Since his sad and early death, back in 2017, prices on the Tom Petty signature model Rickenbacker 660 12-strings have shot up astronomically. Every one of these superb instruments was lovingly hand-crafted in the Rickenbacker custom shop, to Petty’s exact specifications, making them something more than just a regular production model with a signature printed on the back of the headstock.
Millimetre precise
With a body shape loosely based on the 1957 ‘650 Combo’ model, and necks painstakingly hand-shaped to Petty’s millimetre precise stipulation, so demanding was the build process that the guitars were being produced one by one for three years before their 1991 debut! That 1991 launch followed hot on the heels of Petty’s classic Full Moon Fever album racking up sales of 5 million.
Player friendly
Rickenbacker at the time classed the neck profile of the guitar as a ‘modern-C’, however, slightly wider than your regular Ric neck, (another Petty stipulation, in conjunction with a wider nut width, of 1¾”), to our hands, it feels more like a slightly rounded D, making for one of the most player friendly 12-string necks you will ever experience.
Stunningly resonant
Body and neck are both solid Eastern Rock Maple, with solid, neck-through construction. The combination is stunningly resonant, with possibly the most sustain we’ve ever encountered in an electric guitar – around 18 seconds of natural decay!
Vintage
Bound and lacquered Rosewood fingerboard, with real pearl inlays; historic checkerboard body binding; vintage-style knobs; specially reproduced vintage-style tuners; trapeze tailpiece; unique twelve saddle Tune-o-matic bridge, (another Tom Petty insistence), for better intonation; and a vintage reproduction Rickenbacker case. You can see why it took three years to build up supply before the release date.
Jingle-jangle
On the electronics side, Rickenbacker’s authentic vintage style “toaster” pickups, with separate volume and tone controls, plus the Ric “fifth knob” blend control, all ensure that the classic Tom Petty/Byrds jingle-jangle is right there at your fingertips.
Exclusive
The matching gold split-level lucite pickguards and truss-rod cover were exclusive to the Tom Petty model, and, as shown in pics # 4 and 6, the original signature pickguard – the upper of the Rickenbacker two-piece pickguard arrangement – was broken at some point, with a genuine Rickenbacker plain replacement fitted. The original is in the case, and we dare say a talented fine-arts student could knock you up a replica of the original.
Only 187
The vast majority of the Tom Petty signature model 660-12 were finished in Fireglo. Only 187 were sprayed in Jetglo, (including 1 only lefty), which works out to around twenty percent. Needless to say, a rare guitar, in an even more rare color. This is also the lowest production number currently available anywhere in the world, (See pic # 7).
Certificate of Authenticity
Completed in November of 1991, this rare instrument comes complete with its original numbered Certificate of Authenticity, case candy, and will arrive at your doorstep set up to perfection, with new strings, and in its original vintage reissue Rickenbacker hard case.
Free courier delivery
As always, FREE COURIER DELIVERY is included to any address in Australia. ($100 airfreight to New Zealand, $175 to the US, Canada, UK and mainstream European countries)
Weight: 8lb 2.9oz / 3.7kg
Just Guitars
