Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Brian, George received a "new-style" Fireglo 360/12 in 1965. I can't remember the name of the music store that presented it to him. He used it on their last tour and "If I Needed Someone".

B-Sharp Music in Minneapolis presented George with his Rick 12 according to Babiuk's book.

Brian, George and his '65 360

You can hear the intro much better on the "1" CD — which is is true stereo. That part is panned to the right channel.

I was at the '65 Met Stadium show in Minneapolis (the stadium was actually in Bloomington, Minnesota — where the Twins and Vikings played in those days). I recall that John mentioned something on stage about the Twins having just clinched the '65 American League Pennant! George had his "old" Ric 360/12 on stage — I think he used it on A Hard Day's Night, Can't Buy Me Love, and perhaps Twist and Shout.

I was already playing in a band that summer, and we used to hang out at B-Sharp Music to lust after all the Fender stuff. There weren't many Rics around, but the store had managed to get their hands on the above-mentioned Ric 12 which they gave to George at the WDGY press conference. John immediately chirped in something like "So where's mine?"

I have read somewhere that George played the rick 12strings on Here there and everywhere

Hmmm Francesco that's certainly possible, but I dont recall hearing any 12 string on Here There And Everywhere at all. But I've been wrong before.

I don't have the song here with me, but IIRC maybe the 12-string part referred to is the lead guitar in the bridge ("I want her anywhere...") after "... I need never care ...".

That part is done all on the B & E strings, and could most certainly be the 360/12! Christian

Guys, I'm really anxious to get closure on this "Ticket to ride" thing. Was it ever established which guitar was used for the intro, etc? GOOD POINT about not being able to hear the octave string on the very first note; occasionally I'll miss the octave on a down stroke, but this is hard to say. Could it be a Gretsche with the treble cranked up? Although '60's concerts always sound diffrent from the records, the Sullivan "Ticket" sounds VASTLY different from the recording. I'm wondering if the 325/12 could have been used; that intro tone kind of stands alone in rock history. The song was tuned down almost to Ab, probably because Paul (Just can't say "Macca"!) has to hit a high tonic right off the bat. Ever notice "Macca's" bum bass note at the end of the song?! If anyone has an official answer (As opposed to speculation), please post it here. Many thanks! Christian

I can hear the octave string on the first note.
And it does not sound like the 325-12 (used in Every little thing).
To me it is George playing his first 12-string...
But on the Ed Sullivan show we have a Gretsch sounding almost like a Rickenbacker and a 325 Miami sounding terrible...

Ok, one guy can hear the octave string, one guy can't (Don't I have ANYTHING better to do than try and find out if one string on a 12 string guitar is heard or not-like watching paint dry?) I'm still looking for cold, hard facts, NOT people's opinions (Although I do appreciate the input) so I'm going to ask again, DOES ANYONE KNOW FOR SURE WHAT GUITAR WAS USED ON TICKET TO RIDE? Was Geoff around in those days? Please answer if you know THE FACTS. I'm not really interested in the opinions. Thanks! Christian

I don't understand the "Chicken to ride" cartoon video, and the connection to the original post; is their some kind of link to Beatle instrumentation, or is it just a really stupid cartoon!? Thanks, Christian

Christian- Closure?? With all due respect, why is this bugging you so much? And yes, the CHICKEN TO RIDE cartoon doesn't relate to the original post, but that's getting to be normal around here. Hope you find the answer you're looking for, but don't freak out if you dont.

All you have to do is to go play the part on a RIC 12 string and you will know that he used one on Ticket to Ride. It will jump out and hit you if you have decent ears at all. As far as which one of his two 360/12's he used, I have no idea, but it doesn't really matter all that much as the two guitars are very similar.

Not that I'm any authority on this, but I don't ever recall any real dispute in print that this was anything other than a 12-string. I've seen speculation that because it sounds a bit different maybe it wasn't the first Rickenbacker and was maybe the new model 360 or Lennon's 325/12 but nothing else. Maybe he just flipped the selector to the middle position and played with the fifth-knob to blend out some of the neck pup.

Somebody else already mentioned this but I sometimes miss the octave string on downbeats, too, if I haven't played mine for awhile. I could surely purposely miss it if I had Harrison's talent if I wanted to.