Search the internet across all the listserv archives and all the forums and all the groups and one of the top questions people just beginning their Rickenbacker journey ask time and time again is “just what exactly is the difference between an OS and a WB guitar?” So let’s just get the answer out of the way: timing. That’s the difference.
OK, that’s not a very satisfying answer and it requires a few clarifying details. So let’s go back to the beginning: 1958 and the launch of the Capri line of semi-hollowbodied guitars. For the first time, Rickenbacker made a distinction between “Deluxe” and “Standard” guitars. And at that time, “Deluxe” meant the guitar came with a double-bound body, a bound neck, and triangle position markers. So the difference between a “standard” 330 Capri and a “deluxe” 360 Capri was that the 360 had binding and triangle markers, and the 330 did not. That’s it.
When the body got tweaked to create the “New Capri” style in 1961, the same rules applied.
But then, in 1964, the 360 got redesigned.
This “New Style” 360 rounded the top and cutaways, eliminating the ability to bind the top. But as a “Deluxe” model, it kept the back binding, bound neck, and triangle inlays. It also added binding to the soundhole. And with the new body style, the difference between the 330 and the 360 was now a good bit more than just the “Deluxe” features
There was just one little problem: many people’s first introduction to Rickenbackers was a certain band from England, whose lead guitarist played one of those “old style” flat top 360s. And you couldn’t buy one!
It really was a case of incredibly poor timing on Rickenbacker’s part. And while they stuck with the new, rounded 360, they did realize that demand existed for the “old style” flat top 360. And thus were born the “OS” guitars: Deluxe guitars built to pre-1964 specifications. The first reissue models!
Here’s a fun fact: when new, some factory employees referred to the new rounded 360 body as the “TS” for “toilet seat”. And now you can’t unsee it!
Today, most people refer to any 60’s flat top 360 variant as an OS. And basically that’s true in today’s context. But really, you can’t have an Old Style without a New Style, and we didn’t have a New Style until 1964. So TECHNICALLY, the “OS” era began in 1964, and any flat top 360 made before then is…just a 360. Certainly the factory didn’t refer to flat top 360s as OS before 1964. And as you can see below, it WAS a factory designation for post 64 flat tops.
So 1964 is when the OS era “officially” started. But in modern usage it’s really used for ANY Deluxe 1960s “New Capri” body style variant—even if it predates 1964.
So when did it end? When did it become WB? And what does WB even mean? Well, WB means “With Binding”. It was apparently sometimes referred to inside the factory as WBBS—“With Binding Both Sides”—but that terminology has largely fallen out of favor with collectors. Still useful to know, however, as you will see it on older forums.
So what is the difference between an OS and a WB? Well, that’s been a topic of some debate. And now would be a good time to note that “we” are responsible for making that call. There is no mention of either of those terms in any Rickenbacker sales literature before 1984. And factory “OS” marking can be found in guitar cavities well into the 1970s. But what the community seems to have largely settled on as the line of demarcation is centered around the transition Rickenbacker guitars went through between roughly 1970 and 1973.
At the beginning of this transition, the 360 had 21 frets, crushed pearl inlays, and toaster pickups. At the end, it had 24 frets, poured resin inlays, and Higain pickups. And so guitars with all the old “vintage goodies” are considered OS and guitars with any modern appointments are considered WB, because once any of those features change, the guitar is technically no longer the “Old Style”. That’s it. That’s the difference.
All double bound 360s made since then are WBs. Reissue guitars like the 360/12V64 and 360/12C63 are designed to emulate specific “Old Style” guitars, and their reissue “V” or “C” designation make an OS label redundant.
There is one outlier to this rule: the flat top 4005.
The 4005 was launched in 1965 as a Deluxe round top bass guitar modeled after the “New Style” 360. Meaning there was no flat top “Old Style”. But flat top 4005s began appearing in 1966. The community has therefore agreed that these guitars should be called WB. Even if the factory didn’t agree!
And that should tell you all you need to know about OS and WB guitars!
I agree with your comment about OS and WB 360’s because of the appointments.
I do want to point out that the ‘74 360/12 pictured on right does have OS written in the cavity.
I have a ‘65 365 OS Natural. Noted as 365 U in the control cavity. “U”?