Edge_Orchestra
Rock n' Roll Doggie FOB
The neck on Rickenbacker's are thinner than most guitars. They are great guitars, easy to play and sound fantastic.
The Edge's Rickbenbacker's are 12-strings. I heard that Dallas bought him a few Ric 6-strings at Chicago Guitar Exchange a few years back but I have not seen him use one nor have I seen any pictures of him using one.
Ric 12-strings guitars have a unique appearance. They might initially appear as 6-string due to the tuning head configuration. Looking at it head on, one sees the tuners for 6-strings. Three facing up and three facing down. That said, there are SIX that are facing the back of the neck, like on a banjo.
The other unique thing about Ric 12-strings is the string position. A 12-string is essentially a 6-string with a second smaller octave string next to the low pitch (bigger string) 'E', 'A', 'D' and 'G' strings. So the main 'E' has a higher octave 'e' next to it, etc. Except for the 'B' and (high pitch / smaller) 'e' string - which have unison strings. So the 'B' has a 'B' of the same pitch and size. And the (high pitch / smaller) 'e' string has an 'e' of the same pitch and size.
That said, MOST 12-strings have the octave string ABOVE the root note/main string. Rickenbacker has the octave string BELOW the root note/main string - as they wanted to have their electric 12-strings to appeal more to standard 6-string players (Per The Rickenbacker Book by Tony Bacon)
Ric's are pricey and the price are going up. But they are great and worth saving for! One could buy new but one can get decent deals on Craigslist and Ebay too. Obviously, buyer beware when buying guitars on an auction site or online. Good news with Craigslist is you might find someone near that has one that you can drive over/bus over/train over and play the guitar FIRST before buying, which is ideal when possible.
Difference between The Edge's vintage Rickenbacker's and newer Rickenbacker guitars? There are a few. Notice that The Edge likes then from the mid-1960's. First Ric was a 1967. The fireglo Ric used for "Sometimes..." [during the Vertigo tour] was from 1965 or 1966.
[Guitar World 2005 feature called it a 1965 but the recent Music Radar article mentions (2) 1966 Fireglo Rics - Dallas was the source for the GW and Music Radar articles so why the difference? I'm uncertain]
The mapleglo Ric, used for "Mysterious Ways" the past two tours is from 1967. [Although Dallas said this one was from 1966 in the GW article from 2005].
The fact is, Rics from 1964 through 1968 were pretty similar - the the exact vintage from them in that 'era' is not the most important thing.
There WAS a change in Rickenbacker guitars starting in 1969. In 1969, Rickenbacker began phasing in the use of a 24-fret neck vs. the 21-fret neck that had been previously used on Rickenbacker's. Edge's are all of the mid-1960's / 21-fret variety.
Hope this has been helpful.
The Edge's Rickbenbacker's are 12-strings. I heard that Dallas bought him a few Ric 6-strings at Chicago Guitar Exchange a few years back but I have not seen him use one nor have I seen any pictures of him using one.
Ric 12-strings guitars have a unique appearance. They might initially appear as 6-string due to the tuning head configuration. Looking at it head on, one sees the tuners for 6-strings. Three facing up and three facing down. That said, there are SIX that are facing the back of the neck, like on a banjo.
The other unique thing about Ric 12-strings is the string position. A 12-string is essentially a 6-string with a second smaller octave string next to the low pitch (bigger string) 'E', 'A', 'D' and 'G' strings. So the main 'E' has a higher octave 'e' next to it, etc. Except for the 'B' and (high pitch / smaller) 'e' string - which have unison strings. So the 'B' has a 'B' of the same pitch and size. And the (high pitch / smaller) 'e' string has an 'e' of the same pitch and size.
That said, MOST 12-strings have the octave string ABOVE the root note/main string. Rickenbacker has the octave string BELOW the root note/main string - as they wanted to have their electric 12-strings to appeal more to standard 6-string players (Per The Rickenbacker Book by Tony Bacon)
Ric's are pricey and the price are going up. But they are great and worth saving for! One could buy new but one can get decent deals on Craigslist and Ebay too. Obviously, buyer beware when buying guitars on an auction site or online. Good news with Craigslist is you might find someone near that has one that you can drive over/bus over/train over and play the guitar FIRST before buying, which is ideal when possible.
Difference between The Edge's vintage Rickenbacker's and newer Rickenbacker guitars? There are a few. Notice that The Edge likes then from the mid-1960's. First Ric was a 1967. The fireglo Ric used for "Sometimes..." [during the Vertigo tour] was from 1965 or 1966.
[Guitar World 2005 feature called it a 1965 but the recent Music Radar article mentions (2) 1966 Fireglo Rics - Dallas was the source for the GW and Music Radar articles so why the difference? I'm uncertain]
The mapleglo Ric, used for "Mysterious Ways" the past two tours is from 1967. [Although Dallas said this one was from 1966 in the GW article from 2005].
The fact is, Rics from 1964 through 1968 were pretty similar - the the exact vintage from them in that 'era' is not the most important thing.
There WAS a change in Rickenbacker guitars starting in 1969. In 1969, Rickenbacker began phasing in the use of a 24-fret neck vs. the 21-fret neck that had been previously used on Rickenbacker's. Edge's are all of the mid-1960's / 21-fret variety.
Hope this has been helpful.
Really? Cool! Great deal too. I'd love to have one [Rickenbacker] but they're a bit too pricey for me. Especially that Maple-Glo finish. Makes me. What's the neck like on yours? I need to try one out sometime as they seem like really great guitars. I'm talking 6 string here not 12. One more question, is Edge's Maple-Glo a 6 or 12 string?
EO!
Edge_O, I am terribly impressed!!! All I know is "oooohhh pretty" for some of these. 
Thanks very much for that! I always thought they were 6 string guitars cause of the headstock but now I know. I don't know much about Rickenbacker guitars other than they look and sound awesome. I can tell you a load about Gibson since I studied a ton on them. Now I can proudly walk into a guitar store and say "Blah blah blah...the tuners are like this...blah blah blah."
