4003 Blackstar

[Kopfjaeger]

For a change I've had a ton of spare time on my hands this past weekend so I took a bunch of fotos and decided to post my two newest acquisitions. The first, my 1973 4001, met with barely any feedback so I'm throwing this into the fray in the hopes to jump start some feedback.

Here is H17194, which was manufactured in August of 1988. while I do not have the certificate, Rickenbacker HQ has confirmed that it is Blackstar #17.

This bass has seen action but it is a great player! I want to thank Jaymi for the opportunity to own it since I have been looking for one for quite some time. This one fits the bill perfectly! It has a few dings and chips but the neck is flat and straight and the bridge is in the weeds! It has a bit of tail lift but I expected that. I have a fix in mind and I'll keep you all posted on how that works out.

I plan to add a Tube Ampology treble pup surround to it to give me a perch to anchor my thumb and fix the tail lift. Other than that, and a Circle K string change, it is staying exactly as it is.

As always, comments are appreciated and welcome.

Enjoy!

Sepp

[Kopfjaeger]

Two more fotos.

Sepp

[doctorwho]

Sweet! Thanks for posting the pictures!

[stanislav]

The Blackstar is my overall favorite Rickenbacker bass.

[blueroofshaun]

Amazing!!

[incubus2432]

Beautiful Blackstar.....love the battlescars!

[Kopfjaeger]

Oh well, I'm soon to be down to one Rickenbacker in the house. I've made the decision to send off my Blackstar to Paul W. for a full refurb. I made some improvements to her since I bought her a few months ago. I removed the tailpiece and pup bezel and had them powder coated. Added shims to under the tail piece well and installed the new style and fresh powder coated tail piece and trim. it looked 100% better. Someone had painted the bezel with spray paint and that looked like crud so that needed to get fixed. I eliminated all of the nasty tail lift as well.

I was planning to have the nut replaced since the string slots are almost flush with the fret board. When I had it all apart for a good cleaning, I noticed a bit of wear to the fretboard. That set the ball in motion for a refinish. The battle scars do not bother me and they think they add character but this bass is a bit of a collectable and my line of thinking is that If I start with a clean slate, I get to add my own series of battle scars to it over the next few decades!

Note how bare my wall is! My "73" 4001 is out getting a new white nut installed. It was supposed to take 48 hours but is been over a week so far. NOT HAPPY!!!

Blackstar #17 ships out on Monday and Paul said 6 weeks from start to finish so I'm hoping for an early Christmas present when it returns!! I'll keep the list posted with progress fotos as they roll in, or Paul can post some here if he wishes.

Stay tuned!!

Sepp

[johnallg]

Man, that wall is gonna look REALLY bare after shipping the Blackstar.

This should be interesting. Nice existing battle scars though.

[incubus2432]

BTW......Paul W. does a mean Blackstar treatment.....

[Kopfjaeger]

Brian,
WOW! Very nice! I know I'll miss her while she's gone but she's going to be amazing when she returns!!

Sepp

[Blackstar]

My Blackstar (#96) is in with Paul W for a refin. It was beat up by previous owners. It should be in the mail; I can't wait to get it back!

[jaymi]

#62 and 115 are around... no needs for refin though!!!

[Kopfjaeger]

My Blackstar (#96) is in with Paul W for a refin. It was beat up by previous owners. It should be in the mail; I can't wait to get it back!

Blackstar #17 shipped out to Paulo this morning so our basses are passing each other in the mail!!

Sepp

[geofio]

very nice indeed, thats one good looking rickenbacker.

[Kopfjaeger]

Guys, It's been a hectic past few weeks for me but I wanted to post a few fotos of my refinished Blackstar #17. It got back from Paul W's after 12 weeks stop over at his miracle maker shop! I had Paul refret it (it needed it), strip it down, install new micro fret markers on the edge as well on the fret board, and replace the TRC which had the Rickenbacker script painted, a new nut, and of course copious layers of black paint!!

Before sending it I had the treble pup surround powder coated since somewhere along the way it too had been painted. i purchased a slightly used chrome tailpiece and had that powder coated as well. All the hardware was in great shape but as it went together, Paul did not not think the worn pick guard was a good match for the bass so he crafted a new one!!

The fotos don't do Pauls work justice!! The finish is flawless in every way and is ink black. The black finish has a depth to it that rivals the la Brea tar pits!

The Blackstar I sent was battle scared in many places. Numerous nicks dings and wear marks throughout the body neck and fret board. Paul massaged 99% of these and it look factory fresh, if not better! He asked me my playing style and set it up perfectly!

I'm thrilled to have her back in the fold and she now looks as striking as her sound. Thanks again Paul, you are the man!!


Sepp