Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Here is an interesting find on eBay: a rare Italian rounded-top f-hole 360S.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3776401568

The serial number suggests 1967 and the f-hole is characteristically neither in the 1 o'clock nor 2 o'clock positions, but somewhere in between. The headstock is interesting too, but we don't see the rear of it in these pictures.

365S!! (OK, OK, it's Monday morning).

okay....I might know the story about this guitar
I have a similar 360..same year/month and serial number a few units before the e-bay one...same fireglo, same f-hole
The headstock looks interesting ... because it was originally 12strings...mine used to have the same black plastic inserts in the headstock...the logo plate and the headstock shape 100% confirm.
My 360 looks like a 365 now with original rickenbacker spare parts (accent vibrato and 6strings bridge) but under the pickguard is clearly written "360/12exp"
the guitar on e-bay may have the same story...and the same guy who modified both of them..maybe in the seventies

If anybody loves thin necks..well I bet this guitar has a very thin and easy one to play, just like mine, so go for it.
The model number indicated in the e-bay ad, 6006, was the number given by the italian importer in the 60s....

The ebay guitar was originally manufactured as a 12-string, for sure. Even with the mods it is really cool...what a shame it was modded...

I was unaware until now that they were making this style of export Rickenbacker this early...

yes they did...it looks like the american ricks.. the only difference is the f-hole... gorgeous anyway... I just would love to kill who's modified those beauties.... the black plastic inserts look really bad.... if the modification is irreversible the value of the instrument might be really decreased...

Looks like this puppy hasn't been played much, and certainly not recently, judging by the neck closeup...

or maybe it's been re-fretted

Well, Francesco, I wasn't referring to the lack of wear on the frets, but to the presence of bad corrosion. The peeling-up of the fingerboard varnish would seem to argue against a refretting having been done, no?

The frets are original on this guitar. When I bought my last '72 4001LH it had been in storage for a long time, the frets looked just like these, lol. A good polishing and they'll look fine.

Francesco - you say yours had the black plastic insert also. Was it difficult to remove? Is it just glued in?

Graham, I purchased that guitar 15yrs ago... the guitar was already a 6 strings with the black inserts and of course with the accent vibrato and 6strings bridge. After a short while I brought it to a luthier here in rome. He's played rick for 40years and suggested me to remove the inserts sticking on the headstock a maple sheet...I didn't know much about vintage rickenbackers at that time and I thought it could be a good idea...He did the whole job so I really dont know if it was difficult to remove the plastic....they used to be just glued in...the headstock looks fine now...even if I think I would have never allowed him to modify it TODAY...It would have been better to put it back into a 12strings...but it was not so easy to find original rickenbacker spare parts 15 years ago...expecially here in Italy...where (even now) just a few musicians have seen personally a rickenbacker ....Last year I ordered 4 sets of rickenbacker bass strings and I had to wait 6 months until they arrived

the e-bay guitar serial number is GB754; mine is GB736 so really close...the price 1500 Euros does not seem too high and original hard shell case is included. The ad says that it was purchased in 1968; very good conditions carefully treated along the years and everything works perfectly

Thanks Francesco - I appreciate your comments.

you are welcome..I am going to put pictures of the headstock of my guitar soon