Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I'd like to know about one of my favorite Rickenbacker models, albeit one that i've never picked up or seen in person - The 760 Jazzbo.

What's the history on them? Have they ever been made before?
When are the new ones going to start shipping?

Ahhhh.... the almost "mythical" Jazzbo! The one on the RIC stand at NAMM looked great - I'm assuming it was from the RIC museum or a private collection. I'd be very interested to hear/read all about them also.

Well... wouldn't add that much since the only thing i know about it is that... i want it badly!!!!

The only thing I know about the history of the guitar is that it did exist at some point in Ric's history. If you troll through the Ric photos and history pages on their website, you'll see a photo of Sam Cooke holding what looks like a 760. It doesn't get much cooler than that! I don't know what the model would have been called at the time. Here's a link to the photo:

http://www.rickenbacker.com/gallery.asp?gcategory=Artists&gyear=1950

Sorry, I missed part of John's original post. To the best of my knowledge, no "modern" 760's have been manufactured. That's because John Hall would like to re-design the tailpiece so that it fits the overall style and history of the guitar. I remember John discussing the tailpiece that's on the 760 that Ric shows at NAMM. He said that it is far from a final design. ("Give me some credit" were his exact words! Ha, ha!) It's a lovely guitar, but I think that Rickenbacker has a few other R&D things on their plate at the moment -- new pick-ups for the Cheyenne Cii 5 string, a new bridge for the 4003 and other things we're not privy to -- so I don't know where developing a new tailpiece fits in the grand scheme of things. Remember that Rickenbacker is not accepting orders for acoustics at the moment, and even when they were, some dealers actively discouraged me from placing an order because of the long wait time. That wasn't a factor for me (I need time to develp my jazz chops), but I took their advice and didn't place the order. Right now, the 760 is just a dream guitar, but dreams do sometimes come true.

The tailpiece on the Jazzbo at NAMM was a generic OEM unit that has been around and available for 50 years or so.

The guitar needs a Jazz-Age, deco-styled custom-made unit, to complement its overall exuberance.

I agree, Paul, but the trick is to do it with a nod to Rickenbacker's design tradition. That's the hard part, I think. I mean, I have a tough time imagining what the tailpiece would look like without it resembling something else. The best I could come up with was a solid wood unit a la Benedetto with the Rickenbacker "R" carved into it, but that wouldn't fit either. Too clunky.

I don't like the tailpiece on the NAMM model, but then again, I can't picture something like the "long R" or "long trapeze" on it either.

I'd love a Jazzbo with a single gold-plated toaster in the neck position and two oven knobs (V/T).

Who's got a picture of this NAMM one?

Try this Rob:

http://www.rickresource.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?tpc=6&post=194318#POST194318

Aitch never lets me down

It's on the price list at $5389, but then so is the 4004Cii5.
It's definitely a piece of art!

That's not a bad price for a hand-made, solid wood archtop. Not at all. Some folks charge the same for laminates. Shop around a bit and you'll see what I mean. I wonder if Rickenbacker's woods will be "tap tuned"? I have Benedetto's book on archtop construction, but I can never get my head around tap tuning the wood. I've probably just got cloth ears.