Rickenbacker Combo 950 Solid Body Electric Guitar (1961)
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Item # 9504
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Rickenbacker Combo 950 Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1961), made in Los Angeles, serial # AB146, mapleglo natural lacquer finish, maple body and neck, padauk fingerboard, original green/grey hard shell case.
We don't often describe electric guitars as "cute," but this one certainly qualifies! It is a 3/4 size Rickenbacker Combo 950, sometimes referred to as a "Tulip body" guitar. These small, short scale solid-bodies were introduced in 1957, intended originally primarily for students. At that time a lot of Rickenbacker's business was still with teaching studios catering to younger players. As interest in that field moved from the Hawaiian to the "regular" or Spanish guitar, the company adapted by designing small, handy instruments of professional quality but scaled to appeal to younger student players with smaller hands. The "tulip" body was inherited from the earlier full-scale Series 400 solid-bodies as those moved on to a "cresting wave"-style carve.
The 950 is the top of the heap of these 1950s-'60s mini solid-bodies, equipped with two pickups and a rotary selector knob on its diminutive maple body. This is an early through-neck design, with maple wings glued to a one-piece neck extension which extends to the endpin. The headstock wings are contrasting wood, while the body maintains an all-maple look. The shape is a "modified tulip" with some of the lower horn sculpted away to enable better access to the entire fretboard. There are two small plastic dots inset into the back filling pinholes used to locate the block during the fabrication process.
The neck is a typical Rickenbacker design, slim with a single truss rod and a VERY short scale just under 21". The unbound fingerboard is padauk wood with small plastic dot inlay and 21 frets. The tuners are single enclosed Kluson Deluxe machines with plastic buttons, mounted with no grommets on the face (they saved a few pennies there!). The headstock is adorned with the stamped metal Rickenbacker nameplate that was a short-lived fitting in this era, soon replaced with the now-familiar plastic plate.
The pickups are the standard Rickenbacker "toaster top" units, mounted below the white Lucite pickguard. The control rig is interesting; there is a master tone and volume setup but the third knob is a rotary pickup selector, a seldom used idea. The bridge is the same fully-adjustable tray unit used on the more expensive Ricks at the time; this would shortly be supplanted by the solid non-adjustable "chrome worm" piece on these lower-end models, ruining the intonation prospects on many. This guitar can be easily set up and intonated despite the short scale.
The serial number stamped on the bridge base is AB164 which dates the instrument's assembly to February, 1961. At this time Rickenbacker was still a very small company, struggling to compete for guitar boom customers with Fender, Gibson, Gretsch and the like. Their instruments were quirky designs, handmade in the truest sense and actually quite expensive for the time. The similar-in-concept Fender Duo-Sonic and Gibson Melody Maker outsold these small Ricks literally by the thousands in the early '60s. Still, this is a superb instrument within its design limits; the short scale did not prove as popular as many builders hoped, but if a player likes that feature this is one of the best such instruments ever made.
While not an actual "Beatle" guitar, this Combo 950 definitely has the feel of that time and place. John Lennon's almost chance selection of a 3/4 size Rickenbacker Model 325 in Hamburg in late 1960 was to change the fortunes of the company forever, making them synonymous with the Beatlemania era and all that came with it. This Combo 950 has many of the same features and fittings as Lennon's 1958 guitar, just on a slimmer solid-body.
This rare little Rick is a surprisingly good playing and fully professional sounding guitar for all its diminutive size, which makes it feel almost toy like at first. We couldn't help but hack out "She's A Woman" on it at first opportunity, and it sounds just about right!
Overall length is 33 5/8 in. (85.4 cm.), 12 13/16 in. (32.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/16 in. (3 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 20 3/4 in. (527 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This is a nicely original guitar overall, a bit worn in but with no notable repairs or alterations. The very thin clear lacquer "MapleGlo" finish shows numerous dings, dents, and scrapes, with a decent amount of wear to the edges in particular. The top and back appear to have been polished out somewhat long ago, but no added finish is apparent.
The hardware is original and in good shape and is original with a couple of exceptions. We can't say for sure if the oversize-looking knobs are original to the guitar. They are correct period, from the same maker and of the correct type, but not the size generally used by Rickenbacker. Chalk it up to a curious maybe, as parts substitutions were a common factory feature of the era. All else on the guitar is original except the strap buttons, which are exact repros (thanks Winfield!) and possibly the bridge cover, which is also an exact correct part. Internally all is correct and unaltered, as is the quirky adjustable bridge and bridgeplate.
The neck has some wear, but the frets are in good shape and the instrument plays very well and sounds great. The neck/body angle is better than many older Rickenbackers and setting up for a comfortable action is a snap. Compared to later 900 and 650 models, the fully adjustable bridge makes for a much more player-friendly instrument. Unless a very light touch is used, these models sound best with relatively heavy strings, which offset the decreased tension of the 21" scale. Currently this is strung with flatwound 13s for the total period experience, and it rocks out just fine with them. This Combo 950 is a fun and very rare piece of Rickenbacker history, delightful to behold and complete in its original green/grey HSC. Very Good + Condition.
We don't often describe electric guitars as "cute," but this one certainly qualifies! It is a 3/4 size Rickenbacker Combo 950, sometimes referred to as a "Tulip body" guitar. These small, short scale solid-bodies were introduced in 1957, intended originally primarily for students. At that time a lot of Rickenbacker's business was still with teaching studios catering to younger players. As interest in that field moved from the Hawaiian to the "regular" or Spanish guitar, the company adapted by designing small, handy instruments of professional quality but scaled to appeal to younger student players with smaller hands. The "tulip" body was inherited from the earlier full-scale Series 400 solid-bodies as those moved on to a "cresting wave"-style carve.
The 950 is the top of the heap of these 1950s-'60s mini solid-bodies, equipped with two pickups and a rotary selector knob on its diminutive maple body. This is an early through-neck design, with maple wings glued to a one-piece neck extension which extends to the endpin. The headstock wings are contrasting wood, while the body maintains an all-maple look. The shape is a "modified tulip" with some of the lower horn sculpted away to enable better access to the entire fretboard. There are two small plastic dots inset into the back filling pinholes used to locate the block during the fabrication process.
The neck is a typical Rickenbacker design, slim with a single truss rod and a VERY short scale just under 21". The unbound fingerboard is padauk wood with small plastic dot inlay and 21 frets. The tuners are single enclosed Kluson Deluxe machines with plastic buttons, mounted with no grommets on the face (they saved a few pennies there!). The headstock is adorned with the stamped metal Rickenbacker nameplate that was a short-lived fitting in this era, soon replaced with the now-familiar plastic plate.
The pickups are the standard Rickenbacker "toaster top" units, mounted below the white Lucite pickguard. The control rig is interesting; there is a master tone and volume setup but the third knob is a rotary pickup selector, a seldom used idea. The bridge is the same fully-adjustable tray unit used on the more expensive Ricks at the time; this would shortly be supplanted by the solid non-adjustable "chrome worm" piece on these lower-end models, ruining the intonation prospects on many. This guitar can be easily set up and intonated despite the short scale.
The serial number stamped on the bridge base is AB164 which dates the instrument's assembly to February, 1961. At this time Rickenbacker was still a very small company, struggling to compete for guitar boom customers with Fender, Gibson, Gretsch and the like. Their instruments were quirky designs, handmade in the truest sense and actually quite expensive for the time. The similar-in-concept Fender Duo-Sonic and Gibson Melody Maker outsold these small Ricks literally by the thousands in the early '60s. Still, this is a superb instrument within its design limits; the short scale did not prove as popular as many builders hoped, but if a player likes that feature this is one of the best such instruments ever made.
While not an actual "Beatle" guitar, this Combo 950 definitely has the feel of that time and place. John Lennon's almost chance selection of a 3/4 size Rickenbacker Model 325 in Hamburg in late 1960 was to change the fortunes of the company forever, making them synonymous with the Beatlemania era and all that came with it. This Combo 950 has many of the same features and fittings as Lennon's 1958 guitar, just on a slimmer solid-body.
This rare little Rick is a surprisingly good playing and fully professional sounding guitar for all its diminutive size, which makes it feel almost toy like at first. We couldn't help but hack out "She's A Woman" on it at first opportunity, and it sounds just about right!
Overall length is 33 5/8 in. (85.4 cm.), 12 13/16 in. (32.5 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/16 in. (3 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 20 3/4 in. (527 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This is a nicely original guitar overall, a bit worn in but with no notable repairs or alterations. The very thin clear lacquer "MapleGlo" finish shows numerous dings, dents, and scrapes, with a decent amount of wear to the edges in particular. The top and back appear to have been polished out somewhat long ago, but no added finish is apparent.
The hardware is original and in good shape and is original with a couple of exceptions. We can't say for sure if the oversize-looking knobs are original to the guitar. They are correct period, from the same maker and of the correct type, but not the size generally used by Rickenbacker. Chalk it up to a curious maybe, as parts substitutions were a common factory feature of the era. All else on the guitar is original except the strap buttons, which are exact repros (thanks Winfield!) and possibly the bridge cover, which is also an exact correct part. Internally all is correct and unaltered, as is the quirky adjustable bridge and bridgeplate.
The neck has some wear, but the frets are in good shape and the instrument plays very well and sounds great. The neck/body angle is better than many older Rickenbackers and setting up for a comfortable action is a snap. Compared to later 900 and 650 models, the fully adjustable bridge makes for a much more player-friendly instrument. Unless a very light touch is used, these models sound best with relatively heavy strings, which offset the decreased tension of the 21" scale. Currently this is strung with flatwound 13s for the total period experience, and it rocks out just fine with them. This Combo 950 is a fun and very rare piece of Rickenbacker history, delightful to behold and complete in its original green/grey HSC. Very Good + Condition.