Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I'm looking for a reference book to give me a foundation knowledge on Rickerbacker, can anyone comment on the any of the following books on Rickenbacker guitars? Not necessarily looking for a full review just some feedback from the informed on whether they are worth spending the cash on!

• Rickenbacker Electric 12 String: The Story of the Guitars, the Music, and the Great Players - Tony Bacon;

• The History of Rickenbacker Guitars: The History of the Rickenbacker Guitar - Richard R. Smith;

• The Rickenbacker Book: A Complete History of Rickenbacker Guitars (Guitar Profile) - Tony Bacon and Paul Day.

Cheers,

Chris.

Great ,Great and Great.
well worth the money, even available used sometimes on [website that sells books, music and assorted other pleasantries , and just happens happens to be named after a large south American river]

Thanks for the response Craig. So you recommend all of them or one of them in particular?

I only have Smith's History of Rickenbacker Guitars. The books can be a bit pricey. Forgot to bid on the Bacon & Day book, which went new cheapo for 18 GBP at eBay yesterday!

But, it's worth to compare Amazon marketplace & eBay sellers as I got the Smith book new for 16 GBP (includes p&p from UK to Holland) from a Amazon marketplace seller!

I think the Smith book is a good read, but I don't like the fact it's like a university student compendium for which one has to pay a hefty sum, basically just copies that are bound.

There's also the Rittor book..........great pictorial reference (Japanese text)



And also "I Love 12 string guitar", another Japanese book, good for pictures!

Basically, the three you mention are the summation of English-language books on Rickenbacker. Ricks also appear in other omnibus references on guitars and basses, but those three are the ones to have. Hopefully by the end of next year, there will be a fourth!

Another nice book with less history and more eye candy is Collectable Rickenbacker Value & Reference Guide - 2007 by John Minutaglio (a forum member, I believe, although not apparently not active recently) & Steven Fant. The values are obviously a few years out of date but the photos are still great!

bassduke49 wrote:Hopefully by the end of next year, there will be a fourth!

We hope so, too, Paul!

Yeah, don't know what's happened to John. I've been trying to contact him for a couple of months, and nuttin. I think he did three annual editions of the collector guide. I volunteered and helped him with the bass section of the last one, and offered to do it for the next one, but he seems to have given up the effort. He self-published and did all the marketing himself, so maybe he didn't get enough interest and sales to make it worthwhile. Hmm.

John became a father a couple of years back, and is quite involved with this life-changing experience. I suspect it's cut deeply into his Rickentime.

Thanks for the replies guys...... Time to spend those Amazon vouchers! Paul I look forward to your book as well.

Thanks! It'll look great on your coffee table...

Can't disagree with anything that has been said - except to point out that, contrary to what the title suggests, Tony Bacon's book on the Rickenbacker Electric 12-String is much more extensive than you might imagine, covering much of the history of Rickenbacker - it's development under F C Hall, the evolution of the now iconic designs, the artists who made Rickenbacker famous and much besides. IMHO, this book should be bedside reading for anyone who is lucky enough (or aspires) to own a Ric.

Thanks for the information Jim.