Although the Combo 450 in either body style is eminently collectible, it usually gets overshadowed by another vintage Rickenbacker guitar from 1958, the Capri. Offered in models from the 310 to the 345, this hollow-body electric guitar with a single cat’s-eye sound hole gained lasting fame when John Lennon of The Beatles purchased a natural-finish 325. Lennon refinished his 325 in black (the gold-backed Lucite pickguard remained unimproved) and played it until 1964. In the early 1960s, Rickenbacker produced three more 325s for Lennon, including a one-of-a-kind 12-string.

Paul McCartney and George Harrison also became Rickenbacker acolytes. In 1965, McCartney traded in his Hofner for a left-handed Fireglo, dual-pickup 4001S. Harrison put down his Gretsch Duo-Jet every so often to play his Rickenbacker Combo 425, as well as a 360 12-string, which gave songs like "A Hard Day’s Night" their instantly identifiable ringing Beatles sound.

One musician who liked that sound a lot was Roger McGuinn of The Byrds. Reportedly, he bought a 360-12 after seeing the movie version of the famous Beatles song. Before long, Pete Townsend of The Who, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, John Fogarty of Creedence Clearwater Revival, John Kay of Steppenwolf, and Paul Kantner of the Jefferson Airplane were all playing Rickenbackers.

For collectors, it is important to note that in the 1960s, Rickenbacker exported a number of its models to a British company called Rose, Morris & Co., Ltd. Serial numbers on these exports have an "S" at their ends, and the tops of some of the guitar bodies have f-holes instead of the cat’s eye. The Rose guitars were also given different model names. For example, Lennon’s 325 was sold in England as the 1996, McCartney’s 4001 was the 1999, and Harrison’s 360-12 was the 1993.

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