his distant relation with the famous WWI Ace, Cap't. Eddie. Hence Rickenbacker.

JimK

[bassduke49]

Then there's Mr. Editor here, who made name tags for last April's Midwest Confluence, struggling to add a picture of a guitar and text to a card to print multiple times on a sheet, etc. Got 'em all done, and never noticed that I had spelled it "Rickenbaker" until an attendee mentioned the typo. Smooth. I promise the book will be better. Really.

[charlyg]

A Rickenbaker would be an extremely hot (as in temperature, or fast action, not stolen) one?

Is it a variation of the frying pan?

Maybe more like a cookie sheet?



never mind....

[beatlefreak]

I have to agree it should be either Rick or Rickenbacker. Calling it a Ric confuses it with the company, and to me, Ricky sounds like a boy's name (a little boy's name).

[elysrand]

Seriously, I too have always used "Rick" to describe the instrument and "RIC" to describe the modern-day maker. When I am only going to say it once, or am speaking to someone in person, I will say the entire "Rickenbacker" pronounced as [RICK-en-BACK-ur].

Of course, originally, it was spelled Rickenbacher and pronounced differently, but that was long before F.C. Hall bought the company I am sure. He was entitled afterwards, therefore, to change it from whatever Adolph used to whatever he darned well pleased

[sir_andrew_of_left_coast]

Since we are confined to the "written" word (not the "spoken" word) here in this forum, I propose the following:

1. RIC (in CAPS): refers to the company.

2. Ric or Rick (lower-case letters): is "short-hand" for Rickenbacker instruments.

3. Ricky: to be reserved only for those instances when someone wishes to make the Curmudgeon feel especially... well, curmudgeonly. ;-P

[simer4001]

If I say RIC 4001C64 how confusing is it?

[srick]

I only know a few things. My name, for example, is pronounced 'rick-en-bock'. My guitar is pronounced 'rick-en-back-er'. I don't have a nickname for my last name, but if I did, it would be my choice as to how to pronounce it. Since RIC prefers Rick-en-back-er, my guitar is very happy with that.

[charlyg]

Sounds like the definitive answer to our dilemma!

[dale_fortune]

Richenbacher was the German spelling: Adolph Rickenbacher. When WWII broke out it was changed to sound like the more popular American spelling of the WW1 flying Ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Why? Probably to be on the positive American side of the War. I've always called my Rickenbackers Ricks or Ricky 12's or Capris or where's my Rick or WGAS, they are great guitars, play em' and take care for they will always be only what you make of them.

[sir_andrew_of_left_coast]

So, for the "spoken" side of things...

How about:

Rick-en-BOCK-er when it's the old stuff spelled with an "h" (i.e., "Rickenbacher"),

and

Rick-en-BACK-er when it's the Americanized spelling (i.e., "Rickenbacker").

;-P