“A prototype given to George Harrison was prominently featured in the Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night, inspiring insatiable lust for the electric 12”: How the Rickenbacker 360/12 revolutionized the sound of ’60s guitar

The Rickenbacker 360/12 might not have been the very first 12-string electric guitar to appear on the market – it was preceded by the 12-string necks found on the doubleneck Gibson EDS-1275 and Stratosphere Twin in the ’50s and the single 12-string neck Danelectro Bellzouki in 1961 – but it instantly elevated the electric 12-string from novelty item to essential tool upon its public debut in 1964.

A 360/12 prototype given to George Harrison was prominently featured in the Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night and its accompanying soundtrack, inspiring insatiable lust for the lush sounds of the electric 12 among aspiring and pro guitarists alike.

The Byrds, Beach Boys and other popular ’60s bands that didn’t begin with “B” (like the Jefferson Airplane, the Rolling Stones and the Who) further increased the popularity of the 360/12’s distinctive jingle-jangle sounds.

Although the 360/12 was essentially a Rickenbacker 360 model (introduced in 1958) with a 12-string neck, the innovative headstock design still was a noteworthy engineering achievement. Rickenbacker president F.C.

Hall thought the standard 12-string headstock looked awkwardly elongated thanks to its 6x6 tuner configuration, so he asked the head of Rickenbacker’s woodshop Dick Burke to figure out a way to fit 12 tuners onto a standard six-string size headstock. Burke quickly came up with an ingenious and elegant solution that combined normal electric guitar tuning pegs with classic-style pegs inset in headstock slots.

Early Ric 360/12 models were equipped with low-output “toaster” single-coil pickups that deliver a very bright and metallic tone. Later versions come with Hi-Gain single-coil pickups that produce a richer, fuller sound.

While the toaster pickups play a major role in the sound of songs like Ticket to Ride and Mr. Tambourine Man, a good studio or pedal compressor is also essential for dialing in warmer tone and the perfect treble shimmer without strident overtones.

Generally, a crystal-clean amp setting works best, and the amp can even be pushed to the edge of overdrive with good results, but too much gain and distortion usually results in an indecipherable mess.

The original six-saddle bridge makes it difficult to intonate all of the strings properly, which is particularly noticeable when playing above the 12th fret.

Fortunately, replacement 12-saddle bridges are available from Rickenbacker and other manufacturers. Traditionally, the 360/12 features a 21-fret neck, but since 1969 Rickenbacker have offered 360/12 models that expanded the total number of frets to 24. Currently, the traditional 21-fret neck is standard.

The jangly sound of the Rickenbacker 360/12 instantly evokes images of the mid-’60s, and most players who have picked one up since then have used it for music heavily inspired by that era.

Tom Petty and Mike Campbell, James Honeyman-Scott (the Pretenders), Johnny Marr, Marty Wilson-Piper (the Church), and Dave Gregory (XTC) helped revive the Ric 360/12 sound during the ’70s and ’80s, and Steve Howe proved that it could even work in a progressive rock context with Yes.

More recent 360/12 fans include Jonny Greenwood and Ed O’Brien of Radiohead, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Jeff Buckley and Andy Bell of Ride and Oasis.

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.