An Early 1960s Beatles Model Rickenbacker

This solid body guitar features offset cutaways, with a hooked left horn providing a "cresting wave" profile across both. It weighs just 6.50 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 5/8 inches and a scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Solid maple body with single white binding, maple neck, and single-bound rosewood fretboard with 21 frets, red dot position markers, and triangular sparkle crushed pearl inlays extending completely across the fretboard. Headstock with white opaque plastic logo plate with lettering in black. Individual Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons. Two Rickenbacker "toaster" pickups with chrome covers and balanced outputs of 7.62k and 7.36k. White opaque plastic pickguard. Five controls (two volume, two tone, and a smaller blend control) plus three-way selector switch and jacket, all on pickguard. Seven-sided black plastic knobs with metal tops. Combination six-saddle nickel bridge/tailpiece with pre-set compensating saddle. Some light belt buckle scarring on the back, a few very tiny marks on the top and edges, and a small loss of surface finish on the treble-side of the neck by the nut are all that prevent this super forty-year-old Ricky from being exceptionally fine. Housed in the original Rickenbacker silver hardshell case with blue plush lining (9.00).

"Rickenbacker introduced the 460 in 1961. The first one appeared in March. This was a Deluxe version of the two pickup Model 450. Deluxe features included neck and body binding and triangle inlays on the finger board. Unless specially ordered, Rick-O-Sound stereo output did not become part of the Model 460 Deluxe package until 1962. Deluxe models for certain years also had fancy pearloid tipped tuning pegs. Standard finishes for the 460 were black, natural, and Fireglo. In late 1961 the 460 was one of the first Rickenbackers to have the fifth mixer control knob. A third pickup was available on the Models 450 and 460 for an additional thirty dollars" (Richard R. Smith, The History of Rickenbacker Guitars, p. 149).

"The red sunburst finish known as Fireglo was a standard option on the Combo 450 by 1960 and went on to become one of Rickenbacker's most popular finishes. The cresting wave body became the dominant style in the solidbody line; variations included single pickup (425), deluxe trim (460), or 12-string (450-12)" (George Gruhn and Walter Carter, Electric Guitars and Basses: A Photographic History, p. 184).