Rickenbacker - Rickenbacker Acoustic Guitars

Rickenbacker Acoustic Guitars

Rickenbacker has produced a number of uniquely-designed and distinctively-trimmed acoustic guitars. Although a small number of Rickenbacker acoustics were sold in the 1950s and were seen in the hands of stars like Ricky Nelson and Sam Cooke, the company concentrated on their electric guitar and western steel guitar business from the early 1960s onward. From about 1959 through 1994, very few Rickenbacker acoustic guitars were made.

In 1995, an effort was made to re-introduce Rickenbacker acoustics, with factory production beginning in their Santa Ana manufacturing facility in 1996. Four models of flat top acoustic Rickenbackers were depicted in factory literature (maple or rosewood back & sides, jumbo or dreadnaught shape). Each of these four models was also available in both six- and twelve-string configurations, yielding a range of eight distinct instruments. (The 760J "Jazzbo," an archtop model, was only built as a prototype, with three examples known to exist.) It is estimated that fewer than 500 Rickenbacker acoustic guitars were built before the factory shut down the acoustic department in mid-2006.

In late 2006, the license to build Rickenbacker acoustics was granted to Paul Wilczynski, a luthier with a workshop in San Francisco, California. He continues to offer all eight models of the Rickenbacker flat top guitar line, each instrument being built to order.