The Last Bass Outpost

I do not make R tailpieces. 

Quote from: drbassman on January 27, 2011, 05:51:18 AM
I love it Dale.  I've always been a sucker for a cherry burst finish and the body/neck combo is great!  I really like that tailpiece.  Where did you find it?

I have them made from stainless steel, guitar or bass both pieces tailpiece and claw are $50.00 with $5.00 shipping anywhere in the U.S.  $14.00 international shipping.
I also build the 4005 type bridge from scratch. They are for sale also.

A full body project I started several years ago and just got around to completing. This has a body the same size and shape of a Gibson ES175.  Basically this looks like a Bass that would have been built in the 1960s at Rickenbacker. It could be compared to a 4005, same scale and features, different body shape and peghead.

Jaymi, those are identical...both of em' are yours?  Hey tell Jeff he needs some Bass lessons

Quote from: drbassman on January 17, 2011, 07:38:06 AM
Wow, I love the 4005 and what you did with it.  Fantastic!  Did you happen to see my little 4005 clone in the Ric pages?  Nothing as good as your work, but it's become my favorite bass.

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WOWZERS...don't ever let me hear you say that your work is not as good as anyones...never ever because what I see is stunning and awesome looking!
I do have before pictures, I'll have to search and find them.

When this 1968 4005 was sent to me from a pawn shop in Fresno, the neck was broken at the heel where it meets the body. Someone drilled 4 holes and put dry wall screws through the back of the neck heel to hold it together, it didn't work very well, the action was 2 inches at the 20th fret. The peghead was also cracked and once again they used a short dry wall screw to hold it together.  But when they mixed a quart of poly resin and poured it in the body, I'm not sure what that was about unless they were trying to make a solid body out of it.  Someone also filed the neck binding off making the neck slim kinda like a Jazz Bass.
So this Bass had a lot of work done to bring it back to life.  The back came off, the neck taken out, the braces were replaced, neck and peghead repaired,resin removed, new B/W checkered binding, replaced the back, reset and refretted the neck, new neck binding and patched about 20 holes that were drilled in the top in various spots. I finished it with NCL in a BlueBoy color.  All the parts and hardware are original except the case.   She's a beauty now.

Measuring the picture from nut to 12th fret and 12th fret to where the bridge would be placed, it looks like it's really close to the butt of the guitar where the bridge will line up.

Quote from: drbassman on January 16, 2011, 01:13:49 PM
Beautiful work Dale!  I think Ric has some of the most attractive designs going and most of them could make beautiful basses if done in a hollow body style.

DITTO!

Quote from: Lightyear on January 15, 2011, 02:59:54 PM
What's the story on the seafoam beauty behind the hollowbody projet!

The Seafoam Green was a refret and refinish of a fairly new 4000 Rick that was Mapleglo.   It belongs to a really nice fellow in Queens New York.  I did a trade for the work done on the Bass.  He sent me a great condition Silvertone 1474 Twin Twelve Reverberation Amp that was built in 1961.    These are one of the best amps IMO that I've ever heard.  I had one that my Father bought me new in 1961 from Sears & Roebucks that I played his 1953 Tele through. I was in a Surf Band back then and it was the best amp for the money and besides we couldn't afford a Fender Twin.  I am happy to have found this one because it's almost a 9 condition on a scale of 10, sound wise it's an 11. My 1966 Gibson 330 sounds amazing through it.  OK, enough about the Silvertone.  Here is a link to the Amp.

http://www.silvertoneworld.net/amplifiers/1474/1474.html

This can be yours for a very economical price.  It is a Lefty done in a dark Burgundyglo that is also referred to as "Eggplant"  A 1974 model 3001 Rick neck that I made a custom body for, double bound body shape of a 330, 2 toaster type p-ups, 4001 type bridge, pickguard and standard controls.   $1,250.00 includes 48 state shipping with insurance. I Do Not have a case for this although a 4005 or Gig Bag case will work.  This was aproject that I started over 2 years ago and health issues caused the customer to cancel this.  Email me for more pix.

Sweet looking restoration. Replaced the FB that had been replaced long ago, this time with Ebony and CP inlays.  Eggplant finish with B/W checkered binding, gold guards, truss rod cover and red side dots.  



And an F model project that will be completed soon with more pictures.

That maybe true, but they don't want what I have to offer.  Most anyone can write a book if they do a lot of research. When I was 23 yrs. old I was fortunate to start work learning to build guitars in the Rickenbacker Factory woodshop in Santa Ana from 1972 through 1976.  I saw and learned a lot about the way things were done and built in the 50s and 60s just by working with and knowing people like Lyn Tigner, Dick Burke, Bill Myers, "Doc" Kauffman and Paul Barth. After leaving the company in late 1976 I opened my own small guitar shop in Tustin about 5 miles or so from where the Rick factory was.  I had 4 other guys working for me and we carried on a tradition of guitar construction, repair and restoration.  John Hall even drove up in front of my shop one day in his big black Mercedes, got out, opened the back door of his car and took out a P.O.S. import classical guitar, and as he walked in through the open garage door and started looking around, he wanted to see if I were building Rick copies, he asked me about doing some work on the guitar he had in his hands.  We all got a chuckle out of that after he drove off.

I used to be welcome over at both the RRF and the RIC forums.  Paul reminds me of that cartoon character in Yellow Submarine...Nowhere Man

The Pit???  enlighten me please.
also, how does one post pictures using the icon from above that says: Inset Image

Quote from: Hörnisse on January 09, 2011, 11:24:31 AM
Great story Dale!  Probably were Pyramid Flats maybe? 

Or as Paul said: "long shinney one"  I only got to see the Bass when it was on my bench for a new zero fret top nut.  After it was put back together it was sent back to F.C. hall immediately.