Rickenbacker

by Richard R. Smith, Roger McGuinn (Foreword), George Harrison (Preface)

(Reference). This 256-page soft-cover book gives a complete and illustrated history of the development of Rickenbacker instruments from 1931 to the present. Rickenbacker is the only book of its kind to chronicle the history of the company who in 1931 introduced electric instruments to the world. The book provides information and full-color photos of the many artists who have used and are using Rickenbacker instruments. Rickenbacker collectors will find this book invaluable as it contains recently discovered accurate facts previously unavailable to researchers.

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1987

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Reviews

[Happydog · Rating 4 out of 5]

A complete and reliable book on one of the more underrated American guitar makers. People generally think of Fender and Gibson when they think of classic American electric guitars, but the Rickenbacker company has been making brilliant guitars to a high quality standard for many years. It could even be argued that they produced the first electric guitar. The book is a careful, comprehensive and very readable overview of the family-owned guitar company whose instruments have been seen in the hands of the Beatles, the Byrds, R.E.M., Tom Petty, and even Fugazi. The pictures are pure guitar porn and include many obscure models.

This book will probably not appeal to the average reader, but for anyone who loves reading about the history of the American guitar, this is essential. It is the book on Rickenbacker guitars; a better one has never been written on this subject. And if you are a Rickenbacker player and owner, the book is sheer heaven.