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Topic: Rickenbacher D-12 (Dbl 6) |
David Venzke
From:
SE Michigan, USA
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Posted 28 Jan 2015 6:16 pm |
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This Rickenbacher was for sale at a nearby music store. I do believe it's a Pre-War D-12 -- a picture of one just like it is on page 42 of Richard R. Smith's THE HISTORY OF RICKENBACKER GUITARS with the caption "Prewar D-12 double neck steel with detachable Bakelite necks and a metal body."
It has a tone and volume control for each neck, does not have a neck selector switch, and has two output jacks (one for each neck). The body is cast metal, necks are Bakelite. It has the 1 1/2 inch horseshoes. At the top of each neck the number "21" has been stamped in the top edge of the headstocks. It also has the Rickenbacher Electro nameplates.
The folks at the store assumed it was of 50s vintage because the women who brought it in said her father had purchased it in the 50s. I think he bought a slightly used pre-war instrument.
So, does anyone here know anything more about these early Rick double necks?
Last edited by David Venzke on 1 Feb 2015 7:52 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Jim Rossen
From:
Iowa, USA
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Posted 29 Jan 2015 5:51 am
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| I wonder- How durable/fragile are the necks? Can a break be successfully repaired? |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 29 Jan 2015 12:00 pm
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have you got any bigger pictures? 
looks like prewar due to the 1 1/2 inch pickups, string through body design and logo. |
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Scott Thomas
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Posted 29 Jan 2015 2:17 pm
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| I can't add much info, just wanted to say that's the oldest example of that model I have ever seen. ( I haven't seen the Richard Smith book.) It does have the "flying saucer" type vol. and tone knobs, which are associated with the so called "war time" guitars, when the company went to white celluloid plates to save metal for the war effort. Of course, here the whole body is cast metal. My feeling is, that this is no later than 1941. |
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David Knutson
From:
Cowichan Valley, Canada
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Posted 29 Jan 2015 3:51 pm
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When did they change the spelling to RickenbaCKer from RickenbaCHer, and how consistent were they? I am looking at a photo in Richard Smith's book from a 1937 display, and the name is already changed. It is definitely CH on that beautiful double-neck.
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David K |
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David Knutson
From:
Cowichan Valley, Canada
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Posted 29 Jan 2015 4:01 pm
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When did they change the spelling to RickenbaCKer from RickenbaCHer, and how consistent were they? I am looking at a photo in Richard Smith's book from a 1937 display, and the name is already changed. It is definitely CH on that beautiful double-neck.
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David K |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 29 Jan 2015 4:35 pm
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| i think the spelling changed after 1945. |
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Alan Berdoulay
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Posted 30 Jan 2015 2:09 am
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| So.....david v......did you buy it? |
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David Venzke
From:
SE Michigan, USA
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Posted 30 Jan 2015 6:09 pm
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Thanks for all the comments, everyone. Much appreciated.
| Alan Berdoulay wrote: |
| So.....david v......did you buy it? |
Yes, Alan, I bought it. 
Someone has already been inside the body, one of the volume pots has been replaced (with the wrong kind). I noticed as I was testing it that the replacement pot didn't do much until the last third of the turn then quickly the volume went to nothing.
It also looks like the screws on the lower neck have been replaced with ones of a more recent vintage.
The tuners are real stiff, even with the strings removed, and the buttons, while not deteriorated and crumbling, have shrunken to about half their original size. I'm thinking I'll remove all the tuners, clean them and put them away in the case and install vintage style replacements. I intend to play this thing. The Stew-Mac Golden Age Restoration tuners are a near match to the ones on the guitar with one exception. The tuner posts on the originals are 0.217 diameter and the Stew-Mac replacements are 0.236, about 0.020 larger. I need to find a way to determine if the holes in the headstock are large enough for that size of post.
EDIT: Just saw that 0.236 in = 6.0 mm. So I just need some 6mm rod to test the holes.
Any additional wisdom, comments, suggestions, etc. are welcomed. |
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David Venzke
From:
SE Michigan, USA
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Posted 1 Feb 2015 8:02 pm
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Figured out all I needed to do with the tuners was loosen the screws on the gears. Someone had tightened them all down so tight some would barely move. Loosening them up and lubricating with a few drops of Tri-Flow has the tuners working just fine. I have a set of C6 strings on the lower neck. Need to decide what to put on the upper.
I downsized the photos I had put in the original post just a bit.
I'll post a few more pics in a day or so showing it all cleaned up and restrung. |
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