Rickenbacker Electric 12-String: The Story of the Guitars the Music and the Great PlayersThe definitive history of the world's most famous 12 string electric guitar. When the Byrds recorded their hit version of Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man " they popularized a new sound in pop music: the electric 12 string guitar. Rickenbacker is the guitar maker that brought the electric 12 string to market and has since been almost single handedly responsible for establishing what such a guitar should do. The California company gave one of its earliest