Pre-War B6

Buzz Marcus · Post by **Buzz Marcus** » 2 Dec 2002 8:57 am

Howdy Folks,

I'm new to the forum, and I joined because my mom found her brother's old B6 out in the gagage. It's a pre-war, with strings through the body. One thing I'm confused about: I read on the Rickenbaker site that "pre-patent" B6's had "Patent Pending" stamped on the little metal piece that holds the pickup in place. Mine does, but it also has the patent number, #18811229 in raised numbers on the body. It has a single control. I have the original case and Rickenbacher tube amp. None of the pieces is in the best of condition, in fact, the steel needs new tuners. A friend replaced one of them with something non-Rick. Amp works great, but really needs cleaning. Any idea of value??

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Buzz Marcus
Taylor Guitars

Bob Stone · Post by **Bob Stone** » 2 Dec 2002 12:16 pm

Hi Buzz,

Welcome to the small but enthusiastic group of pre-War Bakelite Ric owners! They are great guitars.

The patent number on the body is for the body. The patent pending is for the pickup. That patent was granted 8/10/37, so your guitar preceeds that date.

Although the guitars cannot be dated exactly, one control knob means it was among the earliest. The model was introduced in July 1935.

As for tuners, many owners seek the originals--and they are hard to find. Mine was already tampered with in that area, so I installed a set of Klusons, which required removing a very slight amount of Bakelite to enlarge the diameter of the holes for the tuner string posts.

I know nothing about the amps.

This should be a great guitar. Depending on condition, it should fetch somewhere above $500, possibly well above--maybe $700-800.

I'm sure you will be getting more opinions. The Bakelite gang is always ready to talk!

Somebody should make a bumper sticker: "Ask me about my Bakelite Ric!"

Buzz Marcus · Post by **Buzz Marcus** » 2 Dec 2002 1:52 pm

Thanks Bob, I appreciate all the info I can get. The serial number is stamped into the end of the headstock, #0969. Should I assume that it was the 969th guitar, or did it mean something else?

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Buzz Marcus
Taylor Guitars

Bob Stone · Post by **Bob Stone** » 2 Dec 2002 2:06 pm

Buzz,

I don't think the serial numbers are systematic. I'm sure people more expert in these matters will chime in soon.

You might be interested in looking over "Rickenbacker Guitars" by Richard Smith, Centerstream Press. It contains quite a bit of info on early Ric steels.

Russ Young · Post by **Russ Young** » 2 Dec 2002 5:55 pm

I'm not sure I'm any more of an expert than Bob, but the single knob indicates that it's probably from between 1935 and 1937.

The early serial numbers don't seem to be as good a guide as the patent numbers and features. Take a look at http://www.provide.net/~cfh/rick.html#ricklaps; the information is pretty similar to what you'll find in Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars.

And my standard suggestion is to use the Forum's Search feature; if you look up Rickenbacher, Rickenbacker and Bakelite, you'll find a lot of valuable information. (Search by the names Rick Aiello and Ray Montee -- both have forgotten more than I know about Bakelite Ricks.)

Kim West · Post by **Kim West** » 3 Dec 2002 9:21 am

russ--wow! thanks for the site referral.

Buzz Marcus · Post by **Buzz Marcus** » 3 Dec 2002 9:33 am

Thanks Russ, good info. Are you a long time resident of Seattle? I lived there for many years.

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Buzz Marcus
Taylor Guitars

Russ Young · Post by **Russ Young** » 3 Dec 2002 9:58 am

Buzz: I've been living in Seattle for just over 16 years now, but I lived the first 25 years of my life in San Diego -- just a hop, skip and a jump to El Cajon. Small world, huh? (I went to high school with Bob Mossay of Moze Guitars -- do you know him?)

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 3 Dec 2002 10:10 am

Here's some useful info from JD Sauser ...
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum2/HTML/002123.html