1976 4001 and a 1957 Combo 400

[nortega]

Not sure where to make introductions but figured I'd do mine here. Just acquired a 1957 Combo 400 to pair with my 4001 built in July of 1976. I'm enjoying the Combo 400 a lot, can't tell if the paint is original or not. I hear the brown has a tendency to fade into a fire red with age.

[libratune]

Welcome to the forum!

I am thinking the paint on your 400 Combo may not be original as you should be able to see the "neck thru" on the bottom of the guitar; it wouldn't be painted over. You could also tell the same thing from the back.

Here's some pics of my 400 Combo 1956 in Brown, original finish, for comparison:

[Ivan3000]

Welcome! Beautiful headstock on the combo!

[jingle_jangle]

I'd give odds that it's a refinish, brush or rattle can is hard to tell on this iPhone.

No matter--it's loaded with charm!!!

[nortega]

Finish is rough and was probably brushed on long ago. Odds are it had a brush refinish in the 60's as there is coverage of the neck through on the back and the "flocking" is long gone from the back... in fact the back is solid wood with no sign of any other material ever having been there.

I'll post some better pics of the Combo 400. It's a shame that the pics are limited to 800x600 even when we host them elsewhere. Is there away to show larger pics on this site?

[jps]

Welcome, Jay!

If you attach the photos using the Upload Attachment button below the text box when you make a posting you can go 1280 x 1280 and 500KB in size.

[jingle_jangle]

Jay, here's what I mean by charm--my own '56 Combo 400 as I got it in 2010...









I ended up restoring it, because I've always wanted a Cloverfield Green Combo with a Kauffman Vib-Ro-La.













These are VERY COOL guitars!

[nortega]

I have been studying yours Paul as there isn't much documentation out there on these 400's. I had read somewhere that there are roughly 500 in existence (here actually: http://www.daddys.com/blog/?p=2457). It of course looks phenomenal finished in Cloverfield... and to just happen to have a Kauffman Vib-Ro-La laying around to toss on the backend... well, I'm pretty jealous.

The thing that is interesting to me is that you've got the 4 drilled openings on side that allow the body to split with 4 screws. Mine doesn't seem to have them. Maybe they've been filled, but staring at the surface I cannot see any indication of their presence.

[nortega]

Shot of the back edge (50/1.4 lens in low light... not too much DoF):

[nortega]

Grover Tuners. Are these original? Still work pretty damn good.

[nortega]

C/U of sweet diamond knobs. Seen these on other 50's Ricks... assume they are original. Although what is weird is they turn to a stop on the pot, and then with minimal pressure will continue spinning endlessly. I can't see a stop screw down in the hole so maybe they are missing. I can't lift the knob of the pot and didn't want to exert too much pressure. Any idea why they'd spin like this?

[jwilli]

The tuners look original but I believe those knobs were added later. Rickenbacker used the brown oven knobs on Capris and usually the smaller, black knobs on these Combos at the time.

[Ivan3000]

That cloverfield looks fantastic, Paul!

[jingle_jangle]

I have been studying yours Paul as there isn't much documentation out there on these 400's. I had read somewhere that there are roughly 500 in existence (here actually: http://www.daddys.com/blog/?p=2457). It of course looks phenomenal finished in Cloverfield... and to just happen to have a Kauffman Vib-Ro-La laying around to toss on the backend... well, I'm pretty jealous.

The thing that is interesting to me is that you've got the 4 drilled openings on side that allow the body to split with 4 screws. Mine doesn't seem to have them. Maybe they've been filled, but staring at the surface I cannot see any indication of their presence.

Well, observing the work that's been done on yours, Noah, I'd have to guess that either it's a later model (your scratchplate shape is a '56, but you say '57; note that '57s had glued wings; no more bolts.), or it was glued and the holes filled. I'm inclined to the former.

Serial #? The number after the 4C gives the year. 6='56, 7='57.

[nortega]

4c72xx, so I was thinking it was a 1957. So they did move to glued wings. Would have been a lot easier to refinish them if they were bolted on. No matter, I doubt I will fuss with it too much, it plays amazing as is. Anyone have a photo of what the '57 scratch plate was supposed to look like?