Now what I want to know is this....

[espidog]

Below you will see a composite image in which the pickguards from an early 1970s 4001 and a current 4003 are superimposed, to scale. I obtained these images by downloading the relevant templates from Pickguardian, so I am assuming that they are dimensionally accurate representations.

Apart from the obvious 1/2 inch shift of the neck pickup, with which we're all familiar, I notice that on the 4003 version the "lobe" of the pickguard is slightly more bulbous, with the controls spaced a little differently.

What I'd like to know is this: what was the train of thought/design that led to this slight change of shape? Was it perhaps felt necessary to provide a slightly larger control cavity on the 4003 - and if so, why?

[johnallg]

Not sure why, but the 4001 stype pickguard covers a 4003 cavity. Here is a C64 guard on my '04 4003:
http://www.rickresource.com/phpBB3/down ... hp?id=4834

I like the way the space along the binding is more even than on the bulgy 4003 guard.

[1965]

I'm not a fan of the bulge as well and don't see the purpose of it. The C64 guard and 'shoe looks great on your 4003, John. If it was up to me they'd all look like that.

[johnallg]

Thanks Wes, it was a journey getting it to this point.

[jwr2]

There are a few other versions of the 4001/4003 pickguard ...

[espidog]

Not sure why, but the 4001 stype pickguard covers a 4003 cavity. Here is a C64 guard on my '04 4003:
http://www.rickresource.com/phpBB3/down ... hp?id=4834

I like the way the space along the binding is more even than on the bulgy 4003 guard.

Me too. It seems to me that the 4001 version follows the contour of the body more accurately, whereas the 4003 bulge brings it perilously close to the edge of the body. Curious, isn't it...?

There are a few other versions of the 4001/4003 pickguard ...

Oh rats. There would be. Can you show me them, or at least describe them? This gets more interesting by the minute!

[seyesbass]

Hi again John,
Thats the snag I had with the C64 against the shape of the CS pg that I want to replace.
The C64 is the same as the CS on the control cover but it strays in shape around the treble surround and the toaster hole.
This is what hand made guitars are all about I suppose.
I emailed Pickguardian and he suggested I send the CS pg to cut a copy from.
Thats probably the only way to get an exact fit.
Do you think Rickenbacker would cut me a new guard from the CS pg?
I would much rather have a "genuine" guard.
What do you reckon?

[antonius]

The pickguard on my '75 4001 was cracked and broken into several pieces (by the previous owner, not me!) and glued back together. It looked awful so I eventually decided to get a replacement. I first tried somewhere here in the UK after they assured me they had one which would fit my bass. But it was poorly cut and didn't quite fit and the screw holes where in slightly different places. So I got a refund and instead contacted Pickguardian, who in fact were no more expensive, even with shipping across the Atlantic. I sent the old pickguard over to them and received the replacement very quickly. The new one seems to be made of the same material and has that slightly translucent milky whiteness of the original - and it fitted exactly. So I would recommend Pickguardian if you don't mind not having an original Rickenbacker made guard.

[espidog]

I wonder if anyone from RIC would care to come on here and answer my original question: was the more bulbous 4003 pickguard shape a design decision, and if so, what was the reasoning behind it?

[johnallg]

Hi again John,
Thats the snag I had with the C64 against the shape of the CS pg that I want to replace.
The C64 is the same as the CS on the control cover but it strays in shape around the treble surround and the toaster hole.
This is what hand made guitars are all about I suppose.
I emailed Pickguardian and he suggested I send the CS pg to cut a copy from.
Thats probably the only way to get an exact fit.
Do you think Rickenbacker would cut me a new guard from the CS pg?
I would much rather have a "genuine" guard.
What do you reckon?

Pete, my feeling is you'd have a snowball's chance in hades of getting that done. Besides, this is a guess, but I don't think RIC makes their own guards, but has them made for them. We didn't see a guard-cutting station on the RIC factory tour.