Super Rare Rickenbacker Lightshow in Jetglo

1971 Rickenbacker 331 Lightshow (second version)

This amazing and super rare Jetglo (black), 15-inch-wide and just under 2 inch thick, full-size 'psychedelic' guitar weighs 8.80 lbs. Unbound hollow maple body. Three-piece maple/walnut/maple neck with a nut width of just over 1 5/8 inches and a standard Rickenbacker scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Rosewood fretboard with 24 original jumbo frets and small white dot position markers. Headstock with white opaque plastic logo plate with black lettering. Individual dual-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons (all stamped "D-169400 / Patent No." on the underside). Two Rickenbacker "Hi-Gain" pickups with chrome surounds and outputs of 10.94k and 4.98k. Two translucent plastic pickguards, each secured by seven screws. Six controls (two volume, two tone, one blend and one light sensitivity control) plus three-way pickup selector switch, all on lower level of 'treble-side' pickguard. Seven-sided black plastic knobs with metal tops with black lettering (blend control slightly smaller) and one seven-sided black plastic knob with single white line pointer on light sensitivity control. The potentiometers are stamped "137 7125" (CTS June 1971). Rickenbacker bridge and Rickenbacker "R" tailpiece. "Rick-O-Sound" stereo and "Standard" jack inputs. The serial number "KK 767" (November 1971) is stamped onto the jack plate. This super rare guitar is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition with some minor belt buckle rash on the back (nothing through the finish) and a few small surface chips, mainly on the lower edge. Complete with the separate 'Lighshow' transformer.Housed in its original Rickenbacker three-latch, rectangular black hardshell case with dark blue plush lining (9.00).

The Model 331- commonly called the "Light Show Guitar" because of its frequency-modulated internally-lit body-reflected the psychedelic 1960s in both sound and substance. The flashing began when the player hit the strings: yellow for treble notes, red for mid-range, and blue for bass. (Rickenbacker also produced a kaleidoscopic light projector called the Phantasmagorian.) Production figures for 1971 are not known but is is thought that only between 25 and 100 Lightshow's were produced between 1970 and its discontinuation in 1975. (Rick Resource).

Most sixties and early seventies Rickenbackers were finished in Fireglo (red), Autumnglo (two-tone brown) or Mapleglo (natural). Very few Rickenbacker 330 guitars were made in Jetglo (black) - we have only seen one other, pictured on p. 83 of Tony Bacon's book Rickenbacker Electric 12 String and this Model 331 Lightshow is quite possibly the only example that was produced.

"At Rickenbacker, Dick Burke reckons it was about this time [1969] that demand for the company's guitars began to decline. He estimates that the slower years were 1969, 1970, and 1971. From a peak of just over 100 factory workers at one point during the busy 1965-1968 period, there was a time between 1969 and 1971 when just eight workers were employed at the factory, he recalls. A few changes were made to the guitar at this time. In 1969, a new type of high-output pickup called the Hi-Gain was introduced. The same year saw the introduction of 24 frets for the family of 300-series guitars, which until then had 21 frets as standard. Production of both 21-fret and 24-fret models continued into the 70s, but by the middle of the decade the 21-fret versions had all but disappeared." (Tony Bacon. Rickenbacker Electric 12 String , p.85).

"The company first offered the Model 331, nicknamed the light show guitar, in 1970. It was the psychedelic spin-off of the Model 330. Stephen F. Woodman and Marshall Arm created the initial design for the 331 and then licensed Rickenbacker to develop and manufacture it. Rickenbacker dropped the 331 from the price sheets in 1975.

To convey the intent of this guitar, here is an excerpt from the brochure that described it…
"The Model 331 combines a fine musical instrument with the thrill of a light show. Internally lighted by a set of frequency modulated lamps, this instrument will shimmer with infinite color and pattern variety. This instrument features Stereo out put, Hi-gain pickups, and 24 frets. The three modulation channels are variable with a sensitivity control to make this patented instrument a beautiful performer in the stage situations professionals encounter."

What did it do? The top of the instrument was translucent and the body had lamps built into it. Red lamps lit on for treble notes played, yellow (or green) lamps lit for middle range notes played, and blue lamps lit for bass notes played. You can imagine how cool it looked. A Rickenbacker factory employee remembers that Buck Owens played the Model 331 frequently on the Hee Haw television show. Rickenbacker built the light show guitar with two different light circuits. The first version relied on clear light bulbs with colored filters--the factory invoice called it the "Xmas Tree Special." They delivered a prototype on January 20, 1970, while actual production began after June 22, 1970. The factory hand wired the first versions. The second version of the Model 331 was a superior design; it had colored lamps and a better circuit the company mounted on a P.C. board. The second 331 also had a larger outboard transformer. The factory built both versions of the 331 guitar around the body and neck of a Model 330." (Richard R. Smith. The History of Rickenbacker Guitars. p. 170).