Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I am working on a 1954 Combo 800 with a headstock that does not have the "wave" type headstock but rather more traditional and rectangular shape like a Martin Acoustic Guitar. Can anyone comment or explain this. Every picture on the internet shows the wave type headstock and not this one. There is no sign it has been altered and it is natural color and not white color like the body. I am fixing this up for a friend and the paint has been refinished, but the headstock has no sign it was ever White and I even looked in the "truss rod" channel. The guitar has no truss rod and a U-bar extends through the neck that goes into the body. Thanks.
Rob Henderson

Sounds like it's a copy.

Its not a copy, the gentleman bought it in 1960, at a pawn shop. It is stamped 8C413 2nd. on the rickenbacker bridge. Has rickenbacker horseshoe pickups and I believe it is the 2nd Combo 800 ever made in 1954. The straight across headstock is right before they started the Wave Headstock. It is rarer than rare .

syberslack wrote:Its not a copy, the gentleman bought it in 1960, at a pawn shop. It is stamped 8C413 2nd. on the rickenbacker bridge. Has rickenbacker horseshoe pickups and I believe it is the 2nd Combo 800 ever made in 1954. The straight across headstock is right before they started the Wave Headstock. It is rarer than rare .

Photos would help a whole lot.

syberslack wrote:The straight across headstock is right before they started the Wave Headstock. It is rarer than rare .

Rob, welcome to the Forum.

In your first post you asked whether anyone could explain the squared-off headstock on the Combo you are working on. In your next post, you offer what appears to be a definitive answer.

Photos are really key to getting advice from the folks here. There is a lot of knowledge available here if you approach it the right way.

Uploading pics can be daunting for a new member. Here's an explanation of how it's done.

1. Below the text box for your post is "upload attachment" in blue. (Ignore all the boxes under "options.")

2. Click on "upload attachment" to get started, and then click on the "browse" feature and choose the photo file to download from your computer hardrive.

3. Then when your photo is chosen for download (click on "open"), you will see the name of the photo next to "filename."

4. Then click on the box "add the file", and you will see a long horizontal blank space for "file comment" (add a descriptive comment if you wish, it's not necessary) and two smaller boxes underneath.

5. Put your cursor in the text of your post where you wish the photo to appear (usually at the end of what you are writing) and then click on the box "place inline." You will then see the name of your photo (as it is named on your hardrive) in between [attachment]name of photo[attachment].

6. If you want to see what the finished product looks like, click on "preview." You will see a top screen which is what your message/photo will look like when posted, and a bottom screen which is where you can make changes before posting.

7. After "preview' you can make any changes on the 2nd screen and then scroll down to below the 2nd screen and hit "submit." [If you hit the "go back" arrow button on your browser after "preview," you will prob. have to hit the refresh button on your computer.]

8. You can also add more photos to a single post. I think 4 is the limit. Make sure each attachment is no larger than 299KB and 1200 pixels in size.

9. You can also edit your post for a few hours after it is posted by hitting the "edit" button at the top of your post.

You will note that when you click on the embedded photo, it expands provided it is large enough. The photo posted is about 111 KB.

Good luck. I hope we can be of help. I added a photo of a 1956 Combo 600 headstock so I could walk through the steps myself to illustrate for you how its done.

libratune wrote:In your first post you asked whether anyone could explain the squared-off headstock on the Combo you are working on. In your next post, you offer what appears to be a definitive answer.

That's what threw me off as well...

Welcome, Rob! It sounds like an intriguing guitar, and pictures would definitely help.

Hey Rob,

There are photos of this type of Combo in the Smith book (page 140) and the Rittor book (page 7). There may be more..........I'll keep digging. GREAT find!

8mileshigh wrote:Hey Rob,

There are photos of this type of Combo in the Smith book (page 140) and the Rittor book (page 7). There may be more..........I'll keep digging. GREAT find!

Way to go, Graham, Researcher-In-Chief! The serial # written in the back cavity of the 1954 Combo 800 in the Smith book appears to be 8C421, which would put it a bit after the one on which Rob is working -- 8C413. Interesting, too, that there appears to be no headstock logo on either "squared-off headstock" example that Graham found.

Rob, does your 1954 have a headstock logo?

It at one time it had the rickenbacker truss rod cover logo, but it is missing. (three holes are drilled)I am having to have one made. The gentleman who owns this made his own truss cover (he says he traced it from the original perfectly)and interestingly, it is not like the normal ones. (I don't know why he made another one) It is the general shape of modern ones, but has two half circular cutouts on the left side that allows room for the tuning key posts. Could someone give me a picture of those non traditional headstocks on the combo 800? I know it is probably tedious but it would help. I don't have a digital camera handy or I would snap one right now. Whats also weird is that the pickup is definitely rickenbacker but apparantly it is single coil cause it has only one lead and not the dual coil-single pickup that came a year later. It has 4 holes on the body but one of the holes was covered up with a perfectly fitting round aluminum disk. It is missing the dual-tone coil toggle switch. Thanks guys so much for your interest. This guitar is having to be reassembled but all the parts are here. He tried to refinish the body but probably needs a better job of it.
rob h. springfield, mo usa

From how you describe it Rob, it all sounds spot on for a really early Combo. I'll try an post some pictures tomorrow.

From my research, i think I have figured some things out. This combo 800 has the extra toggle switch hole, (missing switch), which has been covered up with aluminum disk that fits in the hole. It has a Combo 600 style pickup, and is wired like a combo 600. Ironically, It has a combo 800 body/neck with very early "squared off" headstock.It has the combo 800 serial number with "2nd" stamped alongside the serial. Conclusion: I think this is a "one-off" model and could have been used for experimentation maybe?

8mileshigh wrote:From how you describe it Rob, it all sounds spot on for a really early Combo. I'll try an post some pictures tomorrow.

+1. I am thinking the same thing......a very early example.

I forgot to add, i was looking on the back of the metal back cover that covers the whole back, someone at the factory wrote 8c410 and circled it in pencil. This guitar serial is 8c413 stamped on the bridge. Also there is a math problem (fraction) worked out in pencil. hahha.All of this is inside the back cover that faces the electronic wiring. One last question, was there supposed to a fabric material on back of the metal back plate. "The owner said it once did and added comfort when it rubbed your belly.
Rob

Here's a photo of the back of a 1956 Combo 400. It is made (as far as I can tell) from kind of a thin fiberboard, that seems to be covered in a very thin layer of felt. I have seen later Combo models where this removable back cover is made of a thin sheet of plastic.
P.S. Some more info from the Richard Smith book, page 139: "In 1954 the standard finish on these Combos was blonde. . . Two examples in the Rickenbacker museum have hollowed out bodies with sheet metal back plates."