Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Wildberry wrote:I kind of expected the 380 acoustic to be somewhat like the 381, is there no raised part, like Sam Cooke's 390?

Kinda what I was getting at. The 1968 literature mentions a "double cutaway" model 380, and describes a 381-style guitar without pickups (Paragraphs 3 through 5 on that page,) but no model 380 is pictured. In fact, the 381 is described as having "all the features of the model 380 plus...pickups."

Did Rickenbacker never build a model 380 in the same style as a 381, even as a prototype?

Also mentioned is a model 386, effectively a 385 with pickups. Has anyone ever seen one of these?

The other strange thing about this page is that the heading reads, "Models 380-394," but there's no further mention of a model 394. What would that have been?

RutleDirk wrote:

Wildberry wrote:

The other strange thing about this page is that the heading reads, "Models 380-394," but there's no further mention of a model 394. What would that have been?

The 394, according to the Smith book, was three pickups and a vibrato

Anyone have pictures of these mythical beasts?

RutleDirk wrote:The 1968 literature?

Thanks, I missed the first time that link was posted... interesting picture, the 385 is b*tt ugly

The numbering of the whole 380-390 models is confusing to say the least - some being acoustic, others electric.

You all forgot the 380L Lagunas. The PZ option gets pretty close to acoustic!

jdogric12aolcom wrote:... The PZ option gets pretty close to acoustic!

+1

Apparently some of those variations, like the acoustic double-cut 380, the electric versions of the 385 acoustic flat-tops (imagine one of those with three pickups and a vibrato!), or the 391-394 electric full-body archtops, never existed except in the price list. I used to have a 381--it didn't have much more acoustic sound than a 330. I can't imagine why anyone would want one of those without pickups. The flat-top pictured with Ricky Nelson is a 385.
The numbers ran:
380: Carved acoustic double-cut--probably never produced
381: as above with 2 pickups
382: as above with 2 pickups and vibrato
383: as above with 3 pickups
384: as above with 3 pickups and vibrato
385: acoustic flat-top
386: flat-top with 2 pickups
387: flat-top with 2 pickups and vibrato
388: flat-top with 3 pickups
389: flat-top with 3 pickups and vibrato
390: acoustic archtop
391: archtop with 2 pickups
392: archtop with 2 pickups and vibrato
393: archtop with 3 pickups
394: archtop with 3 pickups and vibrato
It's highly unlikely that models 386-389 and 391-394 were ever produced, even as prototypes, but if anybody's got a picture of one, I'd love to see it!

Thanks for that list, Jon! Does make the whole numbering a lot clearer this way