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The Beatles: Introducing the World to the Rickenbacker

Although all of The Beatles are more well known as songwriters rather than guitar heroes, their guitars and guitar playing have had a huge influence on nearly all music released since their existence.  No other guitar brand has had more of an impact from the Beatles than the Rickenbacker, and no other band has featured the Rickenbacker as well as the Beatles.  Acquired by John Lennon in Hamburg in 1960, the 1958 natural finish Rickenbacker 325 was described as his “dream guitar” and was the first Rickenbacker acquired by any of the Beatles.

Lennon soon made this guitar his own through various modifications, including replacing the control knobs, replacing the Kauffman Vibrola tailpiece with a more reliable Bigsby and removing the wiring to the middle pickup (whether this was done intentionally or not is still in question).  However, the modification that had the largest impact had nothing to do with the sound of the guitar.  Somewhere between October and Decemeber 1962, John Lennon refinished his 325 to be all black.  By simply changing the colour of his guitar, Lennon proved that appearance is just as crucial as sound when it comes to guitar choice.  Not to be outdone by Lennon, lead guitarist George Harrison soon found another Rickenbacker that would change the sound of the 60s forever.

Although not his first Rickenbacker (he had acquired a 425 a year earlier), in 1964 George Harrison acquired a Rickenbacker 360/12; the first ever electric 12 string guitar. Actually, to be more precise, George Harrison’s 360/12 was the second electric 12 string ever made and was given to him as a gift from its inventor.  Unlike the first 360/12 prototype, George’s 360 had the lower octave string strung above the higher octave on the four lower strings, and would be the basis for how all subsequent instruments would be strung.  The 360s headstock that featured two sets of machine heads at 90 degrees to each other giving it a sleek and low profile and also according to Harrison making it “so that even when you’re drunk you can still know what string you’re tuning.”  The 12 string jangle was soon emulated by bands like The Who flooding the music industry and soon became the trademark sound of The Byrds.

Prior to the Rickenbacker, Harrison can be seen playing a 1962 Chet Atkins Grestch Country Gentleman on their 1964 Ed Sullivan performance, which also highlights John’s black 325 and Paul’s violin bass.  Harrison’s original Country Gentleman fell apart after much use, and received a new one just before the famous airing. The Country Gentlemen is a peculiar guitar which looks like hollow body but is actually a large bodied solid guitar who’s F-holes are painted on.

Although Paul was given Rickenbacker 4001S left-handed bass in 1964 (the first left handed bass he had seen), he was most recognized for playing his Hofner 500/1 violin bass.  McCartney liked the Hofner for its simplicity and its symmetry, since he would flip a right handed model around to play it left handed. The violin bass became notoriously linked with the Beatles bassist, and remained his #1 instrument throughout his career. Later, Lennon would make the Epiphone Casino famous, most notably during the Let It Be rooftop performance. Harrison played a custom rosewood Fender Telecaster during the album Let It Be, however he would be most recognized for his psychedelic Fender Stratocaster “Rocky”, which he used on Magical Mystery Tour.

Harrison continued to play his original guitars, and can be seen on the cover of his 1987 album “Cloud Nine” with his Grestch Duo Jet; one of the first guitars he owned.  Even though as guitar-showmen, Lennon and Harrison were nothing compared to the wild Chuck Berry, they demonstrated to generations of guitarists to come how a rhythm (John) and lead (George) guitarist should play together with their inherent chemistry and excellent talent as musicians, which they reflected in their choice of guitars.