Cool Rics on eBay / Reverb / Craigslist

[ilan]

but I don't get the walnut headstock wings

I never got that, in any finish (maybe except for the new W series where it makes aesthetic sense), but everybody else seems to like them, probably because that's how the early ones were made.

[Dave W]

It's cool if you're into the yellow and black thing, but I don't get the walnut headstock wings.

Reminds me of the Killer Bees from early SNL.

[Pilgrim]

I thought TV yellow was a lot less saturated than that color.

[the mojo hobo]

I thought the Cii had a figured maple top and a slice of walnut sandwiched in between. This one looks like a Laredo to me.

[ilan]

Jetglo w/yellowed checkerboard binding, honest player wear, and even the "narrow" inlays (yes I like those more than full width) - this June '73 transition 4001 looks awesome. 

[Dave W]

Too bad about the neck repair.

[Jeff Scott]

Not a fan of the small inlays, otherwise a nice bass.

[chromium]

Jetglo w/yellowed checkerboard binding, honest player wear, and even the "narrow" inlays (yes I like those more than full width) - this June '73 transition 4001 looks awesome. 

Nice bass!  Mine has vaguely similar "thumbrest" wear... 

[ilan]

Apr. '64 4001S/1999RM with a wide walnut center strip, like a 4005. $9,500 BIN. Reissue horseshoe pickup. The bridge is all the way down (no visible screws) and the saddle grooves were deepened; so possibly it has the familiar negative neck angle.

[gearHed289]

Wow, THAT'S unique!

[Dave W]

Too bad about the replacement horseshoe. Guitar Villa is a good company though, John Slog knows his basses.

[Paul Boyer]

Consensus over on RRF is that this was "renecked" (all the way through the body, of course) and has several pieces of newer hardware. Not original to the stated vintage and not worth that kinda vintage money.

[Dave W]

Consensus over on RRF is that this was "renecked" (all the way through the body, of course) and has several pieces of newer hardware. Not original to the stated vintage and not worth that kinda vintage money.

I agree it's overpriced based on the replacement horseshoe alone, but if there's evidence this is renecked, I don't see it from the photos. If there's a good reason to think it has, someone should take it up with John Slog, Guitar Villa's owner. He wouldn't deliberately misrepresent a bass.

[Paul Boyer]

The overly large central stripe is not typical of Ricks of this vintage. On a 4005, yes, but not this model. The volute behind the nut looks funny, but there was a lot of variation there. The heel of the neck also looks odd. With the apparent large number of basses of this era suffering from "bad necks" (mostly damaged by improper truss adjustments), it's not surprising to see an example that has been rebuilt to this extent.

[Dave W]

The overly large central stripe is not typical of Ricks of this vintage. On a 4005, yes, but not this model. The volute behind the nut looks funny, but there was a lot of variation there. The heel of the neck also looks odd. With the apparent large number of basses of this era suffering from "bad necks" (mostly damaged by improper truss adjustments), it's not surprising to see an example that has been rebuilt to this extent.

Well, you're the expert. If I were interested in it, I definitely would bring it to John's attention and see what he says. Not sure of his Rick knowledge but he knows enough to have written a column about vintage basses for Vintage Guitar mag in the 90s.