Though Rick had been producing a range of short-scaled lap steels with a 22.5" scale length, for some reason when Francis Hall, Paul Barth, and Roger Rossmeisl designed the short-scaled "tulip" Combos, they used a 20.75" scale. This scale continues in their line to the present day, with the reissue 325C64 "Miami" retaining this measurement.
I'm a big fan of both Fender and Rickenbacker shorties, and have several of each in my collection. I've also restored a fair number of both for other collectors and players. I own one of the first Rickenbacker solid-bodied Combo 400s ever made, an early '56, and also one of the last batch of solid body short-scaled Rickenbackers, an October 1983, ES-16. I've also got a couple of '56 Duo-Sonics (including one with an April '56 neck on it!), as well as the Jaguars we love and a couple of Jagstangs that we love to hate.
Here's the '56 Combo 400 as I received it, 99% complete, but quite, er, well-loved, last May:
This guitar actually predates the classic "toaster" pickup by a year or more; it features a Rowe-DeArmond single coil that's quite gutsy. Note that, like the Fenders of the era, it features a gold-anodized aluminum pickguard.
Those chrome caps on the body sides are bolt covers--the body is a neck-through three-piece with bolt-on side wings.
Here it is in November, after I finished restoring it. The neck is finished in natural alder with a rosewood fretboard; the body wings are alder with a Cloverfield Green nitro finish. Cloverfield Green was a Rick color for four years. It's similar to Fender Sherwood Green, just a bit lighter and bluer. This guitar has an original pickup and harness, but has been refretted and has new tuners and pickguard, as well as a replated bridge and new Kauffman Vib-Ro-La vibrato. Kauffman is the same "Doc" Kauffman that was Leo Fender's partner for a couple of years back then...
The back features a flocked guard that's held on with copper brads. The flocking keeps the guitar from slipping around, as it was originally hung from a single saxophone strap. The strap hooked into the nickel-plated donut-shaped washer on the back.
Next is a '57 Combo 400 in Jetglo (Black) that I restored for a Canadian customer. This thing was literally painted with a brush and brown fence paint, when I got it to restore. The pickguard had been painted in orange Day-Glo spray paint. This one also had a full resto, including a new aluminum pickguard.
Next up is a '57 Combo 1000 that also came to me as a Jetglo basket case. The owner of this one was left-handed and wanted the body redone as a lefty body. I made new wings, left-handed, routed for the controls, bridge and vibrato, and made the guard like the others, but from single ply styrene as original. The body was done from curly maple with a killer flame. and finished with an amber tint to the clear nitro:
Full-length shot with LH Rickenbacker nameplate on the headstock:
Last for this post, here's a shot of a '64 short scale Combo 1000 Rickenbacker, also finished in Cloverfield Green, but with an ambered clearcoat added, which brightens it up a bit. This one has the toaster pickup, and the full-length shot shows just how short 20.75" is for a guitar!
I'll soon post some of my shorty Fenders.
nice ricks! 
