For Sale: 1965–66 Era R.C. Allen Electric Guitar

Apr 13, 2023

Hey there folks, it’s that tax time of year, and that usually means one thing: I have to thin the herd a bit to keep Mr. Uncle Sam happy! I’m selling this guitar because I have another one just like it. $2000 plus shipping (USA only)

This is a 1965–66 era R.C. Allen electric guitar made by Dick Allen in El Monte, California. This was a model he was trying to mass-produce at the time, although best estimates are that he only made around forty of these. This guitar is cool! Like all of R.C.’s work, it’s sort of a combination of Southern California guitar styles—there are elements of Mosrite, Rickenbacker, and Bigsby in its construction.

When I bought the contents of R.C.’s shop almost ten years ago, there were a few of these in there that all needed work. This one was basically all there, but was very dirty from fifty-plus years of storage in the shop. Joe Vallee in Phoenix restored this one and did a wonderful job of getting the original finish back to a near-new lustre, and setting it up to be playable again.

This one has an original R.C. Allen case, and in the case pocket was a ticket from the El Monte police department, dated 1967. (I seem to remember R.C. telling me about a bunch of stuff getting stolen from his shop around this time.) I’ll leave that in there for the next owner. I’ll also throw in an original 1960s R.C. Allen business card and R.C. Allen guitar pick.

Check the photos and video for more details. This guitar is a bit like a Rickenbacker, very thin body and VERY light, with an EXTREMELY thin neck. If you don’t like thin necks, this guitar is not for you. It plays very well in the lower positions but starts to fret out above the 12th fret—raising the action would improve this.

If you’re a collector of 1960s guitars and handmade California instruments, then you’ll recognize that this is a great opportunity to buy one of R.C.’s guitars from the era at a reasonable price. Have you seen the guitar market recently? It’s nuts! Pick up this one and save it for a few years down the line, when prices have doubled again—you’ll look like a genius for picking this up now! Dammit, I think my price is too cheap!

Listen to Deke play the guitar!