Rickenbacker '85 4001 bass-need help

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brenden
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Rickenbacker '85 4001 bass-need help

Post by brenden »

Hello I'm not as knowledgeable as most on this forum about rickenbacker basses, so I though I would consult you guys for some advice and history. I am planning on purchasing a rickenbacker 4001 bass, preferably in jetglo, and I found a match in a local craigslist post, however it is advertised as a'85 4001. Three questions, did rickenbacker produce the 4001 bass in 1985, is it a sought-after of good year, and last is the $1200.00 asking price too much?...he says it has all original parts and little body wear.
Thanks,
Brenden
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jnbass
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Post by jnbass »

too much
Buy it before someone else does
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cheyenne
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Post by cheyenne »

First of all Welcome,Brenden. Image Im not really not sure of the 4001/4003 timeline, but if its an '85 it should be a 4003 with the modern trussrod system.

Jared is correct. $1200.00 is to pricey for an '85 Jetglo with body wear. Go to one of the bigger dealers:

Mike Parks at www.the-music-connection.com

or Chris Clayton at www.pickofthericks.com

You can get into a brand new Jetglo 4003 with a full warranty for about the same price.
"Knowledge is Power"
rickfan60
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Post by rickfan60 »

Yes, in 1985 the 4003 would have been in production. There are straggler 4001s that bear serial numbers as late as 1986 but 4001s dated later than '83 are rare. I agree with Jared and Scott, You can certainly do better than $1200.
rictified
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Post by rictified »

A little late but I too have seen them with dates as late as 86 so it may be a 4001, if it's in good shape it might be worth it. In fact if it is an 85 4001 I might pay it just because it is rare. The only difference most likely would be the truss rod system which you could check by looking to see if it has a thick block or a thin one, a thick one would be a 4001, it may also say it on the TRC. Incidentlly they didn't make them after 1979-1980, they just had some left over and sold both simultaneously. I had both an 83 and a 84 at one time.
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