1968 Ric 4001 questions

fur85 · Post by **fur85** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:38 am

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I hope it's okay to fire away with a couple questions. OK, here goes, yesterday I got a call out of the blue from a guy who knows a friend of mine. He heard I like old basses. He's selling a bunch of gear for an older player and he thought I might be interested in a 68 Ric he's selling. I'm going to take a look at it in the next day or two. What should I be looking for? What are the variables in a 68 that would affect its value? The bass is mapleglo. Would that probably be a refinish? Any ideas what the ballpark range of values is for a 68? Any info and help will be appreciated. Thanks!

beatlefan · Post by **beatlefan** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:19 am

Let the games begin!!

Mark, you just made a WHOLE bunch of new friends!!

Welcome to THE FORUM Mark, consider this your 2nd family....or 3rd ;^)

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:46 am

problems to look for in a 1968 4001 ...

fretboard seperation ... the old truss rod system worked different ... you loosen the the nuts, adjust the neck and then tighten the nuts ... if the nuts are over tightened the fret board will pop off ...

demagnitized horseshoe pickup ... steel does not like to hold a magnetic field ...

high action ... the old 4001 neck is a little fragile ... most modern strings stress it beyond the design specs ...

modifications ... sometimes these old basses have modifications that reduce their value ... I used to own a 1968 ... I put on Ric straplocks, a modern ric pickup, but I left it mostly original and the changes that were made were reversed when I sold it ...

also most 1968 basses will have exposed wood on the back ...

I sold this one for $6500 ... I think that was above market value ...

http://www.3dentourage.com/68-ric-2.htm

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:00 am

Hi Mark!

Mark is the guy who sold me my 4004C, which is now owned by Paul Boyer.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:26 am

and I rewired that 4004c to volume, volume, tone, for Paul ... and I bought Paul's 2002 4003 mapleglo black trim bass ...

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:29 am

Well, then, I guess we can all join hands and sing "Kumbaya"....

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:51 am

as long as I get the bass solo ...

beatlefan · Post by **beatlefan** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 7:13 am

(chuckling).....

the bass bone's connected to the ....RIC bone...the RIC bone's connected to the $$$$$ bone....

henny · Post by **henny** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 8:55 am

henny · Post by **henny** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 8:57 am

Oh, goodness. 300th post! I've been here for 300 posts?! Eeek.

henny · Post by **henny** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 8:58 am

Jwr2, man - Make two random posts to get to 3000!

We can have a double celebration!

wints · Post by **wints** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:10 am

Mark, welcome...I like old basses too...If you could post a few pics it would help. In case you can,t, the usual factors apply.
Is the finish original? Mapleglo certainly could be. Does it have original hardware? Pick ups? It could have a horseshoe, or a hi-gain. My 68 has the latter. If it,s all original anything between 3 and $4000 is a good buy imo.
I think Jeff,s price was about right for a really cool bass, and another excellent F/G 68 sold for over $7000 just before that. Good luck and let us know!!

jnbass · Post by **jnbass** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:12 am

Hey Andy-

Someone's selling a reissue horse here...

Look under Rics for sale.

wints · Post by **wints** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:28 am

Jared...the hi-gain is original. I don,t want to change it!! I sent Gerry an original pair of horseshoes a while back for his 64, so I always knew about the re-issue...I saw it actually come up on E bay the other night and thought about the BIN and sitting on it...He was being a little charitable given the interest in these imo...

fur85 · Post by **fur85** » Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:54 am

Thanks for the great welcome and all the information. I'm going to look at the bass tomorrow and I'm bringing my guitar player just to have an extra set of eyes to go over it. If I wind up buying it I'll be sure to post some pictures. Thanks again for all the help. Mark