Paul McCartney used a Hofner bass in the early years of Beatlemania but soon had a Fireglo twin-pickup Rick bass, an early Model 4001S with dot inlays and no bindings. Its features closely resembled those of the Rose, Morris Model 1999 later played and made even more famous by Chris Squire of Yes. These solid body basses-which seemed so modern in the 1960s-used horseshoe pickups in the bridge position, thus proving the validity of Beauchamp's original 1930s design. Good ideas are timeless.

While Paul's Rick bass surged like an undertow, George Harrison's double-bound 360/12 (the second one made by the company) defined a new tone at the other end of the audio spectrum. Its ringing sound embellished "You Can't Do That," "Eight Days a Week," and "A Hard Day's Night," to name just three 12-string cuts from the 1964-65 period. Thus the Beatles created unprecedented, international interest in Rickenbackers, which many fans actually believed came from Britain.

Soon Rickenbackers created the sound and image of bands on both sides of the Atlantic. Jim (later Roger) McGuinn-who bought a Rickenbacker 360/12 after seeing the movie "A Hard Day's Night"-literally made the bell-like quality of its tone the foundation of the Byrds' early style. His later 3-pickup 370/12 featured custom wiring, but was still for the most part an off-the-rack instrument. The Who's Peter Townshend, Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty, Steppenwolf's John Kay, and many other well-known 1960s guitarists became faithful Rickenbacker users. What had been a six-week waiting period from the factory for some models became a six-month (or longer) waiting period in the mid 1960s.

This rapid growth in demand led to changes in the company. Before 1964 all Rickenbacker guitars had been made at the original Electro String factory in Los Angeles. That year Hall moved it over a six month period to Santa Ana, in nearby Orange County. Despite the disruption in production during the transition, the new factory had increased production capacity. During this same period, the distributor Radio-Tele changed names to Rickenbacker, Inc., thus adopting a moniker people had used all along anyway. The company also added several novel guitars to its line.

The so-called convertibles came equipped with a lever that changed a 12-string neck into a 6-string neck. The Model 331- commonly called the "Light Show Guitar" because of its frequency-modulated internally-lit body-reflected the psychedelic 1960s in both sound and substance. The flashing began when the player hit the strings: yellow for treble notes, red for mid-range, and blue for bass. (Rickenbacker also produced a kaleidoscopic light projector called the Phantasmagorian.) Other oddities included the Bantar ( 5-string banjo meets electric guitar) and Eddie Peabody's Banjoline (a 6-string with Ac'cent Vibrato that tuned like a 4-string tenor guitar). Rickenbacker introduced the hollow body 4-string 4005 and 6-string 4005-6 basses in the late 1960s. Several custom-ordered 8-string basses were also produced.

In the 1970s, Rickenbacker added guitars with detachable necks and redesigned single- and double-coil pickups. A patented feature on some new models, and an option on others, was slanted frets, which better matched the angle of the player's hand. Two double-neck instruments became standard items: the model 4080 bass/guitar and the model 362/12 6/12-string. Rickenbacker basses dominated production during the early years of the decade-in many circles, a Rick bass was the only one to own. Then bands such as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and R.E.M. hit like their 1960s forerunners, using Rickenbacker 6- and 12-strings. As the saying goes, fashions go in and out of style. Style is always in fashion.

Today the manufacturing and distribution of Rickenbacker guitars and basses is combined into RIC, the name used since F.C. Hall retired in September 1984 and John Hall, along with his wife Cindalee, became the sole owners of the company. RIC retains the spirit of first-class pre-1965 electric guitar manufacturing and craftsmanship. In addition to newly designed guitars and basses, the company offers faithful reissues of the classics played by the Beatles and other famous artists. RIC has offered highly successful, limited-edition signature models endorsed by such diverse players as Roger McGuinn, Pete Townshend, Tom Petty, Carl Wilson, and John Kay. Improvements in construction and quality control have carried Rickenbackers into the modern era, one that respects the company's early history and at the same time sets out to write new chapters. Groups like Oasis, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, U2, and other of today's top acts include Rickenbacker guitars in their musical arsenal.

A DJ once asked George Harrison if he liked a guitar he doodled on during a radio interview. Harrison is said to have quickly replied, "Of course, it's a Rickenbacker!" Asked the same question 65 years after the invention of modern electrics, thousands of satisfied guitar players would say exactly the same thing.