Rickenbacker 400 series

The Rickenbacker 400 series was a line of lower cost solid body electric guitars that Rickenbacker introduced in the 1950s, alongside their more famous hollow body series guitars.

A 1957 Rickenbacker combo 400 with "tulip" style cutaways.

The 400 series initially consisted of the single pickup Combo 400 model introduced in 1956, which had distinctive Tulip style cutaways and the pickup at the neck position.[1] In 1957, Rickenbacker introduced the 450, with two pickups, in the bridge and neck position.[2] Jazz Guitarist Jean "Toots" Theilemans was an early user and endorser of Rickenbacker guitars in the 1950s, using a Rickenbacker 400 while playing as part of the George Shearing Quintet; this inspired a young John Lennon, a fan of Toots, to buy a Rickenbacker himself while in Hamburg Germany in the early days of The Beatles.[3]

A 1966 Rickenbacker 450 12 string

1958, the design was updated with the "cresting wave" body design, similar to the higher-end 620 model,[4] the single pickup model had its pickup moved to a central position between the bridge and the neck and was redesignated the 420. A version with a vibrato tailpiece was released as the 425 model. The two pickup 450 version was also upgraded to the new body style.[5] In 1963, George Harrison of The Beatles bought a 420 model, while on a trip to the USA; though lacking a vibrato unit it was incorrectly labelled as a 425.[6] In the mid sixties, as Rickenbacker had become virtually synonymous with the electric twelve-string guitar, they produced a 12 string version of the 450.[7]

In the 1970s, Rickenbacker introduced the 480 line, which featured the Rickenbacker "R" style trapeze tailpiece, and an updated body style reminiscent of Rickenbacker's 4000 series of electric bass guitars. This was followed in the 1980s by the more modern 430 design. However the 400 series were never as popular as other guitars and basses in Rickenbacker's line, such as the 300 series, and in the 1980s, apart from some vintage reissues of the 450, were dropped from production.[8]