1967 Rickenbacker 366-12 Convertible

At first sight what we have is a 50-year-old Rickenbacker 12-string in wonderful condition, offering all the appropriate early Beatles and Byrds sounds to enable you to create some jingle-jangle mornings of your own. However, you soon begin to notice the strange metal comb-like construction under the guitar’s neck pick-up… so what’s all this about, then?

The electric 12-string came about in the late 1950s/early 60s with companies like Danelectro pioneering their Bellzouki and Gibson chipping in with a few models of their own. But it was Rickenbacker’s 12-string series that found fame in the hands of many guitarists of the day, the allure of the fuller, slightly chorused sound they heard on The Beatles’ Hard Day’s Night doubtless fuelling the situation further. The trouble was, if you featured your electric 12-string in only a couple of songs from your set, you needed two guitars – until inventor James Gross formed a cunning plan to help solve the dilemma. He invented the ‘converter comb’ as the device pictured here came to be called.

The principle was a simple one; the assembly comprised six hooks on a lever that grabbed the 12’s secondary strings and pulled them down, away from the playing area, leaving the player with a six string guitar – in essence, anyway. In theory it was now possible to enjoy the benefits of both six- and 12-string sounds from a single instrument. Of course, as far as the player’s left hand was concerned, it was still fretting a 12-string, making bending strings virtually out of the question. But if it was the sounds of the two separate instruments that you were after, it seemed like a good solution. Sadly, the 366-12 Convertible never really found favour and, after entering the catalogue in 1966, was discontinued in 1974, the model remaining a curiosity amongst collectors eager to snap up a lesser known part of Rickenbacker’s history. Guitarist would like to thank Vintage ‘n’ Rare Guitars, Bath for giving us access to this fascinating instrument. www.vintageandrareguitars.com

Seen here, Rickenbacker’s ‘Fireglo’ finish is arguably the one with which the company is primarily associated – other finishes include ‘Jetglo’ (black) and ‘Mapleglo’ (natural) Headstock A practical solution for the 12-string’s infamous ‘top heavy’...