A screenshot of Ed playing the Mapleglo Rickenbacker during How To Disappear Completelyin Cincinnati on July 25, 2018 (youtube).
Since the late-90’s, Ed has used his Jetglo (black) Rickenbacker 360-12 for performances of Airbag and (from 2000 onwards) How To Disappear Completely. This trend held up for the first half of the 2018 North American tour. However, for the last few shows this year (starting in Cincinnati), Ed used a never-before-seen Mapleglo (natural) Rickenbacker 330-12 for both Airbag and How To Disappear Completely. While the instrument at first bears a passing resemblance to Ed’s very first Rickenbacker, the new instrument is a 12-string and features a white pickguard (Ed’s original was a 6-string with a black pickguard).
The most likely explanation for Ed’s sudden switch to a new guitar is that there was a problem with the Jetglo Rickenbacker which couldn’t be solved while the band were on the road. The Mapleglo Rickenbacker is almost certainly a backup for the Jetglo, and it may have been brought on tour for years without being used. In the late-2000’s, Ed was using an Italia Rimini 12 as a backup for his Jetglo Rickenbacker, so he may have acquired the Mapleglo at any point since then.
If you have any good quality pictures of the guitar, we’d very much appreciate if you could email them to us!
A screenshot of Ed playing the Mapleglo Rick during Airbag in Pittsburgh on July 26, 2018 (suprefan).