And so it begins ....

Vintage, Modern, V & C series, Fretless, Signature & Special Editions

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thx1955
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And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

Last year I booked my April-73, Fireglo 4001 Fretless (the one in the middle sandwiched between my V-63 and original March-73 4001) in with Larry Davis for a rework, and finally last week the 4001 was shipped to Larry to undertake the work.

The Fireglo on this one was particularly nice, but as can be seen from the picture, someone in the past thought a Bad-*** bridge would be just the thing, personally it's a desecration, and an abomination, so that 's coming off right quick, that and some other work that Larry will be doing, more to come on that.
IMG_2102--001.jpg
IMG_2104--003.jpg
In addition to this insult, a previous owner decided to replace the original Wavy Grovers with Schaller's, leaving the original holes for the Grovers bare.
IMG_2110--009.jpg
This particular 4001 has had a busy life, and it showed on the body, assorted strange holes had been drilled in various parts
IMG_2105--004.jpg
IMG_2103--002.jpg
Finally the finish had been subject to both some bad checking
IMG_2108--007.jpg
And it has its fair share share of scrapes and scratches. (I'm not able to load those pictures)

For some reason I'm only able to attache 6 pictures, all are under regulation size, and I've no feedback from the upload, other than it doesn't load the file.
I'm not sure what's going on, any advise will be very welcome.

I'm planning to share the whole restoration (something not seen in a while) from this, to something that will be very personal to me.
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
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jps
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by jps »

thx1955 wrote:For some reason I'm only able to attache 6 pictures, all are under regulation size, and I've no feedback from the upload, other than it doesn't load the file.
I'm not sure what's going on, any advise will be very welcome.
I believe that is the limit per post.
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

jps wrote:
thx1955 wrote:For some reason I'm only able to attache 6 pictures, all are under regulation size, and I've no feedback from the upload, other than it doesn't load the file.
I'm not sure what's going on, any advise will be very welcome.
I believe that is the limit per post.
Thank you Sir,
Yeah, seems to be, I was looking through some other areas of the Forum and 6 seems to be the limit .... oh well, multiple parts to each stage
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
teeder
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by teeder »

Looking forward to seeing the progress!
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

The basics:
All the hardware has been removed, and the scar from the Badass bridge clearly visible
Naked Fireglo
Naked Fireglo
Closeup of the main body, showing the additional route, looks like it was done in the dark, and, the enthusiastic abundance of drilling all through the body, it is as I said before a nice Fireglo rendition.
The neck may need to be reset, we'll know a little more in a few days, Truss rods are in very good condition
Someone slipped with the Router
Someone slipped with the Router
Closer look at the additional routing, and the slight mistake, no worries, no one will ever know.
Oops ......
Oops ......
Here Larry is trial fitting a Rickenbacker bridge to see if the footprint will cover all the extraneous routing, I'm going to use the new V2 style Bridge for the final edition
Mind the gap ....
Mind the gap ....
Here you can see the other scuffs and dings, as well as the finish checking, still, a nice Fireglo
From the back
From the back
Part of the rework will include adding Wings, here Larry is trial fitting for width and location, they're going to be Ebony, as will be the fretboard.
Here be Wings
Here be Wings
Next up, stripping away the old in preparation for the new ....
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
Benjamin
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by Benjamin »

What exactly are you doing to this thing? Doesn't sound like restoration to me. Wings? Ebony fretboard?

It is your bass, of course.
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cheyenne
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by cheyenne »

Restoration with a personal touch.

I like it. I'm sure it will be beautiful when its done. Looking forward to the progress.
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by admin »

I love it when people take instruments they cherish and make them their own. :D
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm

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ram
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by ram »

Cool! I have my popcorn and am watching this adventure!! Please post as you go!
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teeder
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by teeder »

they're going to be Ebony, as will be the fretboard.
Sweet!
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

Benjamin wrote:What exactly are you doing to this thing? Doesn't sound like restoration to me. Wings? Ebony fretboard?

It is your bass, of course.
Well, it is a restoration (correction of evils) in several areas:

The removal of the Badass bridge, and replacement with a Rickenbacker V2 Bridge

The removal of the non-standard tuners and replacement with Rickenbacker C64 style ones

The removal of the rear pickup and replacement with a Rickenbacker Magnetic Horseshoe, rebuilt and remagetised.

The wiring harness is being upgraded using one of Dane Wilder's, built period correct.

Filling in multiple holes drilled all over the body by various other owners over the years.

The Checkered binding is being removed, cleaned up and put back on.

As for the rest, you're correct, technically it's an augment, the colour will be a non-factory one, (Minky) and an ebony fretboard has been used on at least one other Rickenbacker bass, this one will have crushed Mother of Pearl full width inlays, as for the wings, Walnut has been the wood of choice for both the modern and older basses, I went with Ebony to match the Fretboard.

I've owned and played Rickenbacker's since 1973, this one is one month younger than my March 73, it started life as a Fretless, it's moving to Fretted, when it's finished it'll be unique, a combination of the best that Rickenbacker has with a little more on top, it will still be a April 73 Rickenbacker 4001.
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

In today's episode we get to see the 4001 stripped:

All the stripping was done without using any chemicals to prevent the original Fireglo stain from seeping into the Maple
Just sanding and scraping

Overall view of the front
Full frontal nudity
Full frontal nudity
Our behind is bare
Some very nice grain on the body
Some very nice grain on the body
Front of the body showing the various extraneous holes drilled all over
Close up of the front of the body
Close up of the front of the body
Rear view, showing the nice grain patterns
I do like a Skunk Stripe
I do like a Skunk Stripe
The neck on this particular 4001 has always been really nice to play
Wingless .... for the moment
Wingless .... for the moment
Close up of the headstock showing similar Maple used to extend the headstock
Blend in Maple extensions
Blend in Maple extensions
Next, the removal of the fretless Fingerboard
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

So now we move on to the removal of the fretboard

Part-1
The objective as Larry started in on this task was to (if at all possible) preserve the original.
Extended heating pad across Fretboard
Extended heating pad across Fretboard
Applying Heat to release the glue
Applying Heat to release the glue
Gently beginning to ease the Fretboard away from the Neck
Gently beginning to ease the Fretboard away from the Neck
After considerable effort, and a lot of patience and care, the Fretboard came away in one piece.
Success, and we also have intact and useable Fretrods
Success, and we also have intact and useable Fretrods
Lots of old glue gunk - Fretboard
Lots of old glue gunk - Fretboard
And on the neck
And on the neck
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
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thx1955
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by thx1955 »

Fretboard Removal ...

Part-2 The Cleanup

As mentioned, the fretboard came off in one piece, but, it's covered in a lot of gunk and old glue, this all needs to be removed with a minimal of sanding or material removal from the neck.
De-glue magic removal liquid
De-glue magic removal liquid
Here's the rear of the Fretboard after a lot of scrubbing, but very little to no wood removal
After a scrub with the De-glue, and Scotch Bright
After a scrub with the De-glue, and Scotch Bright
And a close up of the headstock showing how clean the removal process was.
Looks like  a Fireglo Arrow !
Looks like a Fireglo Arrow !
The neck, all shiny clean wood
The neck, all shiny clean wood
Next....."Got Wings"
"It's Red Jim, but not as we know it...."
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jps
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Re: And so it begins ....

Post by jps »

Looking good, so far.

Interesting trio of holes on the E string side for the TRC. :shock:
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