1935/36 RICKENBACKER MODEL B RICKENBACHER ELECTRO LAP STEEL GUITAR W/LUDWIG CASE

Description

1935/36 RICKENBACKER MODEL B RICKENBACHER ELECTRO LAP STEEL GUITAR W/LUDWIG CASE.
Amazing estate find... sold exactly as pictured - amazing condition for its age
It appears to be all original and 100% complete but inspect the picturesand you be the judge. It also has a custom fitted hardshell case with handle from Ludwig Music House in St Louis. There is some mjnor cosmetic wear, but the guitar itself remains in amazing condition for its age...
Only one like this available for sale anywhere on the internet!!
made in Los Angeles, California polished black finish, molded Bakelite body
This is a super vibey and great sounding example of a pre-WWII Rickenbacker (spelled Rickenbacher on the nameplate) Model B-6 six-string Bakelite steel guitar.
These instruments were the standard of their day and are still generally considered the finest-sounding lap steel ever made. This B-6 features the famous 1 1/2″ horseshoe magnet pickup found only on pre-war guitars and strings loading through the body, the combination of features generally considered to produce the finest sound.
The body is molded black Bakelite with hollow cavities covered by chromed metal plates; the screwed-on neck has integral molded frets and nut with inset white position dots.
The Horseshoe magnet pickup is adjustable for height with knurled knobs.
The ORIGINAL single volume control is mounted on the treble side topped with an octagonal black plastic knob with an arrow pointer typical of the 1930s. On these earlier models the output jack is mounted on the bass side of the body, where the audience couldn’t see it.
The body is marked below the bridge with a patent number; the pickup mounting flange is marked “Pat. No. 1881229” which dates it to earlier than mid-1937.
As with all the early Bakelite Rickenbackers, this is a predictably great-sounding steel, an extremely nice example of the most sought-after player’s instrument of its type. This one appears played but well taken care of abd still sings with that unmistakable Model B tone. Overall length is 29 3/4 in. (75.6 cm.), 9 1/2 in. (24.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 22 9/16 in. (573 mm.). Width of nut is 2 1/4 in. (57 mm.).