FAQ - Rickenbacker

Common Questions and Answers

We get a lot of questions about our process, our factory, and our history. We’ve tried to consolidate the most common questions here. But if you have any other questions for us, please head to our contact page.

It is Ricken-BACK-er, by the choice of Adolph Rickenbacker. Here’s a few famous voices that get it right:

We’ve never had tours and are not open to the public, as our business is wholesale only. That is, of course, why we tried to make our web site as complete as possible.

Unfortunately, we are unable to take on custom work at this time due to our large backlog of orders. Possibly in the future we will be able to entertain such requests.

All new Rickenbacker Guitars must be purchased through an authorized rickenbacker dealer.

Unfortunately, we do not offer a service facility at this time due to our rather large backlog of instrument orders.

According to our CEO, John Hall, the writing in the cavity of older Rickenbacker guitars was internal code for whoever happened to be painting or sanding it that day, and about half of the time any written model numbers could be mismatched from the actual configuration of the guitar.

In other words, we can give you no useful information about any writing inside your guitar.

The factory cloth is the best for the finish but at some point, everyone will need something a little more aggressive. Pure Carnuba wax is the preferred polishing agent but some liquid auto polish, like Turtle Wax, diluted a bit with water can be used on a particularly dirty or scratched instrument. The cloth used should be very soft and should also be dampened a bit.

You know you’re doing it right when as you wipe you see little beads of moisture and it wipes clean just as the surface dries up. If the polish gets sticky, leaves a film, or turns powdery, then it’s not quite dilute enough or the cloth is too dry. But done right, the surface will be smooth
as a mirror, with no haze or swirls.

Whatever you do, try to avoid waxes with silicone. Silicone is used to disperse the wax evenly in a compound or on a cloth and doesn’t harm the finish per se . . . but it goes right through the paint into the wood and often makes it impossible to refinish it.

For Oil Finishes:

Tung oil or even tung oil with a bit of polyurethane works great. You rub it in with 0000 steel wool until the scratches are gone and the surface burnishes, wipe off the excess and let it dry overnight. The result will be like glass, but with no drag on the neck like a high gloss finish.

The earliest version of Autumnglo was simply shaded brown. The middle clear areas on most of these old guitars have yellowed, but wasn’t originally apparent. The next version was just Fireglo laid on rather heavily. The last version was back to that original brown, but in a satin finish, while the gloss version of that color was designated Walnut.

So when someone says Autumnglo, you always have to ask “WHICH Autumnglo”?”

Unfortunately, we do not have a readily available database which states the original finish – or even the model number – of our instruments, based on the guitar’s serial number.

While it would be extremely useful to have, compiling such a reference is not a task we can currently undertake, given our current delays in regular production.

There are other clues to an instrument’s factory finish; the simplest is to look in the body cavity, under the pickguard.

You can use your serial number to determine the manufacture date of most Rickenbacker guitars.

The serial number on modern, post-1960 Rickenbacker instruments is made up of two parts. The first part is two numerals (or letters) at one end of the jackplate, the second is a 3-to-5 digit number at the other end of the jackplate. These together make up the serial number; it would then read something like AB1234 or 0101234. (Note: On some models, this information is found on the bridge plate, or on a separate plate found near the lower strap peg; these are exceptions rather than rules.)

On some older Rics (circa 1970 and prior), the serial number is all in a line, i.e. AB123.

One can determine the date of manufacture of a Ric by going to our Serial Number Decoder and entering the number into the form.

On Rickenbacker instruments made after 1999, the two letters are replaced by the last two digits of the year (i.e. 00xxxx = made in 2000.)

Sometimes it is tough to distinguish these two models based on external appearance, however, early 4003 basses had a two piece pick guard. Other more subtle differences are with regard to the truss rod design and the wiring schematic.

While both instruments had dual truss rods, the 4001 one had “old style” rods which only had nuts on the top, whereas the 4003 has nuts at both ends of the neck. Due to the different rod styles, a later model 4003 will have larger rounded holes at the end of the neck to accommodate the nuts, while an older 4001 will have small rectangular holes.

In addition, the 4001 was wired with a capacitor on the treble pickup, which cut all the low-end sound out of the signal. In the 4003, this design feature was dropped.

Unfortunately, we have a strict policy against endorsing musicians or special projects. Our products are of the utmost quality and precision and our reputation precedes us. We would like for everyone to play and enjoy our instruments without bias. Endorsing certain projects, or allowing certain musicians to endorse our products, may jeopardize our long-standing reputation.

For more than 93 years we have worked very hard to make the finest guitars possible and we hope that yours will bring you quality sound and enjoyment for many years to come.

Originally, Electro String Instrument Corporation (ESIC) was the name of the parent company that produced “Rickenbacker” brand products. The “Electro” name was the main name, while it was “Rickenbacker” that was the pseudonym!

Other product names which were often made by ESIC include Ryder, Symphonia Grand, Academy, NHF, and Contello, but these were private label goods which might also have been made by other suppliers as well.

The only direct brand names that John Hall recalls being owned by the company are Rickenbacker, Electro, and Road (now owned by Celestion of England).

By the way as an historical aside, ESIC remains in existence today, as it’s name was changed to Rickenbacker International Corporation as part of a series of corporate mergers, which happened to reunite the various pieces of our guitar business.

Rickenbacker 12 strings have always been strung with the “normal” string first, which is part of what gives them such a distinctive sound.

The original material hasn’t been made for more than 30 years. We’ve looked at hundreds of samples of materials purported to be “just the same” but they are not.

When something comes along that looks just like the original, be assured that we’ll use it. In the meantime, we continue to search for this from every vendor we can find but to date it’s been fruitless.

The perfect humidity level for storing or displaying guitars is 35%; however it’s better to err on the side of more humidity as up to 70% is okay. The trick is consistency, which is important to allow the guitar to acclimatize to one humidity level.

The factory cloth is the best for the finish but at some point, everyone will need something a little more aggressive. Pure Carnuba wax is the preferred polishing agent but some liquid auto polish, like Turtle Wax,
diluted a bit with water can be used on a particularly dirty or scratched instrument. The cloth used should be very soft and should also be dampened a bit.

For Oil Finishes:

The vintage reissue guitar pickups use cylindrical Alnico magnets… like the originals. The vintage reissue bass pickups use tungsten steel ‘horseshoes’ as polepieces… like the originals … coupled to ceramic magnets (instead of the tungsten being magnetized like the originals). Our
humbucking pickups use Samarium-Cobalt magnets. The modern guitar and bass pickups use “rubber” magnets . . . which are actually a zillion magnetic bits supported in a synthetic block.

Each has unique properties for which they were selected to optimize performance in a given application.

The recent spate of ‘copy guitars’ sporting genuine Rickenbacker nameplates and “R” Tailpieces, has forced us to adopt a stringent nameplate replacement policy. Customers must return at least half of any nameplate/”R” Tailpiece in order to purchase a new one.

While it might be relatively easy to counterfeit some of these parts, it’s also a serious crime. Moving a legitimate plate to a non-Rickenbacker is primarily a civil issue, while making counterfeit plates is a criminal matter which may result in imprisonment.

Jack plates, which generally have the guitar serial number stamped on them, are also a controlled item. In order to obtain a new jackplate with proper serial number, the buyer must return the existing plate, otherwise a special sequence serial number, registered to the buyer, will be applied to the new plate.

Finally, all limited edition guitar signature pick plates are similarly restricted. A broken plate must be tendered in order to buy a replacement, if available.

These measures are directed primarily toward retaining the resale value of genuine Rickenbacker guitars for their owners. It is also designed to protect somewhat less knowledgeable buyers from those who would offer non-Rickenbacker products as the genuine article. Finally, our name is our reputation and we must be sure we’re able to insure that the goods sporting the logo meet the quality standards our customers demand.

The sale of all logo items such as nameplates and R-Tailpieces is held at Rickenbacker’s sole discretion.

If you have a vintage style strap bolt, and would like to use the Schaller strap lock system, all that you need to do is order part number #5904 from our service department or website http://www.rickenbacker.com/cart.asp?category=Miscellaneous. When you receive the new part, unthread the existing strap button bolts and screw in the new ones. These are made by Schaller to fit their locks, but to our specs to fit our bolt hole.

Non-reissues have come standard from the factory with this button for a number of years now. Reissues can be retro-fitted such that they can be returned to factory condition by simply reversing the process.

Also available in gold.

It is possible to remove the treble pickup cover without too much trouble.

You will first need to remove the strings from your instrument. Next you can unscrew the four mounting screws that hold the pickup in place. You will then be able to pull the entire assembly out of its cavity.

You may wish to note at this time how the parts are arranged so that you will be able to put them back together with a minimal amount of trouble. Unscrew and remove the two height adjustment screws (the springs may spring loose, so make sure you don’t lose track of them), take out the cover, and reassemble the pickup.

After removing the cover, you may notice some additional hum, as the cover does provide extra shielding.

It is not recommended that you remove what appears to be a “cover,” on these instruments. The material covering the strings is not a cover, but rather, is actually part of the magnet assembly and provides shielding against electronic noise. If you absolutely must remove it, consult with RIC Customer Service or a qualified luthier. Original Model 4000 and 4001 covers or “horseshoes” cannot be removed as they provide the magnetism essential to operation of the pickup.

Unfortunately, the only way that you can get the compression unit used in the Roger McGuinn Limited Edition, is to find one of these guitars on the used/vintage market.

The compression circuitry is not available as an accessory.

The .0047mf cap (not to be confused with the .047mf cap on the tone pots) was added in between the treble pickup and its volume pot. It essentially cut all the low frequencies out of the signal. This was a feature of nearly all Rickenbacker guitars and basses throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and was removed from the circuit starting about 1984.

The advantage was a crisp, chimey treble pickup (particularly effective on the 12 strings). The disadvantage was somewhat of a loss of output from the pickup.

The exact location of this cap in the circuit can be seen on this Rickenbacker guitar schematic.

It is a simple enough modification wherein it can be tried out and then put back to stock if the output is too lacking, or a switch can be installed which brings the cap in and out.

Pull the string until it is taut, aligning it as if it was already strung. At about an inch and 1/2 past the post you are going to be winding, bend the string at a 45 degree angle and cut string at about a 1/4 inch past the bend. This will form a hook of sorts that will make it easy for you to thread the string down into the gap and hopefully hold the string in place as you begin to wind.

Unless you are using a Rick-O-Sound kit, or “Y Splitter” stereo cable, it is normal to only get sound from one pickup. If you are using a standard mono cable with one amplifier, simply plug your cable into the “Standard Jack.”

This should solve your problem.

Despite the fact that there are two outputs present, the model 360V64 is not equipped with Rick-O-Sound, but rather, dual mono outputs (as was the original configuration for a model 360 in 1964).

To use both outputs on this guitar, simply use two mono cables leading to 2 different amplifiers.

This is caused by either the nut on a truss rod being too loose, or just by the rod rattling in the neck cavity. In some cases this can be solved by tightening a loose trussrod nut, or in other cases, simply wrapping the rods individually in masking tape can solve this problem.