Terminology: New Capri
The tweener of semi-hollowbodies
So technically, there is no such thing as a New Capri. That’s not a term Rickenbacker ever used. In fact, by the end of the “old” Capri’s run, Rickenbacker wasn’t even calling them Capris any more.
Yet there very clearly are guitars that aren’t the old-style Capris but aren’t quite modern 330s/360s either. Collectors needed some way to talk about them without explaining all of that every time, and so the term “New Capri” was born.
So let’s talk about the New Capris. And to do that, we have to start with the plain old Capris—the granddaddies of the modern semi-hollowbody Rickenbackers.
We’ve discussed here many times the astounding creative output of Roger Rossmeisl (click to learn more) between 1957 and 1958, but it’s worth a quick refresher on the flurry of activity that resulted in the Capri guitars. I promise we’ll go quick.
The 1954 Combo 600 & 800 (click to learn more)—which Rossmeisl didn’t actually design himself—was the starting point. In early 1957, Rossmeisl took that silhouette, reshaped the upper cutaway, and exaggerated the German carve (click to learn more) to create the Combo 850.
That shape lives on today in the 325C64 (click to learn more) and 350 (click to learn more). But the Combo 850 was a solidbody, unlike its semi-hollow descendants. In early 1958, Rossmeisl took the Combo 850 shape and carved out the back to create the “Polynesian” prototype (click to learn more)—the first modern Rickenbacker semi-hollowbodied guitar.
This would quickly be simplified—losing the time-consuming German carved top—to create the foundation for the short-scale Capri models.
Rossmeisl would then take the small body and stretch it slightly.
And with a couple of final tweaks—widening the body and adding a slash soundhole—the 24.75-inch-scale Capri was born.
You can certainly see the family resemblance with the modern 330 (click to learn more), but the design still wasn’t quite all the way there yet.
Still, it was enough to build a brand identity around. The “Capri Series, Thin Body” launched in 1958 with twelve models: four in “3/4 scale” and eight “full size.” Rickenbacker, as we know it today, had arrived.
It took a year or so for the specs to finalize—three-piece maple bodies, 6 1/8 inch slash soundholes, four knob/one switch controls, split-level pickguard, trapeze tailpiece or Kauffman Vibrola (click to learn more)—but once they did, the template was set. That’s not to say the Capri models didn’t see some changes over the years: the backs changed from plywood to solid maple, and the Kauffman was replaced by the Accent vibrato (click to learn more). But the basic shape and electronics remained.
To easily differentiate these early guitars—including the short-scale models—we refer to the model number, followed by Capri. So the guitar above is a 335 Capri. Use that exact term, and everyone knows exactly which 335 you’re talking about.
About that name: Capri. When every single source gives you the same explanation, it’s either really right or really wrong. I could tell you the guitars were named to evoke the glamorous Italian island of the same name, or the ancient Greek word “kapros,” meaning wild goat, which may be where the island got its name. But every single source says it was named after the Hall family cat, Capri. I expect that’s right.
By 1960 “Capri” had disappeared from the price list, with the models being referred to simply as “310-375 Series, Thin Body.” Why did the Capri name get dropped? We’ll likely never know. But in collector-speak, that original silhouette would remain a Capri forever.
After the 1958 product line was finalized, with no more suggestions or requests coming from F.C. Hall, Roger Rossmeisl found himself without much to do except build guitars. He played around with some acoustic models which never made it into production. Bored, with friction building with shop manager Ward Deaton, Rossmeisl probably knew his time with Rickenbacker was coming to an end. But he had one last masterpiece up his sleeve.
In mid-1961, Rossmeisl took the existing Capri body and enlarged the horns, lowered and pinched the waist slightly, and reduced the body depth from 2 inches to 1 1/2 inches. The New Capri had arrived.
Now you may look at that shape and say, “that looks like a regular old 330 or a 360OS.” You’re absolutely right—it does. Mostly. So what sets it apart and makes it a New Capri?
Less than you might think. It’s the plastic bits—gold plastics (click to learn more) and cooker knobs carried over from the original Capris. That’s it.
Almost. The other difference isn’t easy to spot: the lower body bout on the New Capri is 15 1/4 inches wide, compared to the modern guitar’s 15 inches.
The New Capris did introduce one additional new feature designed to address one of the biggest complaints players had about their predecessors—imbalanced pickups.
Until 1984 or so, most two or three-pickup Rickenbackers featured a .0047µF high-pass filter—referred to today as the “vintage tone circuit” (click to learn more)—on the bridge pickup that significantly reduced the pickup’s bass response and output.
The New Capri introduced the fifth, “blend” knob (click to learn more) to allow the pickups’ levels to be equalized.
Not a lot of New Capris exist. They didn’t appear until mid-1961, 1962 production was relatively low thanks to the factory’s move from Los Angeles to Santa Ana early in the year, and by the end of 1963 the New Capri was no more.
What killed the New Capri? I won’t say it was this particular guitar, but it’s as good a “time of death” as any.
Rickenbacker had introduced white pickguards on solidbody models as early as 1958, and by 1961 all solidbodies were so equipped—although they still featured gold truss rod covers. Those would be replaced by white in 1962, leaving only the New Capris still wearing gold plastics.
So by 1963 gold plastics’ days were numbered—as was the slightly larger body. Harrison’s guitar, built in December, wasn’t the very first semi-hollowbodied guitar to get the same white plastics, black Kurz-Kach knobs and slightly smaller body, but it was a very early example.
There are no short-scale New Capris for two good reasons. First, the original short-scale Capri was not redesigned along with the full-scale models. And that’s because—reason number two—the short-scale Capris had been a flop. None were produced after 1960. If a certain guitarist hadn’t bought the very same V81 325 we saw F.C. Hall holding earlier in a Hamburg music store in 1960, Rickenbacker may very well have never built another semi-hollowbodied short-scale guitar.
So we have guitars made for a relatively short period, with a unique set of features and no official factory designation. That’s just begging for a collector classification. Ergo, the New Capri: no longer the old Capri, but not quite the modern guitar either.
After 1963 the 330 is just a 330, and the 360 is an Old Style/OS (click to learn more) or a New Style/NS—or, when the distinction doesn’t matter, just a plain old 360. But that’s a whole separate story.
And that’s how the New Capri became Rickenbacker’s own Schrödinger’s cat—simultaneously existing and not existing at the same time. Which only seems fair given the Capri’s original namesake.
re: "Now you may look at that shape and say, “that looks like a regular old 330 or a 360OS.” You’re absolutely right—it does. Mostly. So what sets it apart and makes it a New Capri?
Less than you might think. It’s the plastic bits—gold plastics (click to learn more) and cooker knobs carried over from the original Capris. That’s it."
We that's it... except the body is a different shape than the regular old 330 or a 360OS. Which is what makes it a New Capri, not the plastic bits, nor the knobs. That's actually not it...