Roger McGuinn of The Byrds wasn’t the first rock guitarist to play an electric 12-string, but his opening lick on the group’s 1965 hit “Mr. Tambourine Man” immediately established the 12-string as a rock’n’roll instrument.

McGuinn’s guitar was a Rickenbacker 360/12, with two pickups and the rounded-top “new style” construction (one of only six made in 1964). He had seen George Harrison playing one in the Beatles film “A Hard Day’s Night”, and he immediately traded in a banjo and an acoustic 12-string to get one for himself. Early in 1966, he sent it back to the factory for a third pickup, making it a 370/12. It disappeared shortly thereafter, and McGuinn acquired another 360/12.

In 1988, Rickenbacker honored McGuinn’s contributions to the company’s success with a limited-edition signature version of the 370/12, offered in Mapleglo (natural, like McGuinn’s original), Fireglo (red sunburst) or Jetglo (black). After the production run of 1,000 sold out, Rickenbacker continued to offer the 370/12 without McGuinn’s signature and custom circuitry.