To all who may be interested. Maybe this has been mentioned before and I missed it but I saw this frypan on Reverb with some unusual features which I have never seen before. Other than being one of the
coolest looking and cleanest frypans I have seen, there are a few odd features which look to be original. I have never seen a 7 string frypan with the 4 strip tuners on the bass side. They are always on the treble side on both frypans and bakelites. The three treble tunes are the same as the late prewar/war-time bakelites except they are for the slotted headstock. I thought maybe this was a 6 to 7 string conversion but there are no extra holes and the finish looks intact. The pickup looks looks like an original 7 string although it is wrapped in tape. Most are wrapped with cloth wire if original although late model bakelites also used tape or some kind of tar. Wiring looks original although the pot is not the earliest type. Patent number on pickup tabs puts it as a later model. The Rickenbacher Electro badge is also a little different. Most frypans had a solid brass badge and the bakelites had a solid silver badge. Postwar frypans had a sticker. This one is brass but has a silver plating which is either warn or removed over the raised letters. White flying saucer volume knob also puts it as a late model. I am thinking this is a very late production prewar or even a wartime frypan just before they discontinued them. Everything looks correct but it is unusual. Lots of excellent pictures on the website.
Harry Sheppard wrote:I have never seen a 7 string frypan with the 4 strip tuners on the bass side. They are always on the treble side on both frypans and bakelites.
There are some exceptions, at least among post-war Ricks:
I have read Rickenbacher changed the spelling to Rickenbacker after the war but I don't think it means much (at least with frypans). They used the original spelling on the postwar frypans made into the 1950's. For this guitar, they may have had old parts they needed to use up before discontinuing production.
Last edited by Harry Sheppard on 14 Apr 2021 8:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
I didn't know Rick made a black crinkle finish fry pan, ???
But I believe it was Don Sweatman or Rick Aiello who painted an old fry pan with black crinkle finish. Perhaps other people have done it, too.
There were black and white crinkle finish frypans. I had a white long scale, and Rick Aiello has one. I have seen black ones too. I believe these showed up around the mid to later '30s Interestingly, I think all the crinkle finish ones I've seen are all long scale. The post war frypans I have seen have a bakelite backplate and a 1 1/4" (narrower) horseshoe pickup, following the same development as the post war bakelites.
So I think Harry is right. This could have been one of the last ones before the war, or an early wartime made with the parts they had.
In the Steel Guitar Forum thread, Most Valuable Lap Steel on page 4, the third item from the top, you will see my 1934 Rickenbacher Frypan which is a black crinkle long scale. It is the same guitar like the one posted by Scott.
I sold my guitar last year for half the price of the advertised price of the frypan in your post, Scott. My frypan was a part of the Dick McIntyre collection which was inherited by Dirk Vogel. I bought it from Dirk over 40 years ago. I sold the frypan for much more than I paid for it. The market price valuation had increased its value a lot.
It was a beauty as you can see. I had to sell it along with my other steels because of my age.
As the new owner of this rare axe, I can say it is worth exactly what some nincompoop was willing to pay for it.
It arrived 3 days late after UPS "misplaced" it. Though well packed it was damaged in shipment. The 1st string tuner fell off and the pup was not working. A bit of surgery fixed the shoe and I took the tuner to my shop with hopes of a repair. So as of now its a 6 string.
I found an octagonal knob, but the smaller diameter makes on the fly volume changes harder so I'll probably go back to the white saucer.
Sounds amazing with the volume at 5 or so. Wide open is too bright. More pronounced than my bakelite or silvers
As far as the crinkle it appears to be factory.
The one thing that makes me wonder is no visible serial number, maybe it was covered by the finish. Begs the question. Were the numbers in the casting or stamped on later ? Advertised as a '39 (not sure how the seller knew) it is still solidly prewar (wide pup and proper badge)
I would love an original 1st string tuner if the fix does not hold, if anybody has one to sell.
Did I pay too much ? Perhaps. Nowadays, I only collect prewar laps from Rick and National. With this pan I now have the trifecta of electros. No brag just fact. Lest I get too proud I just try to play one and I'm humbled every time.
New Yorker and Horseshoe crab are in the bag,now if I could only find a Silvo...
Last edited by Bert Brown on 3 May 2021 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Congratulations on your purchase Bert. The shipping damage is unfortunate but at least you were able to get the pickup working. The treble tuners look just like the standard tuners used on all the late model bakelites. Does the string post have a taper at the end with another hole? From the picture of the tuners above, it looks like they used a regular solid headstock tuner and drilled another hole further down the post so it could be used with a slotted headstock. If so, you should be able to find one from a broken bakelite neck without too much trouble. I also sent you an email with a question.
Congratulations Bert, what a fine steel. Can you confirm again that there is no serial number visible at all either inside the tip of the open headstock on the left side, or as on this pic on the lip of the open headstock?
Under bright light with my reading glasses on I can see no trace of a number anywhere on the headstock, inside or out. nuthin' but original black crinkle.
