Very strange "1973 4001" on Ebay

bassassin · Post by **bassassin** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:45 am

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=019&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=290103931870&rd=1&rd=1

Because I know a fair bit about old 1970s copies, I'm usually not too bad with the less common varieties of genuine Ricks. So what on Earth is this?

Jon.

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:51 am

Looks genuine to me. A nice pre skunk stripe bass. Why do you think that it is strange?

teeder · Post by **teeder** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:54 am

The dot board on a 4001 for one. There are a few issues, but still a nice chunk of maple and walnut!

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 4:59 am

Doh! I must wear my glasses! I never even noticed the dot neck!!!

elysrand · Post by **elysrand** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:00 am

There is a thread already going on this one in Rickenbackers For Sale: What is this kind of bass?

rikk · Post by **rikk** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:00 am

I've seen these pix before. There was a discussion of this bass a while back.

bassassin · Post by **bassassin** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:16 am

Is the fingerboard perhaps a replacement? I freely admit I'm no expert on old Ricks (that takes time!) but I can't remember seeing a dark, apparently unlacquered dot board on the same bass as checked binding & no stripe. Just struck me as odd.

Thanks for pointing me towards the other threads - I don't look in "for sale" very often. Far too tempting!

J

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 5:31 am

The more I look at it, the more I see that isn't right!

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:10 am

There's no split in the spacers above the mute, it looks like it is a 5 screw Ric tail piece however.

The screws holding the TRC on look like they are black, should be chrome.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 6:13 am

Here's my two cents: the fingerboard on that '72 was replaced. And why is the toaster pickup on it set so low?...

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:01 am

We've discussed this before; it's the bass that bypassed me because the seller wouldn't take Paypal. It's one digit up from my 72.

It's indeed a 72 with replaced fingerboard, nut, bridge and rods (or ends at least). I'm a bit baffled by this as I recently e-mailed the person who bought it to see if they wanted to sell. I made an offer and heard nothing afterwards (unless they didn't get my e-mail, something which seems to have been happening a lot). I assumed my offer was too low....why are these basses like buses??????? That's two in a week I'm really interested in and I'm not even sure I can afford one!!

To answer the question I think the toaster is so low because the fingerboard is also low, although I'm guessing. The bridge is routed into the body and I suspect that the board maybe isn't as thick as a Ric one. I could be wrong. Or maybe they just don't like the sound of the toaster, or can't adjust it? My old 76 was like that when I first got it.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 7:06 am

Hmm, with what's happening bass-wise on ebay, if I was my CS I'd be getting very nervous.....something may have to give.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:12 am

Upon reading the auction, I've noticed that the seller says it's a special order fingerboard. I wonder if John Hall or Dale would be prepared to comment on the likelihood of this?

elysrand · Post by **elysrand** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:45 am

It makes sense that if it was a factory-installed fingerboard, the two screws were indeed an amateur repair of the classic cracked fretboard usually lifted by unloaded truss rod adjustment. This happened if a previous owner did not unload the force on the neck by counterbending it first while torquing the truss rod adjustment nuts. The fingerboard would split off under the first fret.

Easily repairable, but you will need to plug or dowel the fingerboard to replace the lost wood from the screws

Good luck, Shaun, hope you can get this bass!

s4001 · Post by **s4001** » Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:47 am

Personally, I like the configuration with dots and binding. Good luck, Shaun.