This custom ordered 1966 Rickenbacker 370-12 was built for The Byrds frontman and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Roger McGuinn, as a replacement for his original 1964 Rickenbacker 360-12.

That original 1964 guitar had been returned to the factory to add the third pickup. Roger & his tech installed a treble booster circuit under the pickguard and rewired the guitar to have three separate volume controls.

When Roger ordered the new instrument, the factory made these modifications for him, with the exception of the treble booster, which once again Roger installed after picking it up from the factory. When viewed up close it becomes obvious that the on-off switch between the two toggle switches is was cut by hand.

The tuners were also replaced some time in 1967 with an unwieldy set of gold Schallers (see image below. The 6 mounted to the edge of the headstock were reversed, leaving the tuner buttons facing the front of the guitar.

This was Roger’s main guitar from 1966 through the end of of 1970, when it was retired, and later sold to the Guitar Center in Hollywood, California. In 1970 he ordered a third instrument due to the damage this one had seen through constant use.

We had the 6 inch neck crack repaired, and I wired the guitar back to Roger’s specs with what remained of the original harness, less the missing treble booster circuit. The previous owner had completely removed the original harness and installed an even more complex switching arrangement.

This guitar was auctioned as one of the premier instruments at our ‘Icons of 20th Century Music’ auction in Dallas, Texas, in April 2004. It sold for $117.500.00. Since then it has been auctioned a second time. I do not know the identity of the current owner.

Roger’s original 1964 360-12 is in the Permanent Exhibition of the Experience Music Project in Seattle, Washington.

We’ve posted a few items for sale featuring the beautiful front and back images of this guitar here.

I am currently authoring two book featuring our vintage and celebrity-owned instruments, as well as having posters and other cool items designed using the images from our archives.

Feel free to submit comments, suggestions, etc. using the Contact Us link at the bottom of this page.

Scott


URL Links: Roger McGuinn • Rickenbacker • Experience Music Project