Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi, all:

Does anyone know when John or George last used a Rickenbacker on a Beatles song? And, is there any special reason why they never went back to Ricks???

I believe it was for "If I Needed Someone". Not sure why they didn't use them after that.

Believe that would be 'If I Needed Someone'. George used his second 360 on the '66 tour but don't think it was heard from anytime afterwards.

Interestingly, in his new book, Geoff Emerick mentions John's Rickenbacker 6-string during the making of Strawberry Fields Forever

It's a quick and intersting read, but there are a few questionable facts in it that most Beatles fans would catch - such as confusing the 'common' vs. 'rare' endings of Penny Lane - that indicate to me that they didn't let another Beatles fan proof the book. Which is a shame, because those small mistakes cast a shadow over his other revelations, such as the Rickenbacker 6-string being present for the recording of Strawberry Fields Forever.

Anyway I enjoyed the book. It was like catching Geoff Emerick at the pub and having him casually tell you his amazing stories.

Macca was using his Ric bass after the others stopped using their Rics. Perhaps like their musical experimentations they wanted to get away from the same old gear

I always figured John used his Casino for Strawberry Fields. Doesn't sound to much like his Ric. Who knows.

I wonder if John played any guitar in the latter takes of SFF. His main instrument on it was keys. Perhaps it was George playing guitar on it.

George played his second twelve string on "And your bird can sing- Anthologie version", didn't he?

Good call Wolfgang, I completely forgot about that.

Yes, I kind of doubt John played the 325 on SFF too.

It's only George you hear playing guitar in the various takes of SSF.

Its a good question, and my first answer would not have been a song recorded as early as And your bird can sing...... gee, no Ric guitars after that???

(I feel a Lewisohn session coming on)

There might have been a conscious decision to move away from the "mersey beat" images, as well as a search for new sounds. Many bands were playing Ricks as a result of the fabs, and along with new threads, they might have wanted a different "guitar image".

I enjoyed Emerick's book, though he really slights G. Martin.

If I could shed some light, a spotlight in fact, based on my personal experience at the time. You see, I also switched from playing Rickenbacker guitars. A customized Les Paul Jr. became my main instrument.

When Cream exploded on the scene using a variety of instruments, but seemingly favoring a Fender 8 string bass and a Gibson SG Special through Marshall amplification they established a sound that many musicians wanted to emulate.

Of course other musicians were using Fender and Gibson prior to the arrival of Cream on the charts, but they became the group that established a new benchmark in sound. Clapton's famous "woman tone" was finally captured on vinyl for mass consumption. The fact that they got enormous press coverage made all the difference in the world.

I believe that Cream along with Hendrix (Paul was a huge fan of Jimi's music) and a few other great bands influenced musicians to migrate away from Rickenbacker instruments.

The Beatles for the first time were not in the pole position when it came to playing cool instruments and establishing a style. I believe that they became followers of fashion for a while, as many of us did.



Cream at the Marquee Club, London on August 16th 1966.

I think you mean Fender 6 string, not 8 string. And Clapton played an SG Standard, not a special.

Yes Carmen that's correct. I posted in haste between projects while I was working today.

Jack Bruce played a 6 string Fender V1 bass. However when I saw first him he was playing a Gibson EB-3.

I know that Eric played an SG Standard between 1967 and 1968, however when I saw Eric in 1969 ( I believe) he played and SG Special among other guitars that night.

Like I said in my previous post they were "using a variety of other instruments".

The main point being though that this new wave of artists from that genre heralded a move away from the previously very cool Rickenbacker instruments. I suspect that many musicians got caught up in that change. People were also experimenting with different amplifiers too by then. Selmer and Vox for example quickly became replaced by Marshall and Hiwatt etc.