1931 RICKENBACKER STEEL SLIDE GUITAR

[touchngo]

HOW MUCH IS MINE WORTH?
WITH CASE, PRISTEEN CONDITION?

[Spud1950]

The Rickenbacker frying pan lap steels are highly collectible. In pristine condition and being the first year of manufacture, from what I've seen others of varying years and condition value may be $2500-$3000,but that's just a semi educated guess.Being that it has significant collector value,best thing is to get a professional appraisal. You can get an online appraisal from Gruhn for $50.Well worth the money to get it appraised and documented.Go here and click on "Appraisal" for details.

[jeff mercer]

Touchngo,
Rickenbacker made literally dozens of different lap steel models. Without photos or detailed info, we'd all just be guessing what you've got..

As Spud says, an original Aluminium Frypan is worth some pretty serious dough, followed by the bakelite B6 models, also quite valuable, but Rickenbacker also marketed many "budget" steels that fetch only a fraction of the price of those mentioned...

Got some photos you can post ?

Also, serial number would help..1931 is VERY early in Ricky company production..again, would love to see a pic, could then help for sure !
Cheers.

[Spud1950]

I assumed it is a frying pan because from everthing I've read,the cast aluminum frying pan or "A" model was the only lap steel model made by Rickenbacker from 1931,the year the company was established, until 1935 when addtional models,such as the "B" model Bakelite bodied lap steels were added.It actually did not go on sale to the public until 1932.There were two models,the A22,which is 22.5 scale length and the A 25,which is longer 25" scale length.Here's info on Rickenbacker lap steels.



Also,it may not be that early of a model because as the site above says:

"1932 to 1954 serial numbers
Serial numbers on these early models are unreliable. Some dating can be done by patent numbers printed on the guitar. This would be the earliest possible date of the instrument. "

[touchngo]

FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO PHOTOS! THANK YOU TO ALL OF THOSE WHO HAVVE BEEN SO PATIENT WITH ME. YOUR TIME AND YOUR ADVICE IS MOST APPRECIATED!

[Spud1950]

Well,that is not a frying pan. It's either a pre war model 59 or post war model NS.They look almost exactly the same.The earliest it can be is 1939,first year for the shaded gray finish model 59.Not worth near as much as an early frying pan.Your's is in beautiful condition,except for missing the tuner knobs,which are replaceble without having to change the original tuners themselves. I'll see if I can figure out exactly which model it is.

Edit - Biggest clue is the width of the pickup.Pre war model 59 will have a 1 1/2" pickup width. Post war model NS will have a 1 1/4" pickup width. Measure yours and let me know. Then I can check and get some idea as to what it's worth.

[Riotonsunset]

Hi,your Rickenbacker is a post war model S or NS with a Gray Hammertone finish. You can tell it is a post war model because it has both a volume and tone knob,a sticker on the headstock rather than a metal plate and it has an adjustable pickup. Rickenbacker made these from 1946 through the early 50's.

[Spud1950]

You got it right, Riot. I was close,but didn't read the info carefully enough to catch all the details. Also, interesting to note that it has the older spelling of the company name, Rickenbacher.


"1934 to 1949: "Rickenbacher" is spelled with an "h", not "k" in the "bacher" portion of the name.
1950 to present: "Rickenbacker" spelled with a "k". "

So,since they first appeared in 1946, I guess that narrows the dating down to 1946 - 1949.

[Riotonsunset]

There was a 1946 model like it on ebay that sold for $436