Rickenbacker 220 Hamburg, turquoise, made in USA 1994. Rickenbacker launched the 200 Series in the mid 1980s, designed as trimmed-down models with less bling, simple hardware, sleek ergonomics and outstanding durability. The 220 'Hamburg' was only made for a couple of years as a successor to the slightly wider 230 model, before the whole series was discontinued around 1996. This has some classic Ric touches: 24 frets, dual truss rod, solid maple body, teardrop guard, Schaller tuners. It also has some more unusual appointments: a bolt-on neck with a maple board, a cool top-loader 'Combi' bridge and a pair of mini humbucking pickups. The neck feels great: it's a slim D shape, finished in satin, sturdy and straight with pretty good access all the way to the 24th fret. The pickups are terrific, the thing sounds amazing. It's bright and clear like a Telecaster, but with a gritty midrange girth more like a Firebird or an SG, all on tap on a guitar that plays more like a hardtail Mustang. It's perfect for punk stuff especially, that bridge pickup delivers a juicy growl with a full low end and a perfect crispy bite on the top. The turquoise finish is a fun departure from the usual black and burst finishes Ric offer, it catches the light beautifully and has a nice amount of natural play wear in the nitro clearcoat. This has the original case and some docs, which is a handy bonus for a more unusual model like this. I really like this one, it's such a fun guitar to play and just radiates class and attitude.

Model: Rickenbacker 220
Made: 1994, USA (serial C79455)
Finish: turquoise, gloss nitro
Body: solid maple
Neck: maple, maple cap fretboard, 25" scale, 12" radius, 41mm nut, slim D shape
Weight: 3.795kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Rickenbacker mini-humbucker x2
Case: Rickenbacker deluxe ABS hard case 

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some dimples and scuffs on the end and a couple of scuffs on the back around the tuners. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor rub wear and some scuffs on the back only, most notably at the headstock end. The back has a chip in the middle near the pickup height screws, some scuffs and dimples along the back edge as well as some light scuffs around the horns and elbow area. The sides have some minor dimples on the top horn, elbow area and near the jack. The front has some dimples up from the bridge, scuffs along the top horn, elbow area and back edge and some play wear on the horns. Overall: very good condition (8/10).

Playing condition notes: Neck is straight, intonation is good, action is low, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets are in reasonable order with some normal wear, 7/10 for fret life left. Setup with fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.