I was 14 when I first heard it and it spoke to me as it still does now, but if I put my muso hat on it’s all over the place.
A sublime album because it’s just straight-up honest. Perfectionism is the enemy in recording situations. I envy non-musicians and music fans mostly because they feel the truth more than most musicians do. Even the timing and tuning are off a lot of the time. It’s chemistry and theirs is #%^ing rocket science as far as I’m concerned because all the elements work so perfectly together, yet in isolation none of the parts sound like anything special. I can’t get my head around how their sound is so perfect, making me think hard about what it takes to make a band gel. I probably share my current obsession with most of my contemporaries, namely The Beatles: Get Back documentary. Smith and The Rickenbacker Book: A Complete History of Rickenbacker Guitars by Tony Bacon and Paul Day. Sources for this article include by Rickenbacker by Richard R. Late-’60s Kustom 2x12 cabinets provide the backdrop for this 325. The current value for one in excellent all-original condition is $10,000. The 1964 325 pictured has the features most often associated with the export Rose Morris Model 1996: 3/4-scale, a one-piece maple neck with an unbound, 21-fret, lacquer-finished rosewood fretboard, three “toaster” single-coil pickups, a hollow maple body, f-hole, and Ac’cent vibrato tailpiece.
His Fireglo 325 can be heard playing searing lead on CCR’s covers of “Suzie Q” and “I Put a Spell on You.” The hollow body of the Rickenbacker combined with Fogerty’s Kustom amp produced musical, controlled feedback on both the recorded and live versions of these songs. The other rock-’n’-roll legend known for using a 325 is John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival. Signature details include three “toaster” single-coils, a classic f-hole, and Rickenbacker’s Ac’cent vibrato. Lennon used one of these as a backup to his more famous solid-top Jetglo (black) 1964 325. Like most other export models, it had a Fireglo finish and a traditional f-hole. The export version of the 325 was known in Rose Morris’s catalog as the Model 1996. To meet this need, the British company Rose Morris became Rickenbacker distributors. The Beatles’ growing popularity caused a sudden demand for Rickenbacker guitars, initially in England. Lennon acquired his natural-finish 1958 325 while the Beatles were in Hamburg, Germany. This petite, lightweight guitar didn’t achieve its intended popularity until it was seen in the hands of Beatle John Lennon. The first Capri model announced was the three-quarter-size 325. Models ending in zero had no vibrato, while those ending in the number five had vibrato.
#RICKENBACKER 325 STRATOCASTER SERIES#
The Capri series consisted of Models 310-375.
German-born guitar maker Roger Rossmeisl (hired in 1954) was responsible for the unique design of these instruments, a distinctive look seen in most Rickenbackers to this day. By 1958 he had developed a new line of thin hollowbody electric guitars known as the Capri series (named after the Hall family’s cat). Hall overhauled the business and began focusing on standard electric guitars rather than the steel guitars the company pioneered. (Radio-Tel), purchased the Electro String Company from Adolph Rickenbacker in 1953. Hall, owner of Radio & Television Equipment Co.