Dating a Lightshow bass

[bassduke49]

What? Yeah, sounds funny. I've been in communication with a fellow in Japan who has one of the five 4005LS Light Show basses. We are trying to establish the date of manufacture. The incongruous part is the jackplate with a date stamp of "HF" which indicates June of 1968. He notes a pot date R1378834 (I don't know how to read these, so help?). But 1968 seems waaaayy early for a Light Show. The 331LS Light Show guitars were made in 1971 (if the registry can be believed). This fellow's 4005LS also has full-width crushed-pearl inlays and the thin shedua strip down the middle of the neck which, if using the 4001 as a comparison, would indicate late 1972 to early 1973. It also has two button-top high-gain pickups, a feature of late 4005s. Can anyone shed some "light" on the Light Show?

[cjj]

The pot code says the pot was made week 34 of 1988...

[jps]

And now it begins..............the mystery, that is.

[YZZ]

They were produced in 1968 actually.

The pots could probably have been replaced at sometime and that is probably the case as well.
If it has been played fairly much then the pots do not hold on for 43 years.

[bassduke49]

The owner believes the LS came to Japan in 1988 "after electric wire exchange, maybe."

So that might explain the later pot codes and even the later pickups, but the use of the narrow shedua strip in the neck and lack of walnut headwings is definitely early '72 and onward. Could the jackplate have been exchanged as well? You would think the basses and the guitars would have been made around the same time (1971 for the guitars).

Puzzle.

[collin]

Pictures, pictures!

I have heard, too, that the LS guitars and basses were actually designed and built in the late 60's, and weren't sold as production items until the early 70's. That might only be true for a small number of early ones, but i'm not sure about that...

regardless -- changed wiring or not, a 4005LS is an unbelievably rare instrument.

[sloop_john_b]

Important to remember that a lot of instruments were finished in the late 80's and sold through Scott Jennings' music store.

[bassduke49]

More clues: The headstock is the short stocky shape of the '70s, consistent with the shedua strip. However, the tuners (could have been replacements) are the chromed Schaller types with the Rickenbacker branding.

So, to me, the only thing that suggests 1968 is the jackplate, 1972 or later for the wood and shape, and possibly the '80s for hardware.

John, tell me more about the Scott Jennings story, please!

[s4001]

Jackplates and hardware can be replaced, but not the shape of the wood.

[YZZ]

It might be something that has been on the shelf at the rickenbacker factory maybe?
Therefor built 68' and finished somewhere in the 70s or 80s.

Get us some pictures mate!

[bassduke49]

It might be something that has been on the shelf at the rickenbacker factory maybe?
Therefor built 68' and finished somewhere in the 70s or 80s.

Get us some pictures mate!

Nah, the wood construction would be the key to dating it, and that says 72 or later.

http://www.tatadoheaven.com/Ric/4005LS/DSC03112.JPG
http://www.tatadoheaven.com/Ric/4005LS/DSC03124.JPG
http://www.tatadoheaven.com/Ric/4005LS/DSC03135.JPG

[cjj]

Ask if he can send you any numbers on the caps too. Those often have date codes on them which might help determine when the rest of the electronics were made...

[bassduke49]

These may help, but are all I have:

http://www.tatadoheaven.com/Ric/4005LS/DSCN0005.JPG

http://www.tatadoheaven.com/Ric/4005LS/DSCN0008.JPG

[chrisdski]

Lovely Burgundy

[cjj]

These may help, but are all I have:

http://www.tatadoheaven.com/Ric/4005LS/DSCN0005.JPG

http://www.tatadoheaven.com/Ric/4005LS/DSCN0008.JPG

Hmm, I was talking about the ones on the PC boards in the body, but those really don't show much. While someone may have changed the vol & tone pots, it's unlikely they would change the circuit boards on any of those components. But if you don't have any better pics and can't get more, that's pretty much a dead end...