JOHN LENNON - Rickenbacker question.....

I know the obvious reason but it is amazing how much of an iconic association John Lennon and Rickenbacker's had considering he pretty much stopped using them in 1966. Which brings me to this question. What is the latest picture or proof we have of John using or even posing with a Rickenbacker? Is 1966 really the last time these two giants appeared together?

http://www.feelnumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/SMG_Lennon_64_Ric.jpg

 

The Shea concert was in '65, wasn't it?

 

And '66....

 

I believe there's a picture in the Beatle's book somewhere where he's got the fireglo RM 1996 version of the 325 sitting in the background, from 1967 or so. He's not playing it though.

 

Didn't he bring it to the Cheap Trick sessions? Don't think he played it but just showed it to the guys.

 

However, both John and George used their Epiphone Casino's in 1966, including the Shea Stadium gig.

I've never seen a photo of John playing his Rickenbacker post 1965. Has anybody else?

Ondra

 

I think he had it out to show the guys in Cheap Trick at those sessions, but I think it was also around- don't think it was used much though, at the 1980 sessions- read somewhere he had loads of guitars there available to him...
I've also seen it reported that it was the guitar he chose to use for all the guitar work on "Walking On Thin Ice" as well...
Jack Douglas' memory is notoriously suspect, but here's his recollection of what he used in 1980-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib1zMJXFn5s
Jack gets it wrong on the electric...the acoustic is a Gibson Hummingbird...
the electric is a Sardonyx (not a Sardonicus) & it's not a Flying V copy either...and Ian Hunter used to play one as well...
http://beatlephotoblog.com/johns-weirdy-1980-sardonyx-guitar
Also there are pictures of him using an Ovation Acoustic
http://www.ovationtribute.com/Artists/Artists/pages/John Lennon_jpg.htm
And pictures of him using a Hamer that was given to him by Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick
http://maccafunhouse.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=john&action=display&thread=4635
http://www.hamerfanclub.com/forums/topic/17892-my-hamer-special-1980-first-hamer/
And finally the famous Cold Spring Harbor "Dear Yoko" demo has him using a smaller (00 or 000) Martin capoed up & sounding amazing...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4rBsbL0M6k

 

Seriously one of the best looking guitars ever.... shame they play and sound like cr@p!

 

Are you refering to Rics..? I have a fair few of them and the play glorious. Don't blame the tools just keep practicing....

T.

 

Just the 325. Long scale Rics are great but every single 325 I've played, vintage and reissue, was awful. I swapped out almost every part of my reissue for vintage parts and I could never get to sound anything like John's.

 

Damn right, when I think thwank and splank, I think Rickenbacker!

 

What the heck?!? I never knew this existed!!!

 

"thwank" "splank" and "jangle!"

 

Trouble with a 325 playability wise? Get a full scale one...called a "350"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q64kjRbRdRI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un-i5g1n6PI
"The model 350 (now existing only as the reissue models 350V63 and 350/12V63) is a full scale version of the three-pickup 320 as it would have been produced in 1963 (although the 350 itself was not introduced until much later). This shares all of the same features as the 320, with the exception of scale length."

 

I've heard a rumor that John used his original 325 for the Walking In Thin Ice sessions prior to his murder, but there are no photos.

John had four 325s. IIRC, The original - natural finish, gold pickguard, painted black in 1963 - was purchased in Hamburg in 1960 or '61 and was John's only electric guitar through early '64. His second (black 'jetglo', white pickguard) was presented to him in Miami during rehearsals for their Miami Ed Sullivan performance. This was his main electric guitar on stage through '65. Later in '64 he received a jetglo 325 12-string. In late '64 his 'Miami' 325 sustained a headstock injury and John used a fireglo 1996 (the export version of the 325) during their Christmas shows that year. There is some circumstantial evidence that John may have used the 1996 quite a bit in the studio during 1965, but there are very photos of John with that guitar.

I have a 1996 myself and I love it. It rewards attention to technique.

 

Pickups are too hot.
For some reason, they wound the re-issue toaster-tops around 12k when they should be around 7k. The high gain (button-top) pickups are around 12k. One of these days I'm going to invest in a rewinding machine and make a atempt to rewind a button-top pickup to vintage specs.

I have a 1995 black 360-12 and I love it.

 

Easy to fix; just have a pro unwind the coils. I had that done to a 1998 360v64 and it restored the correct jangle.
Or you can buy and install the current "scatterwound" toasters.

Flatwound strings are also an essential part of the pre-1966 Beatles tone. Some swear by Pyramid Golds, but I vastly prefer Thomastik Infeld Jazz Swing Series.

 

As much as I love a thread going all kinds of different places it is amazing to think there's zero photographic evidence of John using a Ric pretty much passed '66.

 

Rickenbacker makes their necks thin because they use a double truss rod assembly that takes all the load (or most of it), and because they think people like skinny thin necks. Perhaps, in a tautological manner, Rick players do like skinny necks. And Rick caters to Rick players. They really don't try to "reach out" because they are at 100% capacity and have no desire to grow.

 

Had a brilliant incident once bringing my 1967 Rickenbacker '1997' - UK Export Model 365 through Malaga airport. My guitarist Tosh had his Jazzmaster and they both went through the X-Ray machine and the monitors are clearly visible. The Jazzmaster was a PLETHORA of wires and mechanics and my Ric had one bar in it..!! Hahaha. Brilliant.

 

Absolutely!!

 

don't see why it should be that surprising that there aren't pics of him with any particular axe, since he hardly performed live after '65? To see him with a guitar, you're limited to studio pics, which are themselves limited. And since he stopped playing Rickenbackers, you're not likely to find one of him playing a Rickenbacker... right?