The Rickenbacher Electro Model B ES was not the first electric guitar, as it’s based on a Hawaiian version, but it is one of the very first Electric Spanish guitars produced for retail sale. Introduced in 1935, the Model B Electic Spanish is based on the Model B Lap or Hawaiian model introduced in 1931. At the time the Rickenbacher Electro Model B was launched, the only other Electric Spanish model in production was also a Rickenbacker product – the 1935 Ken Roberts model.
Bakelite
Here is an Eastman SB55DC /V Solidbody in Vintage Varnish! This definitely evokes the mid 1950’s slab bodied models, and with top quality hardware. Introduced in mid 2020 and now making its way to us, the Eastman SB55DC /V features a slab body and neck of lightweight Okoume Mahogany, sourced from Gabon, Central Africa. The fingerboard, head plate and truss rod cover are Ebony, and that’s it for woods used.
The Rickenbacher Electro B6 ‘Panda’ Bakelite body and neck Lap Steel was built from 1935 to 1955 and demonstrated a number of changes over the years including a change in the company name to Rickenbacker. Here we’re looking at a Rickenbacher Electro B6 ‘Panda’ bakelite lap steel, dating to around 1945. As this example seems to not have a serial number (normally stamped on the end of the headstock) dating is established via construction and features. There were three periods of production for these models, prewar, wartime, and postwar. However, there is some overlap in these periods as parts were used up.
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MORE →The Rickenbacker Electro D12 is a rare model. Many of Rickenbacker’s multineck steels were 8-strings per neck, and the D12 has six; the doubleneck with a total of 12 strings gives it its name. Its better known sibling is the D16, with two necks of eight strings each. From their first production in 1940, the Electro D and T models used a combination of a cast metal body and a Bakelite neck, with Lucite fingerboards.
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MORE →The Cole Clark Violap is based on the classic Weissenborn steel guitar body shape, but built as a semi-hollow for amplified use without feedback. The concept is similar to the thinline Gibson ES-335 series, with a solid center block in an arched-top body. Cole Clark was founded in 2001 by Adam Cole and Bradley Clark in Melbourne Australia, and focuses on building quality instruments using sustainably harvested tone woods mostly native to Australia.
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