Rickenbacher Model B Electro 1938 Bakelite Lap Steel Excellent

No sales tax for US customers outside California.

The Rickenbacher Model B — spelled with "ch" instead of "ck"  in the early years — is the instrument that made Adolph Rickenbacher's company viable as an electric guitar manufacturer. Introduced in the mid-1930s, it was among the first commercially successful solid-body electric instruments in the world, predating Gibson's leap into electrics and entirely predating Fender. The Electro String Instrument Corporation had already proven the horseshoe pickup concept on their aluminum 'Frying Pan' lap steel; the Model B brought that technology into a more refined, production-ready form. 

The Rickenbacher horseshoe pickup — one of the most distinctive transducers in electric instrument history — produces a voice that is glassy, bell-like, and harmonically rich. The horseshoe magnet wraps around the strings from above, sensing string movement across the full magnetic field rather than from beneath, which gives these instruments a clarity and sustain that conventional single-coils of the era simply do not replicate. 

The 1938 date places this guitar in the pre-war sweet spot of the design, before wartime material restrictions altered manufacturing. These instruments are genuinely significant in the history of electric guitar development, and collector demand for clean, all-original examples has remained strong for decades.

There are no issues to report on this instrument. It is all-original and fully intact. Weight is 8 lbs 9 oz. Scale length is 22.5". Nut width is 2-1/4". Lower bout is 9-3/8", waist 5-1/2", upper bout 7-1/8", body depth 1-11/16", overall length 29-1/2". Includes original Rickenbacher hardshell case. No other accessories or documentation.

Overall condition is excellent throughout. The black Bakelite body, fingerboard, nut, and saddle all present excellently with no repairs. The original finish is intact and in excellent condition. The chrome pickguard, pickup cover, and cavity cover are all original and in excellent condition. Tuners are original and in excellent condition, with no modifications to the headstock. Electronics are fully original — wiring, solder joints, potentiometers, output jack — all untouched. The original Rickenbacher case is in excellent condition with the expected musky old-case smell.

SPECIFICATIONS

• Color: black
• Weight: 8lbs 9oz
• Overall Length: 29-1/2"
• Nut Width: 2-1/4"
• Scale Length: 22.5"
• Tuners Original?: yes
• Changes To Headstock For Tuners?: none
• Tuner Condition: excellent
• Tuner Markings: none
• Tuner Screws Original?: yes
• Nut Material: bakelite
• Nut Repairs: none
• Fretboard Material: bakelite
• Fretboard Condition: excellent
• Fretboard Repairs: none
• Body Material: bakelite
• Body Condition: excellent
• Body Repairs: none
• Body Finish Original?: yes
• Body Finish Condition: excellent
• Lower Bout: 9-3/8"
• Waist: 5-1/2"
• Upper Bout: 7-1/8"
• Body Depth/Thickness: 1-11/16"
• Bridge Original?: yes
• Bridge Condition: excellent
• Saddle Material: bakelite
• Saddles Original?: yes
• Pickguard Color: chrome
• Pickguard Original?: yes
• Pickguard Condition: excellent
• Pickguard Screws Original?: yes
• Solders Original?: yes
• Wiring Original?: yes
• Control Cavity Cover Original?: yes
• Control Cavity Condition: excellent
• Potentiometer Count: 2
• Potentiometer Manufacturer Code: see pics
• Potentiometer Date Code: see pics
• Potentiometers Original?: yes
• Potentiometer Condition: excellent
• Output Jack Original?: yes
• Knob Color: black
• Knob Count: 2
• Knobs Original?: yes
• Knob Condition: excellent
• Case Brand: Rickenbacher
• Case Original?: yes
• Case Condition: excellent
• Case Smells?: musky old case smell
• Documentation: none
• Accessories Included: none
• Pickup Brand: horseshoe single coil
• Pickup Count: 1
• Pickup Original?: yes
• Pickup Condition: excellent
• Pickup Screws Original?: yes
• Pickup Cover Color: chrome
• Pickup Cavity Condition: excellent
• Control Cavity Cover Material: chrome

Excerpts from real online end-user reviews:

"As with all the early Bakelite Rickenbackers, this is a predictably great-sounding steel." - RetroFret
"These old Rickenbacher lap steels are iconic in the old-fashioned Hawaiian and country scenes. They're supremely deco in their futuristic take on period style." - Jake Wildwood Blog

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