Guitar Story
Guitar Story
In 1955, F.C. Hall / Radio & Television Equipment Co. (Radio-Tel; distributor later renamed Rickenbacker, Inc.) controlled the Rickenbacker name. Its one line on record was built at Electro String / Rickenbacker original factory, Los Angeles (pre-1964) (USA).[1, 2, 3, 4]
A Rickenbacker guitar from 1955 belongs to whichever era was running on its product line that year. An era is a stretch when the company that controlled the name and the plant that built the line both stayed the same. If you know the line, the table below tells you which version of Rickenbacker you have. The name dates from 1931[4], 24 years before.
| Line | Controlled by | Parent | Built at | Era | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rickenbacker USA (electric guitars and basses) | F.C. Hall / Radio & Television Equipment Co. (Radio-Tel; distributor later renamed Rickenbacker, Inc.) | — | Electro String / Rickenbacker original factory, Los Angeles (pre-1964) Los Angeles, California, USA[1] | 1953–1964 | unverified[1, 2, 3, 4] |
Nothing changed in 1955. Every era running that year carried on from an earlier year, so a Rickenbacker from 1955 is the same version as one from 1954.
Electro String / Rickenbacker original factory, Los Angeles (pre-1964). See every brand each plant built for, and every plant in the same country:
Every numbered marker on this page points here: the document, its grade and the passages relied on. An era is computed, so it cites the facts it was derived from. A fact marked “no source” has no claim attached yet.
See something wrong, or know a better source?