Was this o.k. to do?

[DBR]

Very well built , great sounding , Rickenbacker FireGlo 4004Cii. Converted to 5 string.

[blueflamerick]

If it works for you, than it was an ok thing to do.

[atomic_punk]

Totally. I love em, and can't wait for 5vers to start rolling out of Santa Ana again!

[Tarrbot]

I'd actually consider buying new if they started rolling out of the factory door.

Hopefully, they'd consider a fretless 5'er. That's something I'm dreaming of having.

[ram]

Ric, great looking convert! Does it play as good as it looks?

[blueflamerick]

Looks like it's for sale.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/msg/1336444793.html

[Tarrbot]

I wished I had $1400 to spare.

[aceonbass]

Wait till you see the headstock, which was also conveniently left out of the Craigslist ad.

[cjj]

Yeah, that's the part of the mod that really defines whether or not it was "o.k. to do"...

[ram]

Good point.

[jingle_jangle]

When a tuning post looks "patched in" or "added into" a headstock, then it's compromising the look of an otherwise elegant feature. I think the only way to do a proper fiver is to extend the headstock--an impossibility with see-through finishes, and difficult to do in any event. The E and A holes need to be repositioned. One becomes the B, and a new E is drilled between the repositioned ones. There's plugging to be done, too.

Dane explained this to me at SCARF.

[atomic_punk]

Sure, if you wanna drop another $500ish on your bass and wait a few months to get it done...do it.
There is no "right" or "wrong" way, only opinions. Sure I would love to see the tuner on the top side, but is it worth it to the owner to wait and spend? That's their decision.

[aceonbass]

I had the headstock on my 4004L modded and back to me to re-drill inside inside of a week. I had the bridge I used modified for the bass done in an evening, the headstock painted inside of three weeks and the bass reassembled and set up in another evening. Maybe it's OCD, or maybe it's the desire to get a reasonable amount of money if I ever decided to sell the bass, but drilling a hole off-center on the bottom of the headstock, while not affecting the sound, WILL affect the resale value down the road and of course the asthetics. These pics were taken BEFORE the headstock was repainted.

[jingle_jangle]

Sure, if you wanna drop another $500ish on your bass and wait a few months to get it done...do it.
There is no "right" or "wrong" way, only opinions. Sure I would love to see the tuner on the top side, but is it worth it to the owner to wait and spend? That's their decision.

Boy...I'm not soliciting work, if it seemed like that. I'm booked solid with every kind of Rickenproject you could imagine, and have finished ten projects, major and minor, in the last 6 weeks.

There is most certainly one or several "right" ways to do things (especially where a $2K+ instrument is concerned) and many "wrong" ways, too. If it just came down to opinions where craft was concerned, beautifully-done work would be of little or no value, and the work of a craftsman's life would be discounted to worthless as we sought instead shoddy, cheap solutions.

My comments are intended to address both the aesthetic and functional aspects of such a mod. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing to the fullest extent, or it's going to impact aesthetics, function, and (because of this!) resale value in the end. I've heard from many an owner of both basses and guitars who had a less-than-optimally-modded Rickenbacker sitting on a stand or hanging on their wall, that over time began to irritate them, as they realized that it was worth spending more time and/or money to get it done RIGHT.

Whoever Dane used to do the mod work on his 5er (it wasn't me--he was well-set-up before I came on the scene 5 years ago) and a bunch of other mods for him, did fine work with a good eye for detail and Rick style. Kudos for a number of jobs well done.

For a good look at the extreme end of shoddy and cheap (though certainly ingenious!), check out http://www.thereifixedit.com

Warning--no liquids while looking at this website--you'll end up spraying your monitor and keyboard!!!

[atomic_punk]

I'm not trying to get anyone riled up here, just saying that most bass players don't have paint spray operations, wood joining tools, etc. to do this kind of thing. I appreciate the effort to "do it right", but if the owner decides to do it the other way, it's their call.
Either way, the end result is modified and partially refinished, which might effect the resale value also.