Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Good morning guys. Hope everyone is well! I’m back into my playing after 6 years and thought I might treat myself to a 12 string Ric. It’s a bit unusual I think. Or maybe not? I’ll let you with more expertise decide! This one is from Nov 84. I purchased it as an early V64. I really like the guitar. The finish is unusual for a V64 but I have seen thin bursts oon other 84 models. I’m intrigued to know what I actually have.I’m pretty sure it is an early V64 .. the inlays aren’t full width which strikes me as odd but maybe this is how they were?
Any advice would be immensely appreciated!
My sincerest thanks in advance!
J
https://imgur.com/gallery/bsvuRi1?s=sms

Johnnylydon wrote:Good morning guys. Hope everyone is well! I’m back into my playing after 6 years and thought I might treat myself to a 12 string Ric. It’s a bit unusual I think. Or maybe not? I’ll let you with more expertise decide! This one is from Nov 84. I purchased it as an early V64. I really like the guitar. The finish is unusual for a V64 but I have seen thin bursts oon other 84 models. I’m intrigued to know what I actually have.I’m pretty sure it is an early V64 .. the inlays aren’t full width which strikes me as odd but maybe this is how they were?
Any advice would be immensely appreciated!
My sincerest thanks in advance!
J
https://imgur.com/gallery/bsvuRi1?s=sms

Your image link isn't working for me, just a blank 10% grey field, but given your description, I'd venture to guess it is a 360/12WB.

(Works on my Apple iPad….). BTW, lately I have been getting web pages not opening correctly (blank), and usually refreshing the page seems to fix that (on iPad and PC); weird.

jps wrote:

Johnnylydon wrote:Good morning guys. Hope everyone is well! I’m back into my playing after 6 years and thought I might treat myself to a 12 string Ric. It’s a bit unusual I think. Or maybe not? I’ll let you with more expertise decide! This one is from Nov 84. I purchased it as an early V64. I really like the guitar. The finish is unusual for a V64 but I have seen thin bursts oon other 84 models. I’m intrigued to know what I actually have.I’m pretty sure it is an early V64 .. the inlays aren’t full width which strikes me as odd but maybe this is how they were?
Any advice would be immensely appreciated!
My sincerest thanks in advance!
J
https://imgur.com/gallery/bsvuRi1?s=sms

Your image link isn't working for me, just a blank 10% grey field, but given your description, I'd venture to guess it is a 360/12WB.

Nope, it has 21 frets.

Guessing (assuming it's original) this is a very rare transitional between the 360/12B and the 360/12V64.

Can someone attach a photo directly, here, thanks.

jdogric12 wrote:Guessing (assuming it's original) this is a very rare transitional between the 360/12B and the 360/12V64.

Like this one: https://www.rockwall-guitars.de/en/rick ... type-1985/

But that has Hi Gains.

The Fireglo in the OP's photos is really unusual looking, even for that era, as is the overall body shape. Hard to put my finger on the shape but compare with the RockWall link above and they do look different.

Maybe this might open for more if you guys?

https://imgur.com/gallery/bsvuRi1?s=sms

jps wrote:Can someone attach a photo directly, here, thanks.

Full body photo: https://i.imgur.com/hPKcX5F.jpg

JakeK wrote:

jps wrote:Can someone attach a photo directly, here, thanks.

Full body photo: https://i.imgur.com/hPKcX5F.jpg

Thanks, Jake! Your link works.

Looks like a B Series 360/12BWB, from here.

FWIW the original link worked with my Android phone as well as with Mozilla Firefox for Linux.

I don't think that it's a B Series; as someone else pointed out, it has 21 frets (B series had 24 frets), plus it has a trapeze tailpiece (instead of the B Series R tailpiece) and, more importantly, it has a the square-heel neck (the B Series had the typical rounded heel) ..

The color pattern ("no-burst" ) is similar to that of the early B Series, such as this one in the Register:

http://www.rickresource.com/register/us ... 9133/3.jpg.

I hope that the OP doesn't mind this ... here is a screenshot of one of the pictures for posterity's sake.

Cool Guitar.

A 21-fret, toastered, square-heeled, trapezed, unbound sound hole, with a very unusual FireGlo pattern.

Let the games begin!

Yep, an interesting mix of features we have here.

Someone has put it into the register already I see. SN is XK1432, so made in November 1984, two months after John Hall and his wife buy the company from FC Hall.

http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... 6order%3D5


I responded to Gaz on Facebook.

"John Hall knew that there was a huge demand for recreations of the instruments played by the Beatles, and that the fastest way to get the company profitable again was to satisfy the demand for those instruments.

The V series flyer is produced in early 1985, and likely that the earliest examples were produced for trade shows, like NAMM which happens in January. Some of the orders still on the books were likely for B series instruments, and the precise details of those were never precisely decided, as they were mix and match depending on what parts were in stock. I have seen an August 1984, 360/12 that has all of the same features as a v series, although whether it was the prototype, or was just retro fitted after being ordered as a B series is unclear."

(Actually I misremembered this instrument - it is actually a B series with a R-tail. I just checked the register).

John Hall standardized production, so that the bread and butter models like the 330 and 4003 could still be produced, while keeping the remaining stock of Kluson style tuners and toasters, for the reissue models."

As a production item, the earliest v64 examples are from March 1985, YC

I don't think that the instrument is a WB VP, mostly because the sound hole isn't bound.

Is it perhaps something created when they were experimenting? Perhaps an employee guitar? Perhaps a guitar originally ordered as a B series and sent out the door without the R tail?

I really miss the days when John Hall would chime in with a memory, that would answer the question!