In Rickenbacker’s “Thin Full-Body” (thin depth, full width) F-series, as in the Capri series, number 375 signaled the top model. The 375F came with all the trimmings, including three pickups, a vibrato, triangular fingerboard inlays, and body binding.

The F-series models featured Rickenbacker’s most traditional design, but on the vibrato-equipped models, the side-pull Kauffman unit went beyond tradition, and not in a good way. Invented by Clayton Orr “Doc” Kaufmann, Leo Fender’s original partner (they made electric Hawaiians and amps under the K&F brand in 1946), the Kauffman vibrato had appeared on Rickenbackers as early as 1935. Compared to the Bigsby units that Gibsons and Gretsches sported in the early 1950s, or the Fender unit that debuted on Stratocasters in 1954, the Kauffman was an ancient relic.

Even with more modern vibratos, the F-series guitars, with their single-cutaway design, failed to inspire guitar buyers. Production totals show less than 40 of the plainer 330F family, the last of which were made in 1963. The fancier models lasted a decade longer but never sold in respectable numbers.