Color Collection

Rickenbacker Montezuma Brown

Montezuma Brown is one of Rickenbacker’s more unusual finishes. The warm brown burst sits outside the company’s typical color palette, giving instruments a subtle, earthy appearance. The finish resembles a darker, more brown-toned variation of Fireglo, with a shaded burst that can range from deep brown edges to a lighter center where the maple grain shows through. On figured maple tops, the translucent finish can create striking visual depth. Montezuma Brown should not be confused with the earlier 1954–1957 Montezuma Brown, which was a solid reddish-brown color. The later version is a burst finish more closely related to shaded brown treatments seen on early Capri instruments. In practice, Montezuma Brown can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from darker Autumnglo examples or other brown burst finishes such as those used on instruments like the 480XC. The exact tone has also varied between production runs. The finish was featured as Rickenbacker’s “Color of the Year” in 2003, though it has appeared on a small number of instruments outside that release.