Rickenbacher Electro

[Robert Cates]

Hello to all you non pedalers
My neighbor just brought me over a lap steel. He wants to sell it. Its a Rickenbacher Electro
I beleive it to be a pre war model Silver Hawaiian. The 1.5 wide pickup is strong and loud with one control
Everything works great This guitar is very good condition. Not perfect but very good with case.
I have already checked on the web for info and it appears to be quite a desirable steel.
My question to you experts on here is how much should I pay for it> I have taken lots of pictures but they are on my i pad. As soon as I can get them on here I will put them up.

no d 245 it says pat pending on the pick up mount

Thanks for any info

Bob

[Jon Light]

Robert--I've been watching Silver Hawaiian prices for a few years because I've got one, very pristine (two knobs so it's a little later than yours, '39, maybe) that I'll eventually sell. They are different sounding than the bakelite steels, having a hollow body and a unique resonance. Even very clean models are not getting as much $$ as you'd think. I don't know that I've seen more than $1100 for a very shiny specimen.
Do not take this as a comprehensive response---maybe a deep search would turn up other sales that I've missed--but I've watched the market for these stay pretty stagnant.
Good luck.

[Robert Cates]

Hi Jon
Thanks for replying. I have been doing some searching on this site and there is lots of info on these Silver Hawaiian steels. I am not sure if I want to buy this thing and will probably put it in the for sale section Thank you again

Bob

[Ray Montee]

The Silver Hawaiians are indeed beautiful instruments but I do have a question:

I played my first one a couple of months ago and found the highly polished, highly reflective neck to be most difficult to 'see' as I played. It would seem to me that under varying lighting conditions this might present a problem to the player.

How do you handle that?

[Robbie Daniels]

I have a 1939 one volume knob only Silver Hawaiian and I love to play it on Hawaiian venues. It has an excellent tone and I have never had a problem with reflection. The only problem I have had with the Rickenbacker fret board is that they do not have a dot at the 14th fret, at least not the Silver Hawaiian, and at times it can be a confusion. In today's market I would say the value of a good unit IMHO is apprx. $800.00 and that of course is open to the players needs and opinions. Love my Roeder stand that I had made for my Silver Hawaiian.

[Robert Cates]

Thanks for your input guys
What tuning do you guys use... Maybe I'll play with this thing for awhile
Who knows maybe I'll have to buy it.

[Ian McLatchie]

You've never had a problem with the Silver Hawaiian and stage lights, Robbie?! I have to start playing the same clubs you do! It can be a big problem, especially when without someone switches on a red or yellow spot in the middle of a set. That can be a dazzling experience, literally. How do you deal with it? Just keep in mind what Chet Atkins said: Happiness is just a fret away. I use mine only for open E, mostly fairly simple fills behind singers, so it's not as big a problem as it might be. Makes for some impressive theatricality, though. I played a country show a few months ago with the SH. I was wearing a red satin shirt and a friend in the audience said that with a red spotlight reflecting to my face and upper body from the top of the SH I looked positively Satanic!

[Ian McLatchie]

Robert, if you get a chance to pick up a Silver Hawaiian at a reasonable price, grab it. They're great guitars, and unfairly underrated compared to the bakelites. I have four Rickenbachers and get the most use out of the 7-string bakelite, but for the things it does best I think the SH is just as good a guitar. I can't imagine parting with mine.

[Robbie Daniels]

I agree with Ian and I have never had a problem with stage lights and we use a lot of them. It is probably due to individual needs, wants and paying attention to what bothers them most or maybe not having the stage lights directly on the player. If I have stage lights directed on me, I ask them to be changed. The tuning I use is standard C6 with bottom string occasionally tuned to C# to create A7/C6 combination. Maholo