The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Rickenbacker Basses => Topic started by: mc900ftj on July 05, 2015, 02:38:47 PM
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Does this look right?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Beautiful-vintage-1975-Rickenbacker-4000-bass-Plays-and-sounds-fantastic-/111706625591?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1a023bd637 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Beautiful-vintage-1975-Rickenbacker-4000-bass-Plays-and-sounds-fantastic-/111706625591?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1a023bd637)
Looks like it has been played.
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I'll leave it to the experts to decide if anything's wrong, but I wouldn't pay one-tenth of his starting bid for anything so badly abused.
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Looks legit to me. As Dave already said, the starting bid is way to high.
If you are looking for a 4000, there is a nice '79 on eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rickenbacker-4000-1979-Fireglo-Electric-Bass-Guitar-w-Gator-Case-Rare-Vintage-/181792344329) with a $1,740 BIN price and a "Make offer" option. You will need to replace the bridge saddles though.
(http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/MTE4NlgxNTk5/z/ZGgAAOSwgQ9VlzLK/$_57.JPG)
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Thanks!
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I had one just like in the one pictured above. Best Ric I have ever owned.
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Agreed...Best RIC ever. Very punchy.
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The off-center body of the set-neck 4000's has always irritated me. The bridge is definitely not on the center line of the body. The lower body half is significantly bigger, and the upper horn is too high. It's a big turnoff for me. It just looks wrong. Like a mistake that nobody at the factory noticed for way too long. If I ever find a nice neck-thru 4000, I'm all over it.
(http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3350.0;attach=740;image)
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This isn't based solely on a couple pics from a 70s catalog, right?
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No, all of them are like that.
(http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3350.0;attach=742;image)
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And some are worse. Probably the neck route jig was off axis. The pickup on this one is twice the distance from the lower body edge than to the upper body edge. See?
The white "shadow" is the real skewed 4000.
(http://www.rickresource.com/forum/download/file.php?id=42651)(http://www.rickresource.com/forum/download/file.php?id=42652)
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And this one... see where the pickguard is?
(http://www.rickresource.com/register/user_images/17872/2.jpg)
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I have two responses:
The negative one: thanks for ruining the 4000 for me! :mrgreen:
The positive one: isn't that just part of the homespun Rickenbacker charm?
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isn't that just part of the homespun Rickenbacker charm?
Once you see it you can't un-see it, right? ;) I guess it's part of the 4000's charm, and some may even like it like that, but personally I prefer the neck-through era 4000's with their 4001-like silhouette. They didn't lack charm even if their necks were not off-axis. Just personal taste.
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The off-center body could possibly just be a result of production technique. The off-axis examples are plain old poor quality control. Nothing charming about that!
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How does this one look? (belongs to a friend)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3760/19252542513_477730e3ac_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/vkhj9a)
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That's in beautiful shape.
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The positive one: isn't that just part of the homespun Rickenbacker charm?
Its a bit like British aviation engineering. When they tried to upgrade the ageing Nimrod fleet of aircraft into the MRA4 variant, they were essentially bodging micro-engineered wings onto a fuselage built on wooden jigs in the '60s. Amazingly the wings didn't match the fuselage because each one was subtly different; a few inches here or there.
I guess Rickenbacker basses are made, to some degree, by eye. The bridges don't always sit on the centre line because they are mounted with the instrument strung to make sure the alignment is good at the end of the neck? I'm not sure, but I have a small amount of 4000 GAS after watching Stanley Clarke playing a Jetglo one in an early Return to Forever video a few weeks back.
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How does this one look? (belongs to a friend)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3760/19252542513_477730e3ac_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/vkhj9a)
Nice! Rare neck through. And a Hipshot bridge...
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I guess Rickenbacker basses are made, to some degree, by eye. The bridges don't always sit on the centre line because they are mounted with the instrument strung to make sure the alignment is good at the end of the neck? I'm not sure, but I have a small amount of 4000 GAS after watching Stanley Clarke playing a Jetglo one in an early Return to Forever video a few weeks back.
That RTF video definitely made me want a 4000 too! I always wondered what bass he was using on Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy - if it's the 4000 then that would be very cool.
I have a '76 4001 and the tailpiece/bridge wasn't in the right place - the bridge would tilt, resulting in the strings lying almost on the fretboard. It was off by almost a 1/4" of an inch! The luthier said that Ric was cranking out basses in the '70s and that there are quite a few like that...
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Nice! Rare neck through. And a Hipshot bridge...
Jeez, I wasn't even paying attention - of course it's a neck through so it won't make sense to submit it to Ilan's spatial analysis. Hey it was a busy weekend! :mrgreen:
The owner had it strung with NOS Maxima/Rickenbacker flats - really low tension, low action, sweet bass!
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How about this one????
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/msg/5068385577.html
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A player's bass. A good thing.