Rickenbacker Ken Roberts Model Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1937)
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Item #13455
Rickenbacker Ken Roberts Model Model Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1937), made in Los Angeles, California, serial # C-1798, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated mahogany body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original hard shell case.
Beginning in the early 1930s Rickenbacker were the undisputed pioneers in the commercialization of the electric guitar, and this 1937 Ken Roberts Electric Spanish model is one of the most important, if relatively unknown, of their early creations. While the great bulk of Rickenbacker's (and indeed everybody's) 1930s electric business was in Hawaiian steels, the company experimented with regular "Spanish" guitars right from the beginning. Several different designs were built in very small numbers; while far less successful commercially they are important pieces of modern guitar history. In 1931 Rickenbacker's chief designer George Beauchamp created the first commercially successful electric guitar pickup using large horseshoe-shaped magnets and a central coil; the first generation instruments fitted with this unit were the best sounding and most practical of their day.
The first production Rickenbacker electric instruments were issued in later 1932 under the brand name "Electro". The initial line consisted of an all-aluminum Hawaiian guitar with a tiny circular body at the end of a long neck (nicknamed the "Frying Pan") and a wooden Spanish model built on a flat-topped body sub-contracted from the Harmony company. This Electro-branded Spanish-style instrument is exceptionally rare with only a very few sold in 1933-4.
In 1935 the company's line was expanded with a series of futuristic instruments made of molded Bakelite (including Hawaiian and Spanish guitars and a violin) and also included this re-worked wood-bodied guitar design, named for a Hollywood guitarist friend of Beauchamp's. Some of the design elements were originally suggested by the more famous Alvino Rey, who used an early prototype painted in his trademark white. By the time the model was ready for production Rey had defected to Gibson, so Ken Roberts' name was used instead making this the first electric instrument named for an endorser, albeit a very obscure one.
Along with its signature horseshoe pickup at the bridge position the Ken Roberts model is interesting for many reasons. The wooden body and neck were sourced from Harmony (Rickenbacker's factory lacked the facility to produce conventional wooden instruments) but the design was unique and specific to this instrument only. The flat-topped body is made of laminated mahogany and braced internally to support the heavy pickup and metal bridge. The "F" soundholes are on the instrument's lower bout with a single volume knob near the waist, the opposite arrangement of most guitars. The shaded sunburst top is triple bound and the back single bound. There was no pickguard but wear to this top shows why fitting one might have been a good idea!
The most striking feature is the extended neck, made from a single piece of maple with a bound rosewood fingerboard. While period arch-tops had 14-fret neck joints, the Ken Roberts fingerboard joins the body at the 17th fret allowing better access to the high frets. This was way ahead of its time, specifically suggested by Rey to extend the playing range of the electric guitar anticipating further developments of the 1950's. Rickenbacker specifically highlighted this extended range in their catalog listings. The headstock is solid, replacing the older-style slotted head used on the first Electro Spanish models, faced in flashy pearloid with the familiar Rickenbacker nameplate at the top. The tuners are the same individual metal-button units used on the Bakelite guitars.
Another revolutionary feature is the stock Kauffman Vib-Rola tailpiece; the Ken Roberts is not only the first electric guitar to feature a hand-operated vibrato as standard equipment, but the very first instrument of any type presaging generations of Stratocasters and Bigsbys. It also marks Rickenbacker's first link to the unit's originator, Clayton "Doc" Kauffman, who would become a design collaborator for the company. The tailpiece on this particular guitar is was made after Rickenbacker took the unit's manufacture in-house in 1937.
The bridge is a unique solid cast metal piece, adjustable for height with a compensating ridge anticipating similar Bigsby and Gibson designs by many years. This instrument was likely made in later 1937 or '38, based on the patent number stamped into the pickup flange. It is in many ways the first modern Electric Spanish guitar featuring extended fretboard access, a powerful bridge-position pickup, integral vibrato tailpiece and a metal bridge, all features years ahead of their time. Compared to Rickenbacker's heavy small-bodied 1935 Bakelite Model B Spanish, the Ken Roberts is both more conventional and more functional, with a standard wooden neck (instead of molded plastic) fretted in the conventional manner and a body that sits comfortably on the lap. The Ken Roberts guitar and amp set sold for $150 in 1937; the guitar could be had alone for $62.50.
Although mostly forgotten today, the Ken Roberts represents an important early step in the evolution of the modern electric guitar. This one is fully playable and sounds great; Beauchamp's pickup is still one of the best ever made! By the time this example was built, other "Spanish" electrics in the field (in particular Gibson's classy if more conventional ES-150) were re-defining the small market and the Ken Roberts design would soon slip out of production. This previously unknown example just surfaced recently and shows some wear (it was likely a gigging guitar at some point) but remains a fascinating piece of playable history.
Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This nearly 90-year old primal electric looks like it was someone's gigger back in the day (we'd love to know WHO!) but survives in solid playing and nearly all original condition. The original finish is unaltered showing general wear overall but remains largely intact; there is a large pickwear spot to the wood in the face (right where a pickguard could have been!) and some wear down to the wood on the back of the neck up to the fifth fret area. The rest of the instrument shows checking, dings, dents and scrapes with some blushing due to moisture on the upper back.
The original hardware remains complete except for the high E tuner which is a somewhat later mis-matched Grover. The sintered metal buttons on the original machines sometimes have a tendency to crumble with age but all the other 5 feel solid with no issues. The often-missing thin wire Vib-Rola handle is intact as is the top cover with the patent number and the rather fragile unit is still functional. The knob, bridge and most crucially the horseshoe pickup unit are all original and intact showing some general wear.
The guitar is quite playable having recently undergone a neck reset and some work to the original frets. Amazingly enough considering it was designed in 1935 the original metal bridge is compensated for an UN-wound G string, so that is how it is set up. Included the extremely rare original HSC, very worn but still serviceable. Very Good + Condition.
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Beginning in the early 1930s Rickenbacker were the undisputed pioneers in the commercialization of the electric guitar, and this 1937 Ken Roberts Electric Spanish model is one of the most important, if relatively unknown, of their early creations. While the great bulk of Rickenbacker's (and indeed everybody's) 1930s electric business was in Hawaiian steels, the company experimented with regular "Spanish" guitars right from the beginning. Several different designs were built in very small numbers; while far less successful commercially they are important pieces of modern guitar history. In 1931 Rickenbacker's chief designer George Beauchamp created the first commercially successful electric guitar pickup using large horseshoe-shaped magnets and a central coil; the first generation instruments fitted with this unit were the best sounding and most practical of their day.
The first production Rickenbacker electric instruments were issued in later 1932 under the brand name "Electro". The initial line consisted of an all-aluminum Hawaiian guitar with a tiny circular body at the end of a long neck (nicknamed the "Frying Pan") and a wooden Spanish model built on a flat-topped body sub-contracted from the Harmony company. This Electro-branded Spanish-style instrument is exceptionally rare with only a very few sold in 1933-4.
In 1935 the company's line was expanded with a series of futuristic instruments made of molded Bakelite (including Hawaiian and Spanish guitars and a violin) and also included this re-worked wood-bodied guitar design, named for a Hollywood guitarist friend of Beauchamp's. Some of the design elements were originally suggested by the more famous Alvino Rey, who used an early prototype painted in his trademark white. By the time the model was ready for production Rey had defected to Gibson, so Ken Roberts' name was used instead making this the first electric instrument named for an endorser, albeit a very obscure one.
Along with its signature horseshoe pickup at the bridge position the Ken Roberts model is interesting for many reasons. The wooden body and neck were sourced from Harmony (Rickenbacker's factory lacked the facility to produce conventional wooden instruments) but the design was unique and specific to this instrument only. The flat-topped body is made of laminated mahogany and braced internally to support the heavy pickup and metal bridge. The "F" soundholes are on the instrument's lower bout with a single volume knob near the waist, the opposite arrangement of most guitars. The shaded sunburst top is triple bound and the back single bound. There was no pickguard but wear to this top shows why fitting one might have been a good idea!
The most striking feature is the extended neck, made from a single piece of maple with a bound rosewood fingerboard. While period arch-tops had 14-fret neck joints, the Ken Roberts fingerboard joins the body at the 17th fret allowing better access to the high frets. This was way ahead of its time, specifically suggested by Rey to extend the playing range of the electric guitar anticipating further developments of the 1950's. Rickenbacker specifically highlighted this extended range in their catalog listings. The headstock is solid, replacing the older-style slotted head used on the first Electro Spanish models, faced in flashy pearloid with the familiar Rickenbacker nameplate at the top. The tuners are the same individual metal-button units used on the Bakelite guitars.
Another revolutionary feature is the stock Kauffman Vib-Rola tailpiece; the Ken Roberts is not only the first electric guitar to feature a hand-operated vibrato as standard equipment, but the very first instrument of any type presaging generations of Stratocasters and Bigsbys. It also marks Rickenbacker's first link to the unit's originator, Clayton "Doc" Kauffman, who would become a design collaborator for the company. The tailpiece on this particular guitar is was made after Rickenbacker took the unit's manufacture in-house in 1937.
The bridge is a unique solid cast metal piece, adjustable for height with a compensating ridge anticipating similar Bigsby and Gibson designs by many years. This instrument was likely made in later 1937 or '38, based on the patent number stamped into the pickup flange. It is in many ways the first modern Electric Spanish guitar featuring extended fretboard access, a powerful bridge-position pickup, integral vibrato tailpiece and a metal bridge, all features years ahead of their time. Compared to Rickenbacker's heavy small-bodied 1935 Bakelite Model B Spanish, the Ken Roberts is both more conventional and more functional, with a standard wooden neck (instead of molded plastic) fretted in the conventional manner and a body that sits comfortably on the lap. The Ken Roberts guitar and amp set sold for $150 in 1937; the guitar could be had alone for $62.50.
Although mostly forgotten today, the Ken Roberts represents an important early step in the evolution of the modern electric guitar. This one is fully playable and sounds great; Beauchamp's pickup is still one of the best ever made! By the time this example was built, other "Spanish" electrics in the field (in particular Gibson's classy if more conventional ES-150) were re-defining the small market and the Ken Roberts design would soon slip out of production. This previously unknown example just surfaced recently and shows some wear (it was likely a gigging guitar at some point) but remains a fascinating piece of playable history.
Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 14 1/4 in. (36.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 in. (10.2 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 in. (635 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.).
This nearly 90-year old primal electric looks like it was someone's gigger back in the day (we'd love to know WHO!) but survives in solid playing and nearly all original condition. The original finish is unaltered showing general wear overall but remains largely intact; there is a large pickwear spot to the wood in the face (right where a pickguard could have been!) and some wear down to the wood on the back of the neck up to the fifth fret area. The rest of the instrument shows checking, dings, dents and scrapes with some blushing due to moisture on the upper back.
The original hardware remains complete except for the high E tuner which is a somewhat later mis-matched Grover. The sintered metal buttons on the original machines sometimes have a tendency to crumble with age but all the other 5 feel solid with no issues. The often-missing thin wire Vib-Rola handle is intact as is the top cover with the patent number and the rather fragile unit is still functional. The knob, bridge and most crucially the horseshoe pickup unit are all original and intact showing some general wear.
The guitar is quite playable having recently undergone a neck reset and some work to the original frets. Amazingly enough considering it was designed in 1935 the original metal bridge is compensated for an UN-wound G string, so that is how it is set up. Included the extremely rare original HSC, very worn but still serviceable. Very Good + Condition.
