Rickenbacker Electro Lap Steel Dating

Please be aware that some instruments manufactured in the late 50s cannot be interpreted by this decoder.

Rickenbacker electro lap steel dating.

23 frets 22 5 8 scale 2 1 4 nut width. They specialized in the construction of electric steel guitars until the 1950s. In 1931 he founded the company electro patent instruments together with the american inventor george beauchamp. Rickenbacker serial numbers have been issued in a number of formats.

Soon the name of the company was changed to rickenbacker manufacturing company. This rickenbacher electro model b lap steel guitar features a bakelite body with strings through body design. This item needs some work missing one cav. Original hardshell case included.

It s equipped with a horseshoe magnet pickup. The 1932 catalog says electro string instruments corp on it and the 1931 catalog refers to rickenbacker electro. A cool late 30s instrument this rickenbacker electro silver hawaiian lap steel has a chrome plated stamped sheet metal body with an integral 35 fret finger. Newer open back tuners have been installed.

To the right and below you will find some images that will hopefully help you to locate the complete serial number on your instrument. Rickenbacker did not keep serial to date records until after the second world war. Also according to the smith book rickenbacker didn t start producing lap steels until mid 1932 and only 13 were sold the first year so it is unlikely that the brochure is from 1931. Email from brad bechtel on october 25 1999.

The following information is courtesy carl dixon as posted on the steel guitar forum. Dating rickenbacker lap steels.