Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello All,
I have just taken stewardship of my mothers "Rickenbacher Electro" bakelite 7 string lap steel guitar and amplifier. this is my first post, so bear with me. I'm positive this is from the early 40's or possibly the late 30's. Mom used to play in a Hawaiian music band with her sisters (in and around San Francisco)before my parents married in '43, and it has the through body strings and 1.5" pickups. I'm determined to try to learn to play it, but I'm a little confused about the proper strings and tuning that I should be starting with. The guitar is in immaculate shape and the amp still works. I have a number of photos, if anyone would be interested in seeing them. Thanks in advance.

I thought I'd post some pictures:

Welcome to the Forum! That is an absolutely beautiful guitar, John. I know nothing about the stringing of these, but I'm sure someone knowledgeable will chime in.

Gary,
What a cool way to introduce yourself to the Forum.
What you have is a 1937-38 model B7. Many lap steel players and collectors consider this instrument the Holy Grail of lap steel guitars. The vast majority of prewar Model B steels were 6-string instruments. 7-string instruments are very rare. Yours looks to be in near mint condition. There is usually a serial number stamped into the top of the headstock. Would you mind posting it or emailing it to me?

As for tunings and strings, that depends on the musical genre you're into.
Brad's Page of Steel http://www.well.com/~wellvis/tuning.html
is a great place to start.
You can also go to the Steel Guitar Forum.
http://steelguitarforum.com/cgi-bin/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=No+Peddlers&number=2&DaysPrune=10&LastLogin=
Search for tuning or tunings.

Good Luck and Have Fun

Hi Richard,
The number is "C2110". Thanks for the info on the tunings. More than you can shake a stick at! I'll probably concentrate on Hawaiian style, it reminds me of listening to my Mom play when I was a kid. On the RIC site, I found a '36 catalog that gives the original tuning (A,E,C#,A,E,C#,G) and string recommendations (I still have an original "Electro" string package, you can see it in the photo of the whole kit) but I don't think I have the right strings to go that high. At least, I'm afraid to try! Do you have any suggestions on proper care of the metal work and the bakelite? Is there a safe way to "shine it up" or should I leave it alone?
Thanks,
John

Just out of curiosity, is there a way to edit a previous post? When I previewed my picture post, they were aligned vertically. If I could fix that, it would make the rest of the posts a lot easier to read!
John

John, You are fortunate in having such a direct connection with Hawaiian music era. What you will discover is that the Hawaiian tunings usually go up from standard. That's where the seventh string comes in. You can add the missing lower tones. You may not get the real potential out of that amp. Try it through a good quality modern tube amp. If you are determined to play it you will have to focus on the great players. There is tons of stuff available on CD. Aloha, David.