There are so many topics I haven’t covered yet here.
At any given point I have around fifty ideas in the queue. Some are very close to done, but I just lost interest somewhere along the way. Eventually I’ll come back to them—the recently-published article on pickguards (click to learn more) is a good example of that. That one had been sitting around almost done for over a year!
Most have some research done, and are just sitting there waiting for me to get inspired to finish. And a bunch are just titles or topics waiting for their turn. The 370/12V64 has been in that bucket for a long time.
You want to know what one of the most-requested topics is? “Why haven’t you covered the 370/12V64 yet?”
The answer is that every time somebody asks, I take a another quick look and come to the conclusion: there’s nothing to really talk about. Yes, three pickup 360/12V64s exist, and yes, the collector community calls them 370/12V64s, but as far as any “official” mention of the model in press releases, price lists, or order sheets? Nothing. What am I supposed to say?
There’s just one inconvenient fact I keep butting up against: as far as warranty cards and case labels are concerned, the 370/12V64 does exist.
So what gives? On some level it officially exists. We have proof. And the guitar itself is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: a 360/12V64 (click to learn more) with a third pickup. Like so.
The real question isn’t “does this thing exist?” because it clearly does. The real question is “why is there no paper trail?” Every other vintage reissue came with fanfare and press releases. Why didn’t the 370/12V64? The answer is depressingly mundane.
When John Hall bought Rickenbacker from his father in 1984, one of the first things he did was prune the catalog. Several models—like the three-pickup 340 and 370—moved off the “main” price list to the “special order” list. That’s fact one.
Now those two models would come on and off the price list over the next twenty years, and during one of those “off” periods—1988, to be specific—“add a third pickup” was added as an option. So even though the 340 and 370 weren’t “on” the price list, you could effectively order one by clicking the “add a third pickup” option. That’s fact two.
And when you ordered a 330 or 360 and ticked the “add a third pickup” option, the internal build sheets and warranty cards didn’t say “330 with third pickup” or “360 special.” They said “340” or “370” because that’s what they were, price list or no. That’s fact three.
Now, before I put those three facts together—and I’m guessing you’ve already done that—there’s one more thing you should know. The handful of documented examples we can point to today? There is no rhyme or reason to them. They come from multiple years, multiple months. This is not a forgotten special run.
And so the answer to the “mystery” of the 370/12V64 is as boring as it is obvious. There was no press release announcing the 370/12V64 because there was nothing to announce. People custom ordered a 360/12V64 with a third pickup, and the factory treated those orders just like it would a custom order for a regular 360 with a third pickup. Call it a 370 on the paperwork because everyone on the shop floor knows what that means when the work order comes through.
Don’t believe me? John Hall confirms it in the comments below. The SKU 99991 seen on the warranty card signifies “special order.”
Sometimes a mystery isn’t actually a mystery at all. Still a cool guitar, though. And now you can stop asking me to talk about the 370/12V64.
With a SKU of 99991, this guitar is a completely model which was specially ordered by some store or distributor- not a standard production item.