Model 360/12 by Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker began developing its electric 12-string in 1963. The folk music revival of the early 60's witnessed a surge in the popularity of acoustic twelve-string guitars, but the electric variety was still rare. The company created three prototypes, all incorporating the unique headstock design submitted by employee Dick Burke. The design features three tuners on each side mounted as on a standard guitar, with the tuner posts projecting out from the face of the headstock. Two parallel channels are machined into the face of the headstock, reminiscent of the slots in the headstock of a classical guitar, but cut only halfway through the headstock. Three more tuners are attached to each side of the headstock. The knobs of these tuners project towards the rear of the headstock, and the posts transsect the slots in the headstock. This innovation minimizes the size of the headstock, and keeps the instrument from feeling head-heavy in the player's hands. It is also one of the very few twelve string guitars to use a conventional width six-string neck, making it somewhat difficult to play cleanly, as the string courses are much closer together than they would normally be on most twelve string guitars.
Rickenbacker gave the first of these prototypes to Suzy Arden, a Las Vegas country music entertainer. Another prototype was featured at a special display at the Savoy Hilton hotel in New York City in 1964. This display was a showcase for The Beatles, who were in town to play on The Ed Sullivan Show. Despite missing the display due to illness, George Harrison ended up with the 12-string prototype. His prominent use of the instrument in the film A Hard Day's Night led to high demand for Rickenbacker's twelve-string. Harrison loved the 360/12, and while he moved on to other guitars as his main instrument, he retained his affection for it. He brought his original 360/12 out of retirement to use on his album Cloud 9. Harrison received a new style 360/12 in August 1965, which he used on the Rubber Soul and Revolver albums. The guitar has never been seen or mentioned of since the group's 1966 US tour, with speculation that it was stolen.
When production began in 1964, Rickenbacker changed some features from those of the prototype. The edge of the body was rounded off around the top of the guitar, and binding was added to the soundhole. Production models retained the prototypes' use of the rectangular trapeze tailpiece until late 1964, when twelve-string models were fitted with Rickenbacker's R tailpiece. The last 360/12 OS was produced in Fireglo and made in December 1968 S/N HL1725. After 1969, the 360/12 gained a 24-fret neck instead of the traditional 21-fret neck. Three models were produced: the two-pickup 360/12, the three-pickup 370/12 (favored by Roger McGuinn of the The Byrds) and the 450/12, a two-pickup solidbody.
