The famous guitar company was quite possibly the first major manufacturer to build an electric mandolin. How do I know? A picture of one (right) appears in their 1932 catalog, back when they were still known as the Electro String Instrument Corporation. By 1936–1938 the design had changed a bit, as we can see from the virtually mint-condition instrument above. By the time it was built, the company had changed its name to Rickenbacher—with an "h."

     In 1958 Rickenbacker made a dozen or so solidbody 8-string electrics (right). Over the next 40 years or so, they became quite collectible and famously hard to find. In the late 1990s they were reintroduced and available again for a few years. The model number for the reissue (bottom left) was 5002V58. You'll notice that both the '58s and the reissues have a fret marker at the 9th rather than the 10th fret—correct for guitars, bad for mandolins. In its 2008 catalog, Rickenbacker finally introduced a mandolin with a 10th-fret marker (bottom center). Finally, at bottom right is a custom Rickenbacker "Mando Guitar" (actually an 8-string tenor), one of three in existence, also with a marker at the 10th fret.