Rickenbacker Plate on '60's Export Cases

[k43rover]

Would really appreciate definitive views on this; is it the case that the Rickenbacker metal name plates were only attached to cases destined for Rose Morris (i.e UK and Australia) or is there hard evidence that other guitars exported to Canada, Italy etc in the '60's also had them?

[k43rover]

Here is a picture of the metal plate I am talking about on a 1960's case (on top) comparing it with the bigger repro plate on a modern vintage reissue series case (below)....

[collin]

There is no such thing as a hard "rule" with vintage Rickenbackers, but generally they were only on the Austalian and UK Rose Morris models, though I've seen them on some
domestic models from 1968-1969, for whatever reason.


I'm still looking for onemif anybody has an extra!

[k43rover]

Thanks for that input Collin - were those '68-9 cases that you refer to still silver in colour as I thought by 1969 all the cases were black with '68 as a transition year with mixed black/silver?

[wints]

Yup, there really is no "definitive" from this period!

[k43rover]

I understand that the factory itself was inconsistent with changeovers and revisions to instruments/cases etc so it makes it very difficult to talk with anything approaching total accuracy about instruments from the '60's. Still, I hope there are enough unmessed with '60's examples around which have survived as they were originally purchased and are in the hands of people on this forum so that at least general patterns of what was normal at a particular time period can be talked about...

[collin]

Thanks for that input Collin - were those '68-9 cases that you refer to still silver in colour as I thought by 1969 all the cases were black with '68 as a transition year with mixed black/silver?

The best way to look at it is that Rickenbacker "phased in" changes during this period, using up older stock first.

I know that I've seen a good number of 1968 model Rickenbackers in (presumably) leftover post -65 Rose Morris cases---silver/blue with the badge.


The badge itself doesn't seperate a Rose Morris case from standand Rickenbacker case. The latches and springs were also brass in the early RM years ('64-'65).

Additionally, there are the standard and deluxe cases. The RMs 1998 and RM1993 were considered "deluxe" top-of-the-line models, and were mostly supplied with the deluxe case (with compartment). The RM1997 was supplied with only the neck support, no compartment.......though its evident that many RM models were either shipped with the "wrong" case version or swapped around at somepoint.

[k43rover]

agreed - seems to be consistently inconsistent!! The '67 1998 345S I have c/w a metal badged silver case but is the non-deluxe (no compartment) version. It could of course have been swapped out but seems 100% period original to the guitar so is probably the original matching case...

[collin]

Eddie, it's probably original. I don't think much emphasis was put on which type of case the guitar went into.

BTW, here's a sales brochure about Rose Morris models and their cases. It's pre-1993 model so it doesn't mention the 12-string getting the deluxe case also:

[k43rover]

interesting that the picture in the RM catalogue shows a case without the metal Rickenbacker badge on!! Seems the catalogue is also inconsistent with the actual cases!

[collin]

interesting that the picture in the RM catalogue shows a case without the metal Rickenbacker badge on!! Seems the catalogue is also inconsistent with the actual cases!

Yup!

"Rickenbacker-----The only consistency.....is inconsistency... "