RICKENBACKER PICKUPS

Martin Kelly – author of Rickenbacker Guitars 1931-1999: Out Of The Frying Pan Into The Fireglo – straightens out the subject of Rickenbacker pickups

- Martin Kelly

Rickenbacker co-founder George Beauchamp invented the electric guitar pickup in 1931 but they didn’t start manufacturing electric instruments until late 1932,” says Martin. “His pickup design featured two large horseshoe-shaped magnets to boost the signal, necessary because the suitable amplification was yet to be developed, plus the original coil slugs were made from non-magnetized ferrous metal. Pioneering times!

“The original application of the horseshoe pickup wasn’t just for ‘frying pan’ lap steels; Rickenbacker launched an electric Spanish guitar at exactly the same moment. Interestingly though, their very first ‘Electro Spanish’ featured a revolutionary 17th fret neck joint. Beauchamp was clearly aware of the electric guitar’s potential from the outset as players could now solo up the dusty end and actually be heard!

“Although the horseshoe was well suited to lap steels, it was actually the thing that held Rickenbacker back. They were very slow in realising their design wasn’t suited for Spanish-style playing as its huge magnets cover the strings in the exact spot where the player needs access. Rickenbacker’s competitors, companies like Gibson and Vega, initially copied the horseshoe concept but quickly abandoned the idea and moved on to designs that sat under the stings, out of the way.” [RB]

1 HORSESHOE