In June 1965, the Byrds released their heretical version of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man." Although the song shocked folk purists who had yet to hear Dylan strum electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival, it quickly shot to number one on the Billboard Top 40, and folk-rock was officially born. The vocals and lyrics were captivating, but it was Roger McGuinn's shimmering Rickenbacker electric 12-string that mesmerized listeners.
So strong was its spell that when later guitarists like R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, Tom Petty or Mike Campbell picked up an electric 12, they referenced McGuinn's ringing riffs. Sixty years after he cut those trademark tones, McGuinn remains the undisputed king of jangle.
“I still didn't know what an electric 12-string was, but when the Beatles released ‘A Hard Day's Night,’ I had to find out how they were getting that sound,” McGuinn says. “So we made a reconnaissance run to a movie theater that was showing A Hard Day's Night and took notes.
“Ringo had Ludwig drums and John had that little Rickenbacker 325. George played a Gretsch most of the time, but he also had a Rickenbacker 360, which looked like a six-string, until he turned sideways and you could see six extra tuning pegs emerging from behind the headstock, like a classical guitar. Once I realized what it was, I traded in my Gibson acoustic 12 and bought a Rickenbacker 360/12.
"I practiced eight hours a day on that Rick,” he continues. “I really worked it. In those days, acoustic 12s had wide necks and thick strings that were spaced pretty far apart, so they were hard to play. But the Rick's slim neck and low action let me explore jazz and blues scales up and down the fretboard, and incorporate more hammer-ons and pull-offs into my solos.
“I also translated some of my banjo picking techniques to the 12-string. By combining a flatpick with metal fingerpicks on my middle and ring fingers, I discovered I could instantly switch from fast single-note runs to banjo rolls and get the best of both worlds."
After wrangling a one-single deal with Columbia, the Byrds chose "Mr. Tambourine Man,” an outtake from a recent Dylan session, as their ticket to stardom. But producer Terry Melcher deemed the group too green to lay down the groove, and only McGuinn, the Byrds' sole studio veteran, was permitted to play. Accompaniment was provided by the Wrecking Crew, L.A.’s premier session group that tracked hits for the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel and many others.
"I had five years of session work behind me," McGuinn elaborates, "so the record company trusted me. It was a real honor to play with the Wrecking Crew. They were so cool they drove around in Cadillacs and wore black leather jackets like a little motorcycle gang.
“I remember hearing the playback for the first time. I went, ‘Whoa, did we do that?’"
— Roger McGuinn
“Larry Knechtel played that great bass part. He tuned his lowest string down to D, so he could start the ascending slide from an open string. I remember hearing the playback for the first time. We were in Columbia's Studio A — a huge room — sitting on the floor, listening to six-foot speaker cabinets. I went, ‘Whoa, did we do that?’ It was so creamy and rich, and, with Larry’s bass line, I knew we had something.
“We recorded 'Mr. Tambourine Man in January, but it was six months before the single came out, and that was frustrating. I almost left the Byrds for another band because it didn't seem like the record would ever get released."
While tracking with the Wrecking Crew, McGuinn discovered a key ingredient of his signature sound.
"The Rick by itself is kind of thuddy," he details. "It doesn't ring. But if you add a compressor, you get that long sustain. To be honest, I found this by accident. The engineer, Ray Gerhardt, would run compressors on everything to protect his precious equipment from loud rock and roll.”
McGuinn laughs at the memory. “He compressed the heck out of my 12-string, and it sounded so great we decided to use two tube compressors [likely Teletronix LA-2As] in series, and then go directly into the board. That's how I got my jingle-jangle tone. It's really squashed down, but it jumps out from the radio.
“With compression, I found I could hold a note for three or four seconds. Without compression, I couldn't have sustained the riff's first note."
— Roger McGuinn
“With compression, I found I could hold a note for three or four seconds, and sound more like a wind instrument. Later, this led me to emulate John Coltrane's saxophone on 'Eight Miles High.’ Without compression, I couldn't have sustained the riff's first note."
The arrangement of the Rickenbacker 360/12's octave strings has a profound effect on McGuinn's chimey timbres.
"The pairs are reversed," he explains, "compared to typical 12-string guitars. After experimenting with the traditional setup, [former Rickenbacker head] F.C. Hall decided that having the high octave strings come after the low strings made for a bigger sound. Tom Petty had the high strings first on his 360/12, and it doesn't sound the same as my guitar. I prefer the stock low-high configuration."
The strings themselves are also significant, McGuinn asserts: "I use Pyramid strings, which are handmade in Germany with great attention to detail. They have a similar tonal quality as Rickenbacker strings from '64 and '65, which were also made in Germany, and were crucial to the Beatles' 12-string sound as well as the sound we were getting early on.
“Gradually, Rickenbacker strings changed in texture. They became a little more round wound — not quite as flat, not quite as smooth, and not quite as lustrous. Not to put down other strings, but Pyramid 12-string sets really sound better. They're also a little heavier, so you have to adjust your setup a bit. But their gauge works well for me, because for the last 15 or 20 years, I've been tuning down a half-step. While that's mostly for my voice, detuning has advantages for the Rick: It makes the action a little lower, puts less stress on the neck and adds more bottom."
Fans of ringing Rics will recall that McGuinn covered the Beatles' "If I Needed Someone" on his 2004 album, Limited Edition. The song was written and sung by Harrison, who played a 12-string on the track.
“George was a good friend," McGuinn says, "and when he passed away, I wanted to pay him a musical tribute. To tackle a Beatles song is daunting, but I feel connected to 'If I Needed Someone.’ After George wrote the song, he gave a recording of it to Derek Taylor, the Beatles' former press officer who was then the Byrds' publicist. Derek came over to my house with the tape and said, 'George wants you to know he wrote this song based on your lick in "The Bells of Rhymney."" So we had some cross pollination."
