Ebay Item # 2505900019 - Rickenbacker 3001 Bass

flashbackphil · Post by **flashbackphil** » Tue Feb 04, 2003 2:09 pm

Hi all you Rickenbacker lovers. I'd much appreciate your help here. I'm fascinated by this item on ebay. Although I've got a 4001 which I love (and which I bought off ebay last year), I'm certainly not a Rick expert. In fact I've never heard of a 3001 before - is it real? I'd love to hear your opinions on this. Thankyou very much in anticipation. Phil.

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Tue Feb 04, 2003 5:33 pm

Yeah, the 3001 model is for real, but I can't offer any kind of opinion on one. I've never seen this model except in a picture.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 1:38 am

Phil,

From the Registration Page (Thanks to David Axt and our Webmaster Peter):

********************************************

~ 3000 Series ~

The basses in this series have the following features, unless otherwise noted, Bolt-on neck, double cutaway maple body, non-cresting headstock, Padouk fingerboard, 9 dot inlays.

3000
This bass was originally designed as a low-priced, economical, student model. Features: Short scale (30"), single high-gain hum-canceling pickup, 21 frets, 2 controls knobs (volume and tone), unlaquered fingerboard. Available in natural satin maple and Colorglo finishes
1971 - First version was introduced and abruptly discontinued because the original prototype was unsatisfactory
1975 - Second version an improved model was reintroduced with a different bridge, electronics and pickguard.
1984 - Discontinued
3001
This is a full-scale version of 3000 model
Features: Long scale (33-1/2"), single high gain hum-canceling pickup, 20 frets, 3 controls (volume, treble boost, bass boost), maple and walnut laminated neck.
1971 - First version was introduced as a prototype (30" scale) and abruptly discontinued. The first version had a bound body, bound neck, crescent shaped finger rest, single tone and volume controls, and a different tailpiece/bridge.
1975 - Second version, an improved model, was reintroduced
1984 - Discontinued

********************************************Hope this helps.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 6:30 am

What is interesting about this bass is that the owner is stating(I think) that this bass was once owned by Geddy Lee...I did read somewhere some time ago that he did own one of these...Howard Ungerleider worked for Rush in the 1970's--1980's as a tour manager and lighting director(he still may work for them in some capacity..I know he did some time with Whitesnake in the early 1990's...If it IS Geddy's 3001, this is a cool piece without doubt.

robj · Post by **robj** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 8:06 am

Hmmmm .. Designed for Paul McCartney and owned by Geddy Lee?

I'd be interested to read John Hall's comments if any on the origins of the 300X bass design, I think I read somewhere the bass was largely designed by someone at RIC who was a jazz player and the design was aimed at that market originally. I'm sure someone will let me know if I have this wrong.

I had a white 3001 which I purchased new in 1978. I wish I still had it, it played great and had its own sound. At the time I prefered it to my 4001 as I thought its sound more versatile, but had to sell most of my gear off and ended up with neither. The only negative that I recall was that it wasn't balanced that well and was a little top heavy. I'd recommend someone pick this one up if they want a very nice variation on the classic Rick sound.

aceonbass · Post by **aceonbass** » Wed Feb 05, 2003 5:09 pm

I bought a somewhat beat 3001 last year with a broken pickup, really bad mirrored pickguard, lifting fingerboard, worn frets and noisy electronics. I reglued the fingerboard, refretted it refinished it in clear, rewired it and added a 4001 V63 pickup(with the .047 cap) over a new pickguard. I also modified the bridge and made a vintage Rick style thumbrest. It sounds better than any bass I've ever had including my first 4001, a '78. It is a bit heavy due to the thicker body but it is truely one of a kind and gets compliments everywhere I play it.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 6:33 am

The 3000 Series was a bit heavy although not as heavy as some other basses out there. But to my ears, it had THE sound, deep, dark, along with the brights. The pickups and circuitry are still unique in the guitar world, in that while the pickups are single coil, the unusual pole design and placement made it humbucking.

For the most part, these were designed by George Cole, our Chief Engineer for many years, also the father of the TR Series amps. Indeed, he's a longtime bass player and well known by many old timers in the jazz world.

cdaniel · Post by **cdaniel** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 10:20 am

Although it's quite possible that Geddy Lee DID own the black 3001 up for auction on eBay (#2505900019), I've never seen a picture of him with it; as far as I know, Geddy's 3001 is/was brown. (There's even a picture in a 1978 issue of Circus magazine of Geddy playing it on stage.) The seller is in a plausible location (Toronto), though.

Hmmm... according to the RIC dating methods, wouldn't the serial number given in the auction ("QK 5013") make this bass a November 1977 birth, not the "1975" quoted?

I'm the original (and proud, oh, VERY proud) owner of a 1976 model 3001 (serial number PI 6387--and it's brown, just like Geddy's! Why else would I save a 1978 issue of Circus magazine?), and it's THE best bass I've ever played, bar none--NONE, I tells ya!

Tone, action, comfort, beauty--it's got it all. And it's all mine. MINE! MWAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!

robj · Post by **robj** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 10:32 am

Thanks for the information John. All I have is a picture of that bass now. Hopefully I'll come across one someday when my cashflow allows the purchase. I really did like the sound of that bass and it played great too. The neck was thicker than the 400X basses, but I didn't find that a problem.

I always assumed the pickup was a humbucking (dual coil) design, but with much more high end. I bet a couple of those on a 4004C would sound fantastic. Any particular reason you can share with us as to why this pickup hasn't been featured on any other RIC basses (that I know of anyway)?

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 10:46 am

This same pickup was used on the earliest 2000 Series basses.

robj · Post by **robj** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 11:38 am

Thanks for the correction, I spaced the 2000 series.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 11:18 am

Here's another 3001 in mapleglo on ebay.

flashbackphil · Post by **flashbackphil** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 12:28 pm

Thanks very much indeed for all this responce. I really am very grateful. Your help is much appreciated. I certainly wasn't expecting such a great amount of information - particularly from John - thanks again. You've helped me to make a decision.
Unfortunately the seller isn't helping very much because he hasn't replied to my emails. Maybe because I live in England - you know, that part of the world where shipping doesn't reach!
But Paul McCartney and Geddy Lee? What?

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 12:50 pm

Er... May I be so bold as to ask what the seller means by 'tensioner spool'? Such recondite vocabulary! Is he referring to a tuner or what?

flashbackphil · Post by **flashbackphil** » Sat Feb 08, 2003 1:11 am

Sorry to keep pestering, but there's another Rick on Ebay that I've a question about. It's a Laredo - Item # 2506246724. Sorry but I don't know how to put a link in. The Rick web site says this should have a Bubinga fingerboard but this example obviously hasn't. I'm not sure what the fingerboard is made of but I'm sure it's not bubinga. Has the spec been changed over the years? If so, what would be the benefit of the change? Is it just cosmetic or is there a more practical reason.
Once again, I really appreciate your help.