Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Well, I got me a bridge and tuners. Not a lot of intonation room on the bridge :lol: but that was to be expected.
I played the bass in band rehearsal and man, what a sound! Superb fat and tight. Nice for rock and really chrunchy with a slight bit of fuzz. Keeps the whole band upright when the ...

How does it sound? You've mentioned that the neck is straight and the action is low, but do you like the feel of the neck and how it plays? Is it comfortable and well-balanced when you play standing up?

I think you should make sure you love this bass as a player before investing a lot of time and ...

The tailpiece looks like it could have been sprayed with car paint and it might have been heat treated (a friend of mine used to do finishes like that on guitar hardware in a car paint booth). Whatever course you take restoring the bass DONT get rid of the tailpiece!! Its an original sand cast ...

Two of the 3 extra holes in the bridge route are for the threaded studs that hold the homemade saddle assembly up.
The other hole is a mystery. I'll make a photo of the saddle later. It'll be a good laugh.

Still don't know what to do with the finish.

The bridge will stay black... can't take the ...

The bridge seriously seems to be powdercoated.
The powdercoating pocess has been invented in the 40's so it should be possible this was done in '72.
I tried removing the black colour with acetone on the bottom of the bridge but the coat is hard as rock and not the slightest bit will dissolve ...

Here are pictures ofthe bridge.
It looks like a solid cast aluminim bridge, identical to the 60's and early 70's bridges but it is black.
Doesn't loo like it is hand painted.
Can't it be a limited run or a one-off bridge in this colour?

Under the bridge a patch of clearcoated wood is visible with ...

Thanks for the info.
I glued the scratch plate this afternoon.
A big piece is missing but now it plays.
Pickups are out of phase.
That is weird.
With the bass cut cap bridges the pickups cancel each other out.
With the cap in the system it works though.
The bridge has a tooth gap and just 3 ...

Here is what it looks like now.
Apart from the bridge saddle and tuners everything appears to be original. No one has soldered in it. Pots are from '72 and still working
I ordered tuners today.

Hi,
I just became the happy owner of a 1972 Rickenbacker 4001S, Jetglow, black bridge and pickup ring, white scratchplate.
I wanted a rick since I first saw one some 30 years ago.

This one was cheap but needs quite some work:
Scratchplate is broken. saddles are missing, Grover tuners have been ...