Please identify Rickenbacher Lap Steel
Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2000 7:53 pm
Richard: Would you please identify this model of Rickenbacher Lap Steel.
Peter,
This is a Model 59, ca. 1937-43. It has the black, rough finish, and is the same as the one in the photo gallery with the rough, ivory finish. Since it has both volume and tone controls, it was probably produced after 1938, as the earliest models had only a volume control. This model was also produced in a smooth gray-burst finish.
After WW2 similar models were made and were known as Model S or NS. They had adjustable pickups and were made in smooth grey-burst and blue-burst and some in a rough black finish like this one.