Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I was doing some research and I found a chart that lists JG every year since 54 through present - except for 1958.
That must have been one of those early backlog years for JG....

I don't know. It seems like they were going though changes, such as introducing new models.

There are Rickenbackers from that period that were black.....Combo 400s and 450s with Tulip bodies.

There are also pics of a '58 Combo 450 in black with the cresting-wave body from 1958, one of the first made.

If you're going by R Smith's findings, those numbers have been said to be off as the records
he was using were incomplete according to the folks at Rickenbacker.
Or, a black guitar could show as "Other" for the color.
58 was a very busy year for our favorite company.

Wasn't it known as Jet Black then?

Was there any 'glo' terms used in the late '50's'? I've seen Natural, Cloverfield Green, and others used as finishes but not anything refered to as a 'glo' until the early sixties.

The original Autumnglo (or was that Autumn Glow?) appeared in the late 50's.

Yes, the numbers in the Smith book are incomplete. Apparently, they only reflect invoices from one of F.C. Hall's operating companies. I can't keep track of the changes but there were different companies setup for the manufacture and distribution of the different products. Smith only had access to one set of documents.

Ted:

From what I can tell (at least when you see old price sheets), the colorglo finishes early on were spelt with a 'W' at the end as you refer.....Fireglow, Autumnglow, Mapleglow etc....I'm not sure when the dropped the 'W', though.

Other than 'Jetglow', I've seen black called black, black diamond and (IIRC) Jet Black....