1965 4001 needs a bit of TLC

[jps]

Paul,

Unfortunately, Snow White is sold. She went to guy in the midwest who planned to drop tune her and gig her in his rock band. I have a feeling she's not going to be happy with what he has planned for her. I was considering keeping her, at least her electronics, to use in a worth project. This would have been perfect for that!!! Now I'm scouring the internet for a set of shoes. Damn!!

Sepp

Can you talk to the buyer of SW and see if he would be interested in a swap for a RI horseshoe pickup, maybe?

[Kopfjaeger]

Jeff,

Not a bad idea. The new owner was very clueless about her. He said he had an expert repair man that serviced his other basses and that he knew Rickenbackers but he seemed have a million questions about how to adjust the rods after he swapped out strings. I'll ask his how things are going with her and if he's happy with the her sound, as a way to break the ice. Better yet, I'll tell him Snow White is in Paul's book.

Sepp

[jps]

Good idea, also, butter him up tell him the RI HS pickups are an improved version of the old, funky ones that tend to loose their output over time.

[walker]

Wow! First off, congrats on this acquisition, Joe. So glad another RRF'er landed another '60s vintage beaut. I love the look of this bass - great show of the years and the miles in the finish. I know that there has been a lot said about the bass so far, but I haven't read it all because I felt compelled to cut to the chase with my comment when I caught the phrase "I'm considering a refin" and did a spit-take all over my monitor. First off - it's your bass to do with what you feel is in your best interest, but I'm in the camp that would implore you to leave it as-is. It's not like my RM that had lost all it's original paint eons ago; this '65 still has the majority of it's paint intact. If anything, please consider preservation and possibly restoration over a complete refin!

I did a finish restoration on this '64 RM 1999 to conceal the splint that was put in the neck in addition to a crack on the other side of it. The goal was to conceal the original paint while blending in new paint to hide the splint. Here's a before & after shot:

[Chris P]

Cool!

I guess the '70s Gibson pickup will have some fans too on eBay.

[Kopfjaeger]

Cool!

I guess the '70s Gibson pickup will have some fans too on eBay.

Yes, quite a few watchers on that already!!

OK, I pulled all the hardware off her today. Sent the pickguard out to Tony at Pickguardian so he can cut me a new one with a toaster cut out in the half inch position. Sent my harness to Dane Wilder to have it rebuilt with proper caps and wire.

Was very happy to see the Schaller M4's did require the peg holes to be enlarged!! The C64's will work nicely. I slathered the finish in Scratch-X and could not believe the **** that came off the finish!! I then applied a coat of Zymol to it and was amazed at the shine that is still there!! The fret wear was a bit more than I thought and a chunk of binding that was held on by some sticky **** fell off while cleaning.

The saddles are cut very deep but the bridge action was turned halfway up. Seems to to me that a very hard to find set of saddles were wrecked because the bridge was not adjusted down. How do I go about filling these crevasse's in? Can the new saddles be modified to work?? Also, one of the intonation screws was missing. I have to see if it was stripped or just left off.

Oh, my tail piece has that bizarre over engineered mute bar!! Cool as heck!!

Sepp

Looks better in person but much better than before!!

Fret and board wear

Look at that shine!!

[collin]

Whoa, looking great Sepp!!

[walker]

HA HA! I love those multi-panel mute pad bars. Indeed, very meticulously engineered!

I've got a little height adjustment screw for the bridge if you need one. Also, I've used steel epoxy to fill in worn saddles with good results.

[cjj]

Yeah, I'm in the "not refin" camp on this one, looks pretty good!

[Kopfjaeger]

Yeah, I'm in the "not refin" camp on this one, looks pretty good!

Cj

I agree. The leave it alone approach won me over, especially after cleaning it up today!! I still think I'll opt to get her re-fret and re-finish the fretboard but that won't be for a while. Once all the parts are in, I want to enjoy her a bit.

Sepp

[cjj]

I have to admit, I was wavering before the after cleanup pics, but cleaned up, it looks great! Yeah, it could use a refret, which is a "normal" wear and tear thing to have done to keep the instrument playable. And that usually involves at least some refinishing on the fretboard, I think...

[collin]

Yeah, I'm in the "not refin" camp on this one, looks pretty good!

Cj

I agree. The leave it alone approach won me over, especially after cleaning it up today!! I still think I'll opt to get her re-fret and re-finish the fretboard but that won't be for a while. Once all the parts are in, I want to enjoy her a bit.

Sepp

Great to hear! It has so much character, it's just perfect as-is.

[iiipopes]

The Mini-Schallers you took off make 4002 aficionados, like me, drool. (The "down" screw tab instead of the "sideways" screw tab on the newer ones....)

[Kopfjaeger]

The Mini-Schallers you took off make 4002 aficionados, like me, drool. (The "down" screw tab instead of the "sideways" screw tab on the newer ones....)

Scott, exactly!! Now I have a spare set for either of my 4002's!!

Sepp

[Grey]

I just noticed that hideous string tree someone stuck on the headstock. Why???