Rickenbacker / Combo 450-12 / 1977 / Fireglo (Shaded Red With Some Yellow) / Guitar For Sale
Double cutaway solid body with pointed horns (Cresting-Wave Style) with neck-through-body construction. This Fireglo 13-inch-wide solid-body 12-string with a 'cresting-wave' shape weighs just 7.30 lbs. fat nut width of 1 11/16 inches and a scale length of 25 inches. Double cutaway maple body with neck-through-body construction. One-piece maple neck, rosewood fretboard with 21 original medium-to-thin frets and white dot position markers. Serial number "QE 2152" stamped onto bridge/tailpiece assembly. Headstock with opaque white plastic, crescent-shaped plate lettered in white "Rickenbacker" and secured with three screws. Individual dual-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons. Two Rickenbacker 'High-Gain' Single-Coil pickups, both with two height-adjustment screws and outputs of 12.38k and 12.40k. Single-layer opaque white plastic pickguard with eight screws. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way pickup selector switch and jack socket, all on pickguard. The potentiometers are stamped stamped "137 763X" (last number obscured by solder) and 137 7642" (CTS, October & November 1976). Seven-sided black plastic knobs with metal tops with black lettering. Rickenbacker pre compensated aluminium bridge with two height-adjustment screws which in turn sits on a Rickenbacker chrome-plated tailpiece secured by five screws. Inside the control cavity, written in pencil is "R-450/12". There are a few very minor surface marks on the edges but this thirty-four year old solid-body twelve-string guitar is still in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. Housed in the original Rickenbacker three-latch, rectangular Silver-Gray case with black leather ends and blue plush lining (9.00)
"The 450/12 (introduced in late 1964) was the first production model solid body electric twelve string by Rickenbacker. It was simply a twelve string version of the Model 450. The 450-12 was discontinued in 1985."
According to Richard Smith's book, just twelve Fireglo 450-12's were shipped in 1964; three-hundred and thirty-six (all colors) in 1965 and four hundred and eighty-four (all colors) in 1966. After that it would appear that these fine solid-body 12-string guitars were made in rather smaller numbers - probably to order.
Fretted Americana , USA 
We specialize in acquiring and offering the finest specimens of American vintage electric guitars with particular attention to those in their complete, original state. We are the only dealer to embrace a written code of ethics (in Terms & Conditions). We encourage you to read it.
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