Short Takes: 1972 Rickenbacker 360SF

1972 360SF

From around 1970 to late 1973 Rickenbacker played around with the 360 quite a bit. From top to bottom, a number of details changed. To wit:

The headstock went from the skinny “vintage” shape to the bloated “Gumby” shape. This was done to facilitate the transition from…

Kluson deluxe tuners, which were changed to Grover Rotomatics.

The neck length increased to allow a transition from 21 frets to 24.

Inlays on the neck transitioned from full width crushed pearl to inset poured acrylic.

Pickups changed from toasters to transitional/first gen Higains to button top Higains.

And the binding on the back went from checkered to plain.

During this period, you can find 360s with all sorts of combinations of these features. But on top of this, there were a couple of detours along the way that didn’t make it to 1973. This 1972 guitar is a perfect example of the most notable detours: slanted frets and a bound headstock.

The headstock binding first appeared on 1970 6-string guitars with the skinny vintage headstock. When the Gumby appeared in 1971, it too featured binding. By the end of 1972 it was gone. 12 string guitars never got this binding.

Slanted frets also appeared in 1971. The idea here was that it would make fingering—especially things like barre chords—easier. But, like the bound headstock, this feature wouldn’t make it to 1973 either. Of course, they reappeared on the 481 in 1974, where they would be the default—“standard” frets was a seldom ticked option throughout the 481’s lifetime.

This guitar has a little bit of everything from the transitional era, and a few extras. You won’t find many like it.

Find the listing on Reverb HERE