Circa 1938 Rickenbacher Model B Lap Steel
Circa 1938 Rickenbacher Model B Lap Steel. In the 1930’s, the design of amplified electric guitars was in it’s infancy. Plenty of ideas were tried out and see what really worked. Though this lap steel design is unusual in the 21st century, it has withstod the test of time, still being a good playing and sounding instrument. Per the standard catalog description of the day, the body is made of black Bakelite, the horseshoe magnet pickup is 1/1’2 wide, one volume & one tone control potentiometers, 5 really cool chrome plated plates on the top, and the Rickenbacher Electro tag screwed to the peghead. Though in overall excellent condition there are a few minor issues. 1) The potentiometers are a little noisy and should be cleaned. 2) the die cast pot metal tuner knobs are disintegrating and some are loose, creating sympathetic buzzes when certain frequencies are played on the strings. I leave those possible repairs to you, the new owner, to work on. Or not. On your lap, this instrument weighs 8-1/2 pounds. In the case it is about 15-1/2 pounds. Our case included price is only $1,850, that’s less than $120 per pound!