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Author
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Topic: Rickenbacher Frypan Questions
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Harry Sheppard
Member From: Kalispell, MT USA
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posted 16 February 2004 08:12 PM
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I have a few questions for you Rickenbacher Frypan owners. I have a very, very early 7 string frypan, SN 063. I think it may be one of the first if not the first 7 string frypan made. I know the early frypans had a 25" scale, solid necks, "Electro" engraved on the headstock as well as the thick pickup magnets. I read somewhere that Scotty's frypan was SN 027 which has these features. Mine is an A22 with a hollow neck, brass badge and regular pickup magnets but has "pat pend" stamped at the end of the bridge on the body. The pickup mounts have no stamp on them and look almost hand made but are original. It has only a single octagonal volume knob. Are there any other 7 strings with a lower serial number or does anybody know the serial number where the A22 frypans started? What serial number did they start stamping "Pat Pend" on the pickup mounts? Has anyone ever seen a 7 string A25 with the longer scale? Any info would be appreciated and yes, it sounds amazing. I have a picture but don't know how to post it.Harry |
J D Sauser
Member From: E-03700-DENIA (Costa Blanca), Spain
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posted 20 February 2004 01:48 PM
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I can't answer your question directly nor do I own a 7 string Frypan. But it seems interesting to me that owning an A22 6 string with serial number #079, mine does not show the patent "pending stamping" anywhere on the body.
Maybe this could indicate that 7 stringers were numbered separately, but that would seem odd.
I held Scotty Sr's A25 in my hands years ago and don't believe that the neck was solid, but hollow like all others I've seen, but then my memory might play tricks on me...
Scotty's has those really thick magnet plates, that's something that caught my attention.Hope any of things might help puzzling the story together... J-D. |
Jeff Watson
Member From: Palos Verdes, CA, USA
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posted 20 February 2004 06:48 PM
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Well since the discussion kinda involves frypan serial #'s, I've always wondered about mine...#00115. Anybody have or know anything about the double 00 serial #'s? My 6 string A22 has no pat. pend. stamps anywhere[This message was edited by Jeff Watson on 20 February 2004 at 06:53 PM.] |
Harry Sheppard
Member From: Kalispell, MT USA
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posted 20 February 2004 08:18 PM
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Thanks for the replies guys. I was beginning to think nobody else had one of these things. J-D, does your frypan have "pat pend" stamped on the pickup mounting bracket? How about yours Jeff? I have very good pictures of Serial Number 00144 frypan which is a 6 string A22 but can not tell if it is stamped on the pickup mount but it looks like it is not. I don't know when they went to the OO serial # but it looks like it may have been 0 up to 99 after 00 after 100 maybe? I have also seen serial numbers which start with an "A" and look like a later series but still prewar features. Any other frypan owners out there? Harry |
J D Sauser
Member From: E-03700-DENIA (Costa Blanca), Spain
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posted 21 February 2004 07:26 AM
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Mine has no patent related markings ANYWHERE.
Checking on that, just dicoverded that mine is a double O too... it's 0079.
... J-D.
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Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 21 February 2004 09:56 AM
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A22 ... Patent Pend. ... # B355 I'm on the "hunt" for a prewar A25 ... got my wife primed for the buy ... Just need to find one. ------------------
www.horseshoemagnets.com |
Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 21 February 2004 10:04 AM
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Here's a nice Time-line site ... |
Harry Sheppard
Member From: Kalispell, MT USA
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posted 21 February 2004 11:34 AM
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Thanks for the info Rick. Now we have 4 different series of serial numbers for prewar frypans. I am pretty sure the serial numbers on the 6 string Bakelites are in order and all begin with "C". I don't remember, but I think the 7 string Bakelites start with a different prefix.Rick, there is a pretty beat up A25 post war frypan on ebay right now which would look great with one of your new pickups. Harry |
Jeff Watson
Member From: Palos Verdes, CA, USA
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posted 21 February 2004 01:02 PM
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My 7 string bakelite has a C serial # (C2120) and my frypan is not stamped pat. pend. anywhere. Thanks for the info on the OO serial #'s. |
Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 21 February 2004 02:05 PM
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Harry .. I saw that poor thing. It would be a nice one to drop a set of my new L-series assemblies into ... if it stays at the opening price ... I'd like to see whats under those "bandages" though ...  |
Harry Sheppard
Member From: Kalispell, MT USA
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posted 22 February 2004 08:33 AM
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Thanks for all the information everyone. From the few frypans serial numbers I have it looks like the the earliest ones only have a "0" prefix and the serial number is stamped on the treble side of the end of the headstock. The "00" prefixes are stamped on the top of the end of the headstock (or at least 00144 is). Maybe they realized after the first batch that there was not enough room on the side to put more than 3 numbers? As for mine having "pat pend" stamped on the body, I looked in Smith's History of Rickenbacker book and found that patent number 2,089,171 was applied for the Frying Pan and the Horseshoe pickup. It was applied for on June 2,1934 but not granted until 1937. Maybe frypans before this application date have "pat pend" stamped on the body and after they applied for the patent, they just stopped putting it on the guitars? It shows up again on the pickup mounts when the Bakelites come out in 1935. The picture of the frypan on the bottom of page 29 in the book shows the "pat pend" stamp on the body below the bridge. They show it as a 1935 model which may be incorrect.The production totals in the book show 17 Hawaiian sets produced from 1928-1932, 95 instruments in 1933 which includes spanish guitars and maybe amps?, and 275 instuments in 1934. Frypans - 0, 00, A, B prefixes
Bakelites - "C" prefixes
Silver Hawaiians - "D" prefixes
Model 59 - "E" prefixes Any ideas on why frypans use both "A" and "B" prefixes? I would guess they started with "A" and "B" when the Bakelites came out with "C"? Are "B" model frypans long scale? Based on changes to each model, it looks like all the serial numbers are in order and not random. Harry |
Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 22 February 2004 08:45 AM
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My "B355" is an A22. |
Bill Creller
Member From: Saginaw, Michigan, USA
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posted 23 February 2004 06:38 AM
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Hi Harry My seven string frypan has the PAT PEND on the bridge area also. It's a hollow neck, with 22 3/8 actual scale measurement. I always theorize that it was 22 1/2 before the aluminum cooled in the mold!!! I don't remember the so-called serial #, but from what I have learned about the numbers, they may be a number for a certain run at the foundry , as opposed to a continuous number from day-one of production.
Cheers BILL |
Ray Montee
Member From: Portland, OR, USA
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posted 02 March 2004 02:03 PM
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another one on eBay today messed up with pedals. |
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