Short Takes: The OTHER 1964 360S/12

A detour on the road from prototype to production

So I know we discussed the 360S/12 (click to learn more) just the other day, but I left one out.

I did so for two reasons. First, it’s “different”—different enough that it didn’t quite fit the narrative of that post. Second, I wasn’t entirely convinced it actually WAS a 360S/12, precisely because of that difference. But I knew it deserved a write-up of its own…when I got around to it.

Since then, the experts have weighed in. And they have confirmed that yes, it is indeed a 360S/12. Or at least that’s the consensus. And so if we’re going to completely tell the story of the Rickenbacker twelve-string’s journey from prototype to production, here it is: 360S/12 serial number DE524 from May 1964.

1964 360S/12

Now you can see my hesitation, right? An unbound neck. Dot inlays. That’s clearly a pre-production 1993, right?

Well…that’s not the whole story. I didn’t show you all of it.

1964 360S/12 headstock

That headstock…let’s talk about that headstock. Maybe the back will make what’s going on a little clearer.

1964 360S/12 headstock rear

The “sideways” tuners are gone—replaced by banjo tuners—and they’ve all been shifted downward to make them fit. And here’s the part that really messes with your expectations: the headstock itself isn’t any longer. Believe it or not, it’s the same length as a “normal” slotted Rickenbacker twelve-string headstock.

1964 360S/12 headstock compared to “standard”

So…why does this exist? We can’t say for sure—but I have a pretty good theory. As innovative as the original slotted design was, it had a practical problem. And the problem was simple: the truss rod cover just didn’t fit.

Now let me apologize for this picture—I wouldn’t use it if I had a better option—but it perfectly illustrates the issue. Here is an early twelve-string headstock—one of the 360S/12s, in fact—with a standard truss rod cover attached to show what was happening.

1964 360S/12 headstock with standard truss rod cover

You can clearly see the problem—the cover impedes or completely blocks access to three of the four slotted tuners. And it’s made worse by the original headstock layout—note how the slots run straight and perfectly parallel.

Here’s how they dealt with it on the Suzi Arden 360/12 (click to learn more)—twelve-string prototype number one:

1963 Suzi Arden 360/12 headstock

You can clearly see how the cover was manually reshaped to fit whatever space was available without blocking the tuner channels. The “solution” was clearly reactive—cut until it cleared. The hack job is even more extreme on Pete Townshend’s 360S/12:

Townshend’s 360S/12 headstock

All of these first twelve-string guitars have the same problem—and each one wears a slightly different, hand-modified truss rod cover as a result. That adds time. That adds cost. And it undercuts the clean brand look and feel Rickenbacker wanted to establish.

So what’s the fix? Well, this guitar represents one potential solution. Did it solve the problem? Sure. Did it respect F.C. Hall’s original brief for a short headstock? Also yes. Did it look a little goofy in the process? Absolutely.

And that’s why it was a dead end.

Rickenbacker didn’t just need a twelve-string that worked—they needed one that could be built efficiently and look like it was meant to exist. This—while effective—lacked…elegance.

1964 360S/12

So what was the ultimate solution? What made it onto the production 1993s?

Well, there was no way to completely avoid reshaping the truss rod cover. There simply wasn’t enough real estate available on the headstock. But it could be lessened—quite a bit—by giving a slight outward flare to the ends of the tuner slots.

July 1964 1993 headstock with flared tuner slots

Some manual truss rod cover reshaping was still required, yes, and they were clearly still figuring out how best to do so on this first 1993 production run with their “stubby” truss rod covers. But it was better.

Better enough to standardize. Better enough to scale.

October 1964 360/12 “New Style” headstock

By the time the next twelve-string production batch rolled around—the first batch of “New Style” 360/12s in October 1964—they’d pretty well sorted out the process. And that’s the look we’re all used to today.

And that’s why this 360S/12 deserved its own write-up. Not because it’s a little goofy—although it is!—but because it shows Rickenbacker in the act of moving from improvisation to deliberate design, completing the twelve-string’s journey from prototype to production.

You can learn more about the other 360S/12 guitars here—or check out our newly redesigned site map to see what else we’ve covered!