Short Takes: The 1964 Randy Bachman 375
The first custom color New Style 360?
You’ve probably heard this guitar’s story told like so: in 1964 a young Winnipeg guitarist, like so many others that year, saw the Beatles on TV and said “I want a Rickenbacker just like George Harrison’s.” Only our young Canadian wanted his to have six strings, and be brown like Harrison’s Gretsch. So he marched down to his local music store—Lowe’s in Winnipeg—and placed a custom order for exactly that.
And when it arrived, he was a little disappointed to see it looked nothing like George’s—it was one of the first of the “New Style” 360 family (click to learn more) with its rounded-over body and cutaways. And it wasn’t brown, either. It was burgundy. Still, it was his, and he loved it, and it helped carry him to fame.
You’ve heard that story because that’s the way Randy Bachman—who would shortly thereafter achieve fame in the Guess Who, and later Bachman-Turner Overdrive—tells it. And on the face of it, it makes sense. But here’s the funny thing about it: the story doesn’t completely add up when you look at it closely.
Memory is a funny thing. Over time, details that feel like they should belong make their way into the memory, and what “actually” happened gets quietly reshaped to fit the new narrative. It’s not a conscious process, it just happens.
So let’s talk about what we do know for a fact. Bachman did custom-order a Rickenbacker with a “natural walnut” finish from Lowe’s in 1964—which matches Harrison’s Gretsch Country Gentleman’s finish. And this guitar, produced in October 1964, is what he received several months later:
What really excites Rickenbacker fans about this guitar isn’t really Bachman’s ownership—although that certainly gives it a good story. It’s the color: Burgundy. Specifically, it’s the first known Burgundy-finished “Spanish” guitar Rickenbacker produced.
Rickenbacker wasn’t exactly in the one-off custom-color business. And while F.C. Hall wasn’t one to turn down a sale—especially on a brand new guitar model like the New Style 360—the factory was already stretched thin trying to churn out guitars for Rose Morris, the company’s UK distributor. So they likely turned to a color already in the Rickenbacker arsenal and declared it “close enough”.
Burgundy had been in use since the early 1950s on lap and console steels—most notably on the Model 100 lap steel. So they likely pulled a can of that off the shelf, sprayed Bachman’s guitar, then moved on. One can even imagine a memo going out to the field afterwards saying something to the effect of “no more custom colors”.
That last bit is pure speculation, of course. But the numbers from the Smith book (click to learn more)—which must be taken with a grain of salt as they reflect sales figures rather than production numbers—do lend some circumstantial support as they show only three guitars produced in “other” colors in 1964.
But those same numbers cast the first real doubt on Bachman’s story. Of those three “other” color guitars sold in 1964, two are 375s—which seems awfully coincidental. Maybe the guitar wasn’t built directly in response to Bachman’s order. Maybe it was a factory experiment that just happened to coincide with his order and the same “close enough” logic was applied. We’ll likely never know. What we do know is that the second “other” color 375 has yet to be discovered—that could help answer some questions.
But the real problem with Bachman’s story is the timing. He specifically says he wanted a guitar like Harrison’s, but with six strings and not finished in Fireglo. So let’s walk through the timeline of Harrison’s guitar—and why it’s difficult—but not impossible!—to reconcile that timeline with Bachman’s.
The guitar was built in November 1963. It was given to Harrison in New York during the Beatles’ first visit to the US on February 8, 1964. While the Beatles would appear on the Ed Sullivan Show three times during February (the third, on the 23rd was pre-recorded at the same time as their first appearance on the 9th), George would not play the Rickenbacker on any of them. February 1964 was North America’s introduction to the Beatles—and the Rickenbacker was not part of it.
The Rickenbacker made its first public appearance the day the Beatles got back from the U.S.—February 23rd—at a taping for the UK TV show “Big Night Out” which aired on the 29th. In the UK only. Most of March and April were spent recording and filming “A Hard Day’s Night,” both of which would, of course, heavily feature the Rickenbacker.
A handful of UK concerts and TV appearances occurred during this period—most notably a March 25th appearance on “Top of the Pops” (filmed on the 19th)—that did feature the Rickenbacker. But none of these TV appearances would be broadcast in North America.
North America’s first exposure to the Rickenbacker would occur on May 24th on the Ed Sullivan Show. The broadcast featured an interview with the band—filmed in the UK—and a prerecorded performance of “You Can’t Do That” which featured George on his Rickenbacker.
If Randy Bachman decided he wanted a Rickenbacker because he had seen George with one, this was his first likely possible exposure. And yes—The Ed Sullivan Show aired in Canada.
On August 11th “A Hard Day’s Night” premiered in the U.S., and with it George’s Rickenbacker became unavoidable. This was reinforced by a tour of the U.S. and Canada beginning August 19th, 1964, which featured the Rickenbacker prominently onstage. By the end of the month, the linkage between George Harrison and the Rickenbacker was unmistakable.
So let’s talk briefly about Bachman’s 375. The New Style 360 guitars entered production in August 1964—terrible timing given the sudden surge in interest in the Old Style 360. Bachman’s was built in October. Apart from the custom color, all other features are exactly what they should be—even the fancy Van Ghent tuners (click to learn more), which were standard on early production New Styles.
Let’s say Bachman did make his mind up on May 24th when Harrison’s Rickenbacker first appeared on his television screen, and marched down to Lowe’s Music in Winnipeg the very next day to place his order. It could have happened that way, and the timing would probably work.
But this raises an obvious question: why would he have ordered a three-pickup, vibrato-equipped 375 when Harrison’s 360/12 had only two pickups and no vibrato? There are a couple of plausible explanations.
One ties back to our happy coincidence theory—his custom-color order for a 360 arrived at around the same time an experimental Burgundy guitar had been produced and was looking for a home. And so Rickenbacker figuratively shrugged and said “close enough”.
The second is that it wasn’t a copy of George’s guitar he ordered—he ordered a copy of John’s, but with the same finish as George’s Gretsch. Let’s examine the evidence. This is the price list Lowe’s likely would have had when Bachman placed his order:
Remember that this was well before the internet, when you couldn’t just pull out your phone and compare guitar models. Rickenbacker was still a relatively unknown brand, and that piece of paper was likely all Bachman and Lowe’s had to guide his order.
And yes, it’s a 1962 price list. There was no 1963 version, and the 1964 price list didn’t appear until July, which makes it doubtful Lowe’s had it at the time the order was placed. This 1962 list is likely what they were working from.
Consider this: which Beatle’s Rickenbacker was immediately visible— right from that very first Ed Sullivan appearance—and featured three pickups and a vibrato? It wasn’t George’s.
Either of these scenarios fits the facts better than Bachman’s recollection. But that doesn’t mean his story is wrong—it’s possible that a mix of these factors led him to end up with this specific guitar. That’s the thing about memory: over time our minds fill in the blanks to make it all make sense.
Burgundy would become a official factory color in 1968—although it would be rechristened Burgundyglo—and would stay in production through 1984. Funnily, it would lose its -glo and become just Burgundy again in 1976. It would later reappear as the 2002 Color of the Year.
In 1965 Chad Allen and the Expressions would release a single as the Guess Who? in an attempt by their label to imply that the record was secretly recorded by a British Invasion band incognito. Which band? Guess who? The name stuck and the Guess Who (without Allen, who left to return to college) would go on to score 14 Top Forty hits in the U.S. and over 30 in Canada.
Regardless of its true origin, Randy Bachman’s 1964 375 is an iconic piece of Rickenbacker’s history. Its unusual Burgundy finish, early place in the New Style 360 lineup, and connection to a young guitarist inspired by the Beatles make it a story worth telling. Whether it was a happy coincidence, a subtle nod to John Lennon’s instrument, or a mix of both, the guitar represents the way inspiration, timing, and factory quirks can come together to create something memorable.
Beyond its technical specs, this 375 captures a moment in musical history: the arrival of the Beatles in North America, the early days of a Canadian rock legend, and the emergence of a color that would become a lasting part of Rickenbacker lore. For collectors, players, and historians alike, it’s more than a guitar—it’s a piece of story, memory, music, and mystery all rolled into one.