Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Here are a couple of photos of 1960s Kay guitars and a 60s Kay amplifier with a better look at the knobs that are likely to have been used by Lennon on his V81.

I think you're onto something Peter, those knobs on the two Kay guitars really look right. I know that Hessy's sold Kay guitars as I've got some pictures of the inside of Hessy's back in '64(which Astrid Kirchher took) and there is a Kay guitar on a stand. I think Kay's were pretty popular in England as anything American made at the time was desirable. Although I'm sure most British rockers would have wanted a Strat over a Kay.

Was it that Lennon just didn't like the original knobs on his Ric, and was constantly in search of something more fab gear looking?

Jerry: You have touched upon issues that likely relate to Lennon's personality. There is sufficient information out there to suggest that John was a tinkerer. To this end, your point would seem to make sense. There are many examples of this from his hat, to his spectacles to his guitar knobs, just to name a few.

It would also seem that Lennon did not take good care of his guitars and as such perhaps he was simply trying repair it. Knobs would go missing and I am sure that it was easier than finding stock parts.

I agree that Lennon may have liked to tinker with his guitars. But, I've always thought(and this is just my opinion) that he wouldn't mind changing knobs, asking for someone to refinish his guitar, hang charms from his guitar, have someone change the tailpiece, etc.. I've read that he hated changing strings and it's a fact that V81 had a mixed set of round and flat-wound strings on it when Ron DeMarino refinished the guitar. I can't imagine that he would go into the wiring and start playing around with that. The guy who sprayed it black had problems putting the wiring back in the guitar and it took awhile to get the sound back to where Lennon was alright with it. Why go there again?

Larry: In continued discussions with others and as a result of further research, it would seem that the Kay guitar knobs are not the ones on the V81. I have, however, what I believe to be another strong candidate and that is the knobs on some 1960s Zenith radios. These have the dark edges and the raised gold inner portion that gives them the three dimensional effect seen in photos of Lennon's V81. They also match the gold guard on the 1958 Model 325 Capri.

Also, to back track, these knobs would be found in the electronics shop as mentioned by Chris Huston, who was there with Lennon in those days. In any event here is the photo. I will provide a much more detailed look after I compress a larger photo. These may still not be the correct knobs but they are appear closer. For your perusal.

They're the closest match I've seen Peter. They have the gold insert that rises to a distinct point as the ones on V81 appeared to.

The period is right, the availability in Liverpool seems likely.

Yes Glen, it is encouraging, however, they appear to be too large. Perhaps the manufacturer made them in a smaller size. They may also be a bit too thick as well. The quest continues.

Yes, those are very close Peter and I would think they made them in a smaller size. As Glen said, they are from the correct era too. I wonder if Zenith made their own radio knobs or if they bought them from somebody else? There must be hundreds of Lennon style radio knobs sitting in a warehouse somewhere. The search will go on.

That Zenith is close gains support from the nice work done by Jim Huff. Here is a photo of Lennon's 325 at the Star Club and Jim's Lennonized 325 with Zenith knobs. What do you think? I think that they are close but that he is missing the ridge around the top edge of the knob.

Here is the Star Club photo of the V81 with a Grundig radio knob in the bottom right hand corner. This is reasonably close.

Notice that the thickness of the Grundig knob seems a better fit than the Zenith knob which seems thicker. Also it is the top portion of the Grundig knob that seems to be right and does not include the base surround also shown here.