Rickenbacker 4001-8
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
I mean when you bid, do you know what you are bidding against like on Ebay, or are they secret bids and you don't know until the end of the auction?
And that is strange, it looks like either a 12 or a 6 string with a long headstock, I assume the guitar in the top photo is the same one as in the bottom picture? It is very hard to tell.
And that is strange, it looks like either a 12 or a 6 string with a long headstock, I assume the guitar in the top photo is the same one as in the bottom picture? It is very hard to tell.
- atomic_punk
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Hi Guys,
I have been lurking here forever but never posted...I finally had something to add! The results of the Sotheby's auction (as well as some pictures, I believe) can be found at 12stringbass.com...some great items and the amounts they sold for are on there.
Glad to be posting!
I have been lurking here forever but never posted...I finally had something to add! The results of the Sotheby's auction (as well as some pictures, I believe) can be found at 12stringbass.com...some great items and the amounts they sold for are on there.
Glad to be posting!
"They make great f***'n basses". - Lemmy, NAMM 2009
- atomic_punk
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Paul,
Here is a link to the Sotheby's site. It is on the 12stringbass.com page, but it's WAY down at the bottom (scroll down and down and down...)
http://search.sothebys.com/jsps/live/lot/LotResultsDetailList.jsp?sale_number=W03875&event_id=26007
Actually the 4001MG in the picture of me that you so graciously posted IS a 1973 (October I think), but it is a transition one, which does not have the checkered binding or the oh-so-lovely position markers. But it does have tone for days!
Thanks for the welcome!
Here is a link to the Sotheby's site. It is on the 12stringbass.com page, but it's WAY down at the bottom (scroll down and down and down...)
http://search.sothebys.com/jsps/live/lot/LotResultsDetailList.jsp?sale_number=W03875&event_id=26007
Actually the 4001MG in the picture of me that you so graciously posted IS a 1973 (October I think), but it is a transition one, which does not have the checkered binding or the oh-so-lovely position markers. But it does have tone for days!
Thanks for the welcome!
"They make great f***'n basses". - Lemmy, NAMM 2009
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shamustwin
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jwr2
- atomic_punk
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- bassduke49
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HOLY MACKEREL!!! I looked at that Southeby's site on the Entwistle collection. "Frankenstein" sold for 68,400 pounds, about a hundred grand in dollars! Frankenstein was a bass JE used for years, put together from pieces of stage-smashed P and J basses. Now I don't feel so bad spending a grand or so on a Rick!
Author: "The Rickenbacker Electric Bass - 50 Years As Rock's Bottom"
- atomic_punk
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I was amazed at the "Frankenstein" auction also! I mean, 100K for a bass? Albeit one of a kind, but still....And he did have one of those rare Rick 8-strings that had the "wavy" headstock...That pic is on the 12stringbass.com site also. I wish I could post it here!
And thanks for the welcome Lindsay!
And thanks for the welcome Lindsay!
"They make great f***'n basses". - Lemmy, NAMM 2009
- atomic_punk
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OK,Here goes nothing, I'm trying to post the pic of Entwistle's 8-string Rick from the auction. Here is the item description:
RICKENBACKER 400 Eight-string bass with wavy headstock and differing size root/octave tuners. SN#MH2553; built August 1973. (2 months before mine!)

RICKENBACKER 400 Eight-string bass with wavy headstock and differing size root/octave tuners. SN#MH2553; built August 1973. (2 months before mine!)

"They make great f***'n basses". - Lemmy, NAMM 2009
- rickengeezer
- Junior Member
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The way the Sothebys auction worked is that it is a live auction; you can arrange a telephone link or you can mail/fax your maximum bid, and a Sotheby's representative will bid on your behalf up to your maximum. Unlike ebay, there is no live online bidding, which is probably good for me as if there had been, I would likely be living in a cardboard box next to my Entwistle 4001/8.
Another thing to note is that the internet posted prices include Sotheby's auction fee, which is hefty. The actual "hammer" price was (as I remember) 20% less; when I got the final list of hammer prices from Sothebys, I realized that I had come a lot closer to winning than I had thought from looking at the internet.
Another thing to note is that the internet posted prices include Sotheby's auction fee, which is hefty. The actual "hammer" price was (as I remember) 20% less; when I got the final list of hammer prices from Sothebys, I realized that I had come a lot closer to winning than I had thought from looking at the internet.

