Rickenbacker Model 365F Capri Owned and Used by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1960), made in Los Angeles, serial # 2V067, mapleglo natural lacquer finish, laminated maple body and neck, Padouk fingerboard, original grey/green hard shell case.
Rickenbacker has created a number of iconic instruments over the last 90+ years; some have become classics, while others have disappeared into obscurity. This Capri Model 365-F is one of the latter, and also one of the rarest and more unusual! The Rickenbacker 300 F-series "Full Body" models were originally offered as part of the Capri series starting in 1958-9, but despite remaining on the price lists well into the 1960s were produced in such tiny numbers as to be effectively discontinued almost immediately.
The "Full body" designation referred primarily to width rather than depth; the flat-topped hollow body is almost 17" wide but only 2 3/8" deep at the rim. The body shape with the single rounded treble-side cutaway is more traditional (and less striking visually) than the standard Model 310-375 familiar to most players; it was referred to as "semi-cutaway" in the company catalog and may have been intended to woo more conservative players to the Rickenbacker camp.
This guitar's other features are classic late-'50s Rickenbacker, including the "toaster-top" chrome pickups, double elevated gold-backed Lucite pickguard, "oven" style control knobs, gold nameplate on the headstock, rare long-plate Accent vibrato tailpiece (with the cool musical note motif) and adjustable four-point bridge. The finish on this guitar is "Mapleglo" which is the company's moniker for a clear natural lacquer. The top and back are bound with the distinctive checkerboard pattern around the top edge seen on many deluxe Rickenbackers.
The neck is the standard Rickenbacker laminated maple/walnut style with a single truss rod, not the double-rod system introduced soon after. The fingerboard is bound and inlaid with the early style "slash" inlay that is another Rickenbacker trademark. Due to the different and far more substantial heel design, the whole instrument has a much more solid feel and these full-body guitars do not suffer the neck-angle issues that often plague the more familiar Capri models.
As well as looking like no other instrument, the 365-F is a unique feeling guitar. The large body with no arching gives it a slightly "flattened" look but it plays pretty much the same as more familiar period Rickenbacker Capris. The sound falls into the traditional Rickenbacker sonic niche, but with added acoustic depth and warmth due to the much larger body cavity.
The "F" models were prominently featured in Rickenbacker's 1958-9 color catalog but sales-wise were far less successful commercially than the more familiar double cutaway Capri models-only a small number of any given model were been produced before the entire series slid into obscurity. There is some debate about the limited production figures of these guitars but this 365-F in Mapleglo is a very rare instrument! The serial number on the jackplate is in Rickenbacker's early non-dated series, The "2V" prefix indicating correctly this is a two-pickup, vibrato equipped guitar. The original pots are coded to the 6th week of 1960 conveniently dating the guitar's finishing out to that year.
These full-body guitars are now seldom encountered in any condition. They had few prominent users when new although Jimmy Bryant endorsed them briefly in the early '60s before moving on to Magnatone. As well as being one of the very few original "F" model Capris we have had, this one has a cool provenance having lived for a time in the Wilco loft in Chicago.
Overall length is 41 3/8 in. (105.1 cm.), 16 7/8 in. (42.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 2 3/8 in. (6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This is a worn-in but fine playing example of this early full-body Rickenbacker Capri. There has been some parts restoration but no major structural repairs and the finish remains entirely original. There is general wear over the entire instrument with fine checking to the clear finish on the body and dings, dents and scrapes; the back has what looks like a small cigarette burn and there is a noticeable wear spot to the top just behind the cutaway. The beck of the neck has wear to the wood and some feelable dings and dents, but nothing too distracting. This guitar was someone's gigger long ago; the guitar appears fairly heavily used but not abused. The fingerboard has fairly wear through the lacquer up much of its length; this was not a "Cowboy Chord" guitar but belonged to some kind of hot picker!
The pickups, wiring, knobs, bridge, vibrato unit (including the fragile handle) jack plate (a bit bent but intact) and tuners remain original; there is general wear to most components. The twin gold pickguards and truss rod plate are expertly done correct reproductions. The small screws holding the pickups together are replacements; someone had bizarrely removed then long ago! The rubber grommets under the pickguards and pickups are mostly correct replacements.
The original frets have been crowned down with some subsequent wear; the guitar still plays well but a heavy string-bending player will likely lean to replacing them. The nut is a replacement, bone instead of the original composite. Sonically this guitar performs exactly as expected, sounding great with the classic Rickenbacker chime enhanced by a deeper body resonance.
The original rectangular hard case is present showing more wear than the guitar, well worn with a noticeable repair along the back edge of the lid. It is still functional and the latches are intact; the Wilco loft markings are still attached to the bottom edge. This is a well used guitar but still a very rare piece and a fine a package of Rickenbacker delight! Overall Very Good + Condition.
