Did I really mess it up???

[kcole4001]

You've got a very nice selection there, Bert!
A couple more models & you'll have the whole catalog of basses covered.

[wints]

Zeer aardig Bert...

[berth]

Thanks en Dank, Kevin and Andrew!

[berth]

Bumpertiebumpbump

The bass in the picture now is mine for some time allready.

I'm going to let it restore. Under the nut there is part of an old nut which is black. But ons most early '73 Rick Pictures I see white nut's. Which color is period correct? Or did Rickenbacker used both colors at the same time?

[wints]

This period usually has a white nut Bert.

It's always possible it could have come stock with a black nut, but nearly every original one I have seen from this period is white.

[teeder]

Congrats Bert and welcome Alex!

[weemac]

My rm1999 has the "bullet" conversion and to be honest it works really well..
Don't shoot me!
emac.

[berth]

Today I got this bass back from my luthier.

I thought for some time about it and decided to not do a full restauration (which would probably meant sending it to the US with added cost etc..) but let my luthier put new frets in it and do the best he could to restore what was left of the FWMOP inlay and the fretboard. I think he did a more than decent job of it. The bass plays like a dream now. Action can be set very low. The finish job is very smooth (though slighly less Glow than CV).

I'm happy with it and most important I can play it again!

[rickaddict]

Congrats and enjoy!

Thanks for posting the pics.

[jps]

Nice piece of Bubinga!

[Tylendal]

I'm liking the idea of bullet truss rod nuts too, i'll definitely put them on my 79AZG4001LH
but do you think they'd fit on a 2008 MID4003LH as well?

[teeder]

It looks great!

[rickaddict]

I'm liking the idea of bullet truss rod nuts too, i'll definitely put them on my 79AZG4001LH
but do you think they'd fit on a 2008 MID4003LH as well?

I wouldn't do it. I don't think the threads are the same from old RIC truss rods to the new ones. But even if they were, or if you could find bullet nuts with the correct thread I see a potential problem:

I'm guessing the 2008 4003LH still has a back-painted plexiglass TRC, as I believe all the lefty Ricks do. The headstock on your bass (and all the new ones) tilts back. But the truss rods and truss nuts don't. So the longer your truss nuts are, the more likely they are to hit that TRC and scratch it from behind.

I have a '92 V63 with a couple digs through the paint on the back of the TRC from the truss rod nuts. And those were the stock nuts. I have at least two or three other Ricks that could use shorter truss rod nuts to prevent this from happening.

And the stock nuts work very well anyway.

[Tylendal]

the headstocks tilt back now? Interesting
I don't pick up the 4003 until Sunday morning, it's been on order for nearly 2 years, so I'm pretty excited to see what it looks like

[rickaddict]

It should tilt back on your '79 as well. Not sure exactly when the headstocks started tilting and/or whether certain years or models were made to tilt more than others.

My July '73 4001 has almost no back tilt (if any), my Feb '76 has tilt.

With the old truss system, the nuts and block would tend to tilt back into the truss pocket over time if they were over tightened. With the new truss system, that doesn't happen.