Rickenbacker Model 480 Solid Body Electric Guitar (1973)
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Item # 9605
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Rickenbacker Model 480 Model Solid Body Electric Guitar (1973), made in Los Angeles, California, serial # MK-5475, red lacquer finish, maple body and neck, padouk fingerboard, original black tolex hard shell case.
This Rickenbacker model 480 is an interesting if fairly obscure solid body model from the California company, a cool and very functional instrument if not generally considered one of their classic designs. Rickenbacker's model 4001 bass was VERY popular in the early 1970's, while the hollowbody 300 series guitars were experiencing a steep decline in sales after a mid-60's Beatle-fueled boom. Solidbodies were in, and the design team at Rickenbacker was looking for new ideas to pep up the fading guitar line. It must have seemed a natural step to adapt the general layout of the bass into a 6-string guitar and see what the response was.
There were three models offered in this 480 series line, of which this "standard" Model 480 is the simplest. It uses a contoured maple body and headstock styled after the Model 4000 bass, finished in transparent red lacquer with no edge binding. The fingerboard is bound with simple dot inlay. The neck is bolted on, a departure for Rickenbacker but eminently practical. The pickups are the new "High Gain" single coil units introduced in 1969, with a slightly hotter output than the old "toaster tops" ubiquitous in the 1960s. The adjustable bridge and "R" tailpiece are the same as used for the hollowbody line.
The controls are the standard Rickenbacker pattern, volume and tone for each pickup with a 3-way switch. As is typical for Rick, the tone knobs are on top and the volumes below unlike most other makers. The output is mono only (no "Rick-O-Sound") so the fifth blender knob is absent. This instrument was made in the first production year, with pots dated to the 30th week of 1973. The fingerboard is lacquered but flatter than most Rickenbackers, making string bending easier than the older models.
The Model 400 offered from 1973-1984 but never really took off; bands of the period no longer featured matching instruments and the bass-like styling does not seem to have been a big selling point. Still, like all Rickenbackers this is a beautifully made guitar, unique looking and sounding, fairly versatile, great playing and with none of the neck angle issues that now plague some older Ricks. Nearly 50 years on this remains a cool guitar waiting to be rescued from obscurity!
Overall length is 39 3/8 in. (100 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This guitar remains in original and excellent playing condition with some small signs of wear. The finish is clean overall, the body has some small dings and dents mostly on the face, as does the headstock. The "Bass Tone" knob matches the others but lacks the markings on the metal cap; it may be an old replacement or the lettering may have been scraped off (the top is somewhat scuffed up).
Other than this all hardware is clean, original and intact; even the usually-removed bridge cover is present. Internally everything remains original and unaltered with the original solder joints. The original frets show only very minimal wear and this is an excellent playing guitar, a bit eccentric perhaps but well laid out and practical nonetheless. It is complete in the original black Tolex HSC which has also survived nicely with some light wear. Overall Excellent - Condition.
This Rickenbacker model 480 is an interesting if fairly obscure solid body model from the California company, a cool and very functional instrument if not generally considered one of their classic designs. Rickenbacker's model 4001 bass was VERY popular in the early 1970's, while the hollowbody 300 series guitars were experiencing a steep decline in sales after a mid-60's Beatle-fueled boom. Solidbodies were in, and the design team at Rickenbacker was looking for new ideas to pep up the fading guitar line. It must have seemed a natural step to adapt the general layout of the bass into a 6-string guitar and see what the response was.
There were three models offered in this 480 series line, of which this "standard" Model 480 is the simplest. It uses a contoured maple body and headstock styled after the Model 4000 bass, finished in transparent red lacquer with no edge binding. The fingerboard is bound with simple dot inlay. The neck is bolted on, a departure for Rickenbacker but eminently practical. The pickups are the new "High Gain" single coil units introduced in 1969, with a slightly hotter output than the old "toaster tops" ubiquitous in the 1960s. The adjustable bridge and "R" tailpiece are the same as used for the hollowbody line.
The controls are the standard Rickenbacker pattern, volume and tone for each pickup with a 3-way switch. As is typical for Rick, the tone knobs are on top and the volumes below unlike most other makers. The output is mono only (no "Rick-O-Sound") so the fifth blender knob is absent. This instrument was made in the first production year, with pots dated to the 30th week of 1973. The fingerboard is lacquered but flatter than most Rickenbackers, making string bending easier than the older models.
The Model 400 offered from 1973-1984 but never really took off; bands of the period no longer featured matching instruments and the bass-like styling does not seem to have been a big selling point. Still, like all Rickenbackers this is a beautifully made guitar, unique looking and sounding, fairly versatile, great playing and with none of the neck angle issues that now plague some older Ricks. Nearly 50 years on this remains a cool guitar waiting to be rescued from obscurity!
Overall length is 39 3/8 in. (100 cm.), 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This guitar remains in original and excellent playing condition with some small signs of wear. The finish is clean overall, the body has some small dings and dents mostly on the face, as does the headstock. The "Bass Tone" knob matches the others but lacks the markings on the metal cap; it may be an old replacement or the lettering may have been scraped off (the top is somewhat scuffed up).
Other than this all hardware is clean, original and intact; even the usually-removed bridge cover is present. Internally everything remains original and unaltered with the original solder joints. The original frets show only very minimal wear and this is an excellent playing guitar, a bit eccentric perhaps but well laid out and practical nonetheless. It is complete in the original black Tolex HSC which has also survived nicely with some light wear. Overall Excellent - Condition.