Rickenbacker don't just make visually stunning guitars; they were first company to put electric guitars into general production. That was back in 1932, decades before the rock 'n' roll explosion that propelled them into public consciousness. More specifically, they were The Beatles' weapons of choice.

Before reaching international fame, John Lennon had owned a Rickenbacker 325 Capri, which, after modification, eventually appeared on the Beatles' trendsetting stint on 'The Ed Sullivan Show'. Following that, Rickenbacker developed a now-classic 12 string model as a one-off for Lennon, which featured a headstock that held all 12 machine heads by alternate-mounting them at right angles to each other.

George Harrison was given the second-ever prototype of one of Rickenbacker's 12-strings which he used extensively during the recording of 'A Hard Day's Night'. It's not all just a look either - Rickenbackers pioneered using "stereo" pickups that could be separated and hooked up to different equipment. In addition they strengthened their necks with double truss rods.