I own an original 1969 Model 381/12, NOT a reissue. The serial number is IA 333. I purchased the guitar in 2008 from Brian Carman, who worked at RIC for 20 years.
Brian passed in 2015 so I can't ask him, so I'll address the group. The serial number -- IA 333 -- is in white lettering on the jack plate, not etched in the metal. I'm thinking this guitar was a prototype that Brian and the factory completed in the early Nineties. True, the 381/12 was included in Rickenbacker literature then, yet the only example I'm aware of is on page 194 of the Richard Smith book -- a photo of the band, The New Establishment. To date, neither John Hall nor his son have responded to my inquiries about this specific instrument. Anybody?
This is a fascinating question and I’d love to see some pictures and get some answers. The Rickenbacker Market Watch group on Facebook would be a better forum for that—more likely to get engagement from the experts there.
I own an original 1969 Model 381/12, NOT a reissue. The serial number is IA 333. I purchased the guitar in 2008 from Brian Carman, who worked at RIC for 20 years.
Brian passed in 2015 so I can't ask him, so I'll address the group. The serial number -- IA 333 -- is in white lettering on the jack plate, not etched in the metal. I'm thinking this guitar was a prototype that Brian and the factory completed in the early Nineties. True, the 381/12 was included in Rickenbacker literature then, yet the only example I'm aware of is on page 194 of the Richard Smith book -- a photo of the band, The New Establishment. To date, neither John Hall nor his son have responded to my inquiries about this specific instrument. Anybody?
This is a fascinating question and I’d love to see some pictures and get some answers. The Rickenbacker Market Watch group on Facebook would be a better forum for that—more likely to get engagement from the experts there.