Overview
Brand name:
Product:
- electric guitars
Series name:
Dates of manufacture:
The Rickenbacker Electro String Model B was the Spanish version of the molded Bakelite Model B Hawaiian Guitar. Electro String introduced them in the summer of 1935. It was available as a six string standard model or a four string tenor guitar. These first Bakelite Spanish Guitars had a detachable necks with twenty-three frets. These frets were a molded part of the finger board: when they wore out the player had to replaced the whole neck. The Model B Spanish has a headstock plate which reads “Rickenbacher,” the pre-war spelling used by Rickenbacker.The use of Bakelite kept the production cost down (although Rickenbacker began to offer wooden replacement necks after the war).
The Bakelite Spanish body was faced with five ornamental chrome plates (changed to white plates in 1940) and it had a single adjustable horseshoe pickup controlled by one octagonal volume knob (changed to two round volume and tone controls in 1938). There was a brass name tag on the headstock. These early instruments were typically black Bakelite, but Rickenbacker made Alvino Rey a white Bakelite Spanish guitar in the 1930s. The company discontinued the Spanish Model B during the war.
Although the Bakelite model B standard guitar was in fact semi-solid, it is often referred to as the first solid body electric Spanish guitar - as the chambers were for weight reduction only and not designed to resonate.
The Model B Spanish guitar was not a great commercial success, partly because lap steel playing was more popular than Spanish style playing in the 1930s. The ergonomics of the Spanish Model B also meant it was not comfortable to playing sitting down (the preferred position of most players at the time).
Doc Kaufman designed a motorized vibrola tailpiece system and this was offered on the Model B Spanish, although the weight of the whole assembly meant that a stand was need.
Reference: The History of Rickenbacker Guitars. Richard R. Smith
Specifications (13)
Neck
Body fret | Neck joins body at 14th fret |
Neck joint | bolt on neck |
Neck material | Bakelite neck |
Number of frets | 23 fret |
Tuner layout | three-each-side |
Body
Body material | Bakelite body |
Hardware
Bridge | strings through-body bridge |
Controls
Controls shape | octagonal controls |
Volume controls | 1 volume control |
General
Finish colors | black finish |
Made in | USA |
Number of strings | 6 strings |
Electronics
Pickups configuration | horseshoe pickup |