Bronson Melody King Differences

Gerry Cockrell · Post by **Gerry Cockrell** » 16 Jun 2014 11:38 am

I recently acquired two (Rickenbacher) Bronson Melody King lap steel guitars. The first one I bought from a fellow forumite, and the second I bought off of eBay. Imagine my surprise when I received the second Melody King and found that it was quite a bit different than the first one. Photos on ebay did not really show that. The color of the body and neck are not the same; the plate surrounding the tuner and the tailpiece are not the same color even though both tailpieces have the same patent number on them; the two bridges are not exactly the same in that the first one is notched for 6 strings and the second one has several extra string notches cut; and the tuners are not the same color even though they look identical in type. Through my extensive internet research the past few days, it appears that Rickenbacher changed a few things on these guitars between some model years. Other than that assumption, I have no clue. Any constructive comments are welcome. I am posting three photos comparing the two guitars.

Ryan Lunenfeld · Post by **Ryan Lunenfeld** » 10 Feb 2022 9:44 am

Resurrecting an old topic. Any input?

Andy Alford · Post by **Andy Alford** » 26 Aug 2023 3:22 am

Thanks for your information.

Levi Gemmell · Post by **Levi Gemmell** » 12 Sep 2023 7:43 pm

Two brunette bakelite beauties! I'll take one or both - we don't discriminate around here...

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 13 Sep 2023 4:52 am

Is there a significant difference in tone between the two guitars?