Well John A and John B, its nothing you haven't already seen but it will be nice nonetheless.
Here is my lengthy(!) explanation:
My first Rick that I bought new when I was 15 is a 1980 4001WHT that had sat in my local music store for a couple years. I was never too keen on the white color, but I was 15: no car, no internet, no other ones to choose from! I bought it because it felt right and looked cool.
Well after 25 years of UV rays and playing it semi-carelessly, it looked pretty sad. The white had turned to mucas-glo and there were millions of finish checks. The finish was also flaking off the fretboard. She still sounded, felt, and performed like new, but she had become quite sad looking. My once proud first 4001(the only one I had for 20 years) was now also my "beater." So I decided to send her to Paul to make her look as good as she sounds, plays and feels.
I didn't know what the grain would look like, so I waited for Paul to send photos after stripping her to choose my color. When he did, we determined that it would look good in a trans or burst finish.
I wasn't very creative in my choice; I decided to be a copycat! With Paul Boyer's approval of course, I chose Mink. I think the color looks really good on a Rick bass.
While its in the shop, its getting checker binding, full-width sparklies and a 1/2 inch spaced toaster. So it'll sort of be a 4001V72. I decided against the wavy Grovers though. I have a set, but I'm not putting them on. Although I LOVE the look, there's a reason why 75% of them get yanked off in favor of some other tuner. They aren't as good as the new Schallers. I decided that spending the extra $300 for the tuners and plugging and re-drilling 16 holes on the back of the headstock(and probably seeing some of them through the finish) in order to diminish the quality of the bass was a bad idea.
So there you go! Paul has finished the binding, inlays, and pickup route and will be spraying her soon.
A 1980 4001 is probably nobody's end all be all Rick bass(myself included), but this one obviously has some sentimental value to me. She's been a great bass. I had the rods adjusted about a month after I bought her and the neck has been nice and straight ever since. Never any breaks. No silly mods.
I'm looking forward to having her back and to our next 25 years together. I'm guessing that she'll look better in 25 years than she did after the last 25.
Here she is in her glory days in 1985:
