Commemoration - Your Guitar's Manufacture Anniversary
Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2007 8:52 am
I've always been fascinated by the history behind some of the older Rick instruments - who owned them, and what shows they played with them, and so on. So in the tradition of Paul Boyer's and John Biscuti's respective topics which presented a great place for Rick owners to post pics of guitars based on color & model, I thought it would be cool for anyone interested to have a place to offer a personal presentation of his or her guitar's birthday, or birthMONTH in this case. For example, I have a 4001 bass made in July of 1968, so this would be the month to say a few words about it - when & where I bought it, who I bought it from, any additional history of the bass' previous owners, how I've used the bass - gigs & recordings and so on. It's encouraged to offer any other tidbits of personal info that you think the public would find interesting - ie: it was your first Rick, you found it in your deceased uncle's attic, you stopped a bullet with it, whatever. The emphasis of this topic will hopefully be the story behind your guitar more than the actual pictures. So there you go. Have at it. I'm going to hold off on my '68 until next July, which will be it's big 4-0. All anniversaries feel free to chime in whether your guitar is 1 year old, or 50. And let's try to get some of the lapsteel guys in on this, too.
For those not in the know, every Rickenbacker guitar shows the month and year of production within the serial number digits which can be found on the jackplate, bridge, or neckplate. A common format is easily deciphered thusly:
AK 211: A = 1961, the first year of this lettering/numbering system, and K, the 11th letter in the alphabet, represents November, the 11th month. 211 is a production number.
Simple-stupid, right? But after 1986, this alphabet system was modified when they came to 'Z.' Beyond this, it can get a little confusing. For more information about Rickenbacker serial numbers, go here:
RIC serial number decoder
For those who own guitars made before 1960 and may not know the exact month, feel free to jump in as you feel appropriate.
![Image](http://archives.rickresource.com/oldattachments/162432.jpg)
For those not in the know, every Rickenbacker guitar shows the month and year of production within the serial number digits which can be found on the jackplate, bridge, or neckplate. A common format is easily deciphered thusly:
AK 211: A = 1961, the first year of this lettering/numbering system, and K, the 11th letter in the alphabet, represents November, the 11th month. 211 is a production number.
Simple-stupid, right? But after 1986, this alphabet system was modified when they came to 'Z.' Beyond this, it can get a little confusing. For more information about Rickenbacker serial numbers, go here:
RIC serial number decoder
For those who own guitars made before 1960 and may not know the exact month, feel free to jump in as you feel appropriate.
![Image](http://archives.rickresource.com/oldattachments/162432.jpg)