Rickenbacker 325

The Rickenbacker 325 is the first of the Capri series of hollow body guitars released in 1958 by Rickenbacker.

Overview
It was designed by Roger Rossmeisl, a guitar craftsman from a family of German instrument makers. Production models were 20-3/4" short scale, dot fretboard inlays, and a small (12-3/4" wide) body. The body is unbound, semi-hollow, with 2 o'clock angled sound hole (although re-issues lack a sound hole due to the Lennon connection), and boasts the "crescent moon"-style cutaways. This series is currently available only in "C" reissue form. These instruments gained prominence due to John Lennon's use of a 325 during the early years of The Beatles. John Lennon's 1958 model was among the very first batch made and has the pre-production feature of a solid top, i.e., no sound hole. All subsequent production short-scale 300-series Rickenbackers (310, 315, 320, 325) had sound holes until the late 1970s.

Notable players

 * John Lennon played 325s and their assorted variants during the 1960s (Including a 12-string made to match his second 325). A replica of Lennon's 325 is available as a guitar controller for The Beatles: Rock Band.
 * Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles played the 325 and its full scale variant, the model 350 (Hoffs even received her own signature version of the 350).
 * Toots Thielemans used a Combo 400 guitar in the 1950s and may have inspired John Lennon, a fan of Toots, into buying a Rickenbacker himself.
 * John Fogerty played his Fireglo 325 on many Creedence Clearwater Revival songs. He can be seen playing it in footage from CCR's 1970 Royal Albert Hall performance.
 * Maurice Gibb of Bee Gees has used the 325 on all live performances in the late 1980's until 2003.