Although these look somewhat like mini humbuckers, they are actually single-coil units made with a central row of six individual Alnico magnet pole pieces with a coil wound around them. Tone-wise, the 325’s scale length contributes to a loose, wiry sound, but the key proponent of that Rickenbacker jangle and kerrang is found in its three toaster-top pickups. (Image credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) For instance, later examples sported an f-hole on the upper bout that revealed the body’s semi-hollow nature, though this ’58 – an early guitar built in the model’s first year of existence – had a solid top that gave it the impression of being a solidbody. (A decade later it would be repaired and stripped to natural by New York repairman Ron DeMarino.)īut fans comparing Lennon’s early Rickenbacker with even slightly later 325s will notice several other things that stand out about it. This 325 would become the sound of Beatles rhythm guitar from 1960 to around ’65, as heard on “All My Loving,” “I Saw Her Standing There” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”īy the time it was thrust into the public eye during the band’s 1964 debut appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, Lennon’s 325 had transmuted to a gloss-black finish in 1962, courtesy of an English coachmaker. Not just for Rickenbackers, for anything – Fenders, Gibsons… And I think it purely because John needed a decent guitar and that one happened to be in the shop and he liked the look of it.” Harrison, who was along for the ride when Lennon bought the guitar, told BBC Radio, “It was a great-looking guitar, and I think in England you had to order them and wait for six months. The 325, like the other models in the series, was designed by German luthier Roger Rossmeisl.
#RICKENBACKER 325 CAPRI SERIES#
Lennon found his hanging in a Hamburg guitar shop in the form of a natural-finish 1958 Rickenbacker 325, which was part of the company’s Capri series (named for the Hall family cat). For Lennon, Harrison or any young British rock and roller of 1960, the term quality guitar was synonymous with American guitar. It was around this time that a young John Lennon was walking the streets of Hamburg, Germany, in search of his dream guitar. The big horseshoe pickup still appeared on some of the revamped company’s early models, notably the Combo, but over the next few years, some more-conventional single-coil guitars went into production, and the line was lurching toward what we consider its classic status.īy the end of the 1950s, Rickenbacker offered a model range that included hollowbodies, short- and full-scale solids, and semi-hollowbodies with one, two and even three pickups. Having said this, there are a lot worse guitars out there, and as well as being historically important, the 1820 bass can certainly provide the goods when required.(Image credit: Sammlung Horst Fascher - K & K/Redferns) Over the course of the 70s, the Japanese output improved dramatically, and in many ways these early 70s models are a low point for the brand. These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration. The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. By the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price).
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