It was not an optical illusion or a special effect from a computer designer – the frets really were mounted at an angle on this Rickenbacker 360/SF (SF for Slanted Frets).

Gretsch was the first major company to introduce the concept of “slanted frets”; it’s T-Zone fingerboard had frets in the upper register mounted at a slight angle (the opposite angle of Rickenbacker’s slant) to provide better intonation. However, Rickenbacker’s goal for slanted frets was simply to match the natural angle of the fingers of the left hand, to make the guitar more comfortable to play. The pickups seem to have fallen under the influence of the frets, too, as they were mounted at an angle.

While the slanted frets may have helped playability, they hurt the aesthetic of this model. The triangular fingerboard inlays that distinguished the 360 from lower models would not have lined up with thse frets, and the dor inlays showed that Rickenbacker didn’t have enough confidence in the SF to redesign it’s high-end inlays.