Rickenbacker Serial Number Formats
YYMMNNN (7 digits)(1984-present)Year, month, and production sequence. All made in Santa Ana, CA.
Letter + Letter + digits(1961-1986)First letter = year, second letter = month.
Where to Find Your Rickenbacker Serial Number
- ▶On the jack plate
- ▶Inside the control cavity
Tips
- ▶Rickenbacker is one of the few brands that exclusively manufactures in the USA.
Spotting Counterfeit Rickenbacker Guitars
Rickenbacker counterfeits are a significant problem. Since all genuine Rickenbackers are made in Santa Ana, California, and the company aggressively pursues counterfeiters, fake "Rics" have several telltale signs.
Tailpiece & Bridge▼
- ▶Genuine Rickenbacker "R" tailpieces have oval string-through holes. Fakes commonly have round holes — this is one of the easiest checks.
- ▶The bridge should be a genuine Rickenbacker unit with 6 individual saddles. Generic bridges or badly spaced saddles indicate a fake.
- ▶Body binding does not continue under the tailpiece on genuine Rickenbackers. If the binding wraps under the tailpiece, it's a fake.
Jack Plate & Electronics▼
- ▶The "Ric-o-Sound" stereo jack plate (on dual-output models) should have the correct engraving and layout. Fakes often have a plain, unmarked jack plate.
- ▶Rickenbacker uses a unique wiring harness with specific capacitor values. Generic electronics visible through the control cover are a sign of a counterfeit.
- ▶The toaster-top and hi-gain pickups should have the Rickenbacker logo. Unbranded pickups are a giveaway.
Neck & Truss Rod▼
- ▶Genuine Rickenbackers use dual truss rods with a truss rod cover that has two Allen key access points. A single truss rod or a standard hex nut adjustment is wrong.
- ▶The truss rods should be imperial (inch) size. If the truss rod adjustment takes metric Allen keys, the guitar is a fake.
- ▶The neck profile on Rickenbackers is distinctively slim and has a lacquered finish. A chunky, unfinished, or oily-feeling neck is inconsistent with genuine production.
Body & Finish▼
- ▶Rickenbacker uses a distinctive "cresting wave" body shape. The body contours should be smooth and symmetrical — asymmetry or rough shaping is a red flag.
- ▶The "R" trapeze tailpiece, shark-tooth fretboard inlays, and checkered binding (on certain models) should all be precise and clean.
- ▶Genuine Rickenbackers have a consistent, high-quality lacquer finish. Thick polyester finishes with an overly glossy, plastic feel are suspect.
Verification & Reporting▼
- ▶Rickenbacker maintains a serial number verification system. Contact them directly to verify your serial number.
- ▶Rickenbacker has a counterfeit reporting page on their website — they actively pursue sellers of fake Rics.
- ▶Only buy from authorized Rickenbacker dealers. Their dealer network is smaller and more exclusive than most brands.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are Rickenbacker guitars made?▼
All Rickenbacker guitars are made in Santa Ana, California, where the company has been based since the 1950s. Rickenbacker employs roughly 60 people and produces approximately 8,000-12,000 instruments per year — one of the smallest production volumes of any major guitar brand. They have never outsourced production overseas.
What Rickenbacker did The Beatles use?▼
John Lennon played a 325 short-scale semi-hollow that he purchased in Hamburg in 1960. George Harrison received a 360/12 twelve-string directly from Rickenbacker president F.C. Hall in February 1964, just weeks after The Ed Sullivan Show. Harrison's use of the 360/12 on "A Hard Day's Night" defined the sound of the British Invasion and prompted Roger McGuinn of The Byrds to buy one immediately after.
Are Rickenbacker guitars hard to counterfeit?▼
Rickenbacker has unique construction details — dual truss rods with specific imperial hex key access, oval holes in the "R" tailpiece, specific jack plate engraving, and stereo "Ric-o-Sound" wiring — that are very difficult to replicate correctly. Rickenbacker also actively litigates against counterfeiters, which limits how openly fakes can be sold. Still, copies do exist; enter your serial number above to verify authenticity.
Rickenbacker Links & Resources
Rickenbacker Gallery
More About Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker has a legitimate claim to having invented the electric guitar. Adolph Rickenbacker and George Beauchamp, working in Los Angeles, created the "Frying Pan" — a lap steel guitar with an electromagnetic pickup — in 1931, receiving a patent in 1937. It was the first commercially produced electric stringed instrument. The round-body electric guitar as we know it today traces directly to this innovation.
The company found its most culturally significant moment in the early 1960s when John Lennon bought a 325 model in Hamburg, Germany in 1960, and when F.C. Hall personally presented George Harrison with a 360/12 twelve-string in February 1964 — the instrument Harrison played on "A Hard Day's Night." The resulting explosion of interest in Rickenbacker guitars permanently associated the brand with the jangly sound of the British Invasion.
Rickenbacker remains one of the only major guitar brands that has never been acquired by a conglomerate. The company is still based in Santa Ana, California, where it has manufactured every Rickenbacker guitar sold since the 1950s. The brand is notable for its aggressive pursuit of counterfeiters — Rickenbacker copies are widely available from Chinese manufacturers, but the company actively litigates against them, making the "Made in USA" designation a meaningful authentication point.