Rickenbacker Guitars History

Rickenbacker were the first company to produce electric guitars on any meaningful level. These were solid bodied guitars, which had only been designed in the thirties, and unlike the soon to follow Fenders, were a far stretch from what we now see today.

In the great tradition of necessity being the mother of invention, the originator of the electric guitar, George Beauchamp, conceived the idea as he wanted the guitar to be heard amongst the cacophony of a stage show orchestra. However, after a lengthy period of design experimentation Beauchamp hadn’t managed to come up with a truly commercially viable product.

His break came when he got together with Rickenbacker, who had the materials and manufacturing experience to compliment and to some extent inform Beauchamp’s design ideas. By 1935 the company which had formed – the Electro String Instrument Corporation – was now retailing several electric guitar models, and continued to do so until the 1950s.

By the late 1950s, Rickenbacker went down the route of semi-acoustic guitars – quite a big departure from their previous designs, perhaps a rational response to the growth in popularity of the more countrified sound during the era.

Their big break during the sixties, was due to the Beatles’ immense popularity and their use of Rickenbackers, not just the guitars, but Paul’s use of the bass meant that the name itself became more well known. A Rickenbacker employee’s gift of a twelve string 360/12 to George Harrison lead to it being used as the studio recording guitar on many Beatles songs, which was and still is a great coup – it’s easy to forget how influential the Beatles still are to many musicians.

The Rickenbacker’s continued success both in terms of newly released models, and competition to acquire vintages, can in part be attributed to the amount of bands that locate their influences firmly in the sixties, and therefore want those same instruments that their heroes played. They are still selling well enough to sustain the company, and will probably continue to do so until a long way into the future.

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