Project Bass

[Gilmourisgod]

Howdy All,

First time poster here. I may have an opportunity to buy the stripped husk of an old 4001 from a friend who has been meaning to restore it for years, but never gets around to it. By "husk", I mean completely stripped, including fingerboard, no paint, no parts, just a body and neck. I think the previous Owner parted it out after giving up on a restoration job. He's given me right of first refusal before he puts it on e-bay. I think we can all agree that the price of even such stripped husks has gone purely insane on e-bay. He'll probably cut me a bit of deal on it, but I've been looking all over the internet for replacement parts and realized that the parts market has also gone loony, so the whole thing may be out of reach financially. Based on the prices I'm seeing on brand new 4003 parts online, people are obviously buying brand new 4003 Rick basses and parting them out. Other than the handful of parts licensed out by Rick, such as pickguards and replacement pickups, it looks like these are the only sources available. Some prices I've seen:

Replacement bridge $50-75
Neck Pickup $75-150
Bridge pickup $150-300
Pickguard $25
TRC - unobtainable

I can put the electronic together myself, so that's not a problem, except for the "ric-o-sound" jack plate. Anyone know of a source for double jack plates.

How about tuners? The originals were Schallers, can't afford it. Any good alternatives that look similar?

Anyone done a full restoration from scratch have an idea what the whole enchilada would cost? I'm not even thinking about a museum quality restoration, just making it playable.

[collin]

Anyone done a full restoration from scratch have an idea what the whole enchilada would cost? I'm not even thinking about a museum quality restoration, just making it playable.

What year? That's a HUGE variable.... go for it if it's a 1960s model, but anything after 1973... you will sink more money into making it a functional instrument than you would saving your money to buy a working example.

Only go this route if you seek something customized and don't want to alter an original working bass. My $.02 anyway...

[edski]

I'd agree with Collin - unless it's over 40 years old it's probably a fools errand. Especially if it's not a very detailed restore.

[Gilmourisgod]

My buddy thinks it's an 80's model. I once owned a 79', and it looks really similar. There is no input jack plate with a serial number, didn't see any other identifying marks on it. Is there any other obvious way to tell?

[edski]

There might be some identification marks in the control cavity, but probably not a date. Maybe a name or initials that could give an approximate date.

[Badanovski]

I mean completely stripped, including fingerboard,

If it is a 4001 & there's no truss rods it's pointless. Your chances of getting the hairpin truss rods are almost non-existent.

[bassduke49]

My buddy thinks it's an 80's model. I once owned a 79', and it looks really similar. There is no input jack plate with a serial number, didn't see any other identifying marks on it. Is there any other obvious way to tell?

4001 basses from the 1980s are rare compared with its contemporary successor, the 4003. If it is an early '80s 4003, there will be two simple slots in the headstock and no visible truss nuts there. The rods on the early 4003 were adjusted at the body end of the slots, and you should see the nuts there. If it is a 4001, the truss nuts will be at the headstock in a single elongated, rounded cavity. Later 4003 (late '85 and onwards) will have the single cavity in the headstock, adjusting nuts there, and acorn nuts visible in the body end of the truss rods.

4001 basses from 1975 to the end of production in the early '80s were pretty much all the same and would be difficult to date accurately without a jackplate or written dates in the cavities.

[Gilmourisgod]

I should have said, the truss rods appear to be intact, no neck cracks that I could see, and the neck still looked reasonably straight just eyeballing it. the truss rod nuts are up at the headstock, looked a little chewed up, but the bearing plate was intact. The maple strips are still in place over the truss rods, but the fingerboard is gone (what the hell were they thinking?). There were some cracks and big chips in the binding, so that would have to be re-done too. I'm beginning to think this is a job for an expert, which I am most certainly not. Thanks for the reality check.

[collin]

I mean completely stripped, including fingerboard,

If it is a 4001 & there's no truss rods it's pointless. Your chances of getting the hairpin truss rods are almost non-existent.

I can make these exact rods from about $15 worth of raw materials from ACE hardware...in about 30 minutes. Not rocket science...

That said, there are places that will sell you one already made for about $150 (1000% markup!)

[edski]

Thanks for the reality check.

Sorry for that, but you're probably better off. I can understand the emotion of seeing that remnant and imagining what it once was. But it's probably better to find one with the hardware that could use a refinishing.

No fingerboard? "what the hell were they thinking?" indeed!

[Colonel Sanders]

Let me be a contrarian here!

If you can get it for dirt cheap, you can build a pretty funky bass for little money. I am assuming you would do the work yourself.

But what I am talking about here is nothing like a restoration but the creation of a Frankenbass.

[RickyBubba]

Truss rod covers show up all the time on e-bay, especially from the "butcher" guy. Run around $250 range on up.

[jdogric12]

Is the neck 1 piece or 2 piece? There was a short period around 84 with 2-piece non-stripe necks.

[Gilmourisgod]

Well my buddy in California says he's finally going through with a restoration on the 4001 "husk", I think I shamed him into it (Joe, if you are reading this, consider yourself shamed). He's not a forum member, but may get around to posting some photos of his progress if I pester him enough. In the meantime, I'm trying to help him collect parts and materials. So far he has an Allparts standard Rick bass bridge, tuners, nut, pickguard, and I think he bought a neck pickup online. I know the current fingerboards are bubinga, and that they used to be padouk. A company called Gilmer Wood
https://www.gilmerwood.com/search_resul ... ds=bubinga
has some really nice bubinga fingerboard blanks, but it's $100 minimum order. Anyone know a good source for Bubinga/African Rosewood fingerboard blanks?
The other problem is that most blanks are only around 8mm thick. The current fingerboard thickness looks like somewhere between 5/16" and 3/8", and this seems critical because the nut is so tall, and the strip of fingerboard exposed below the binding also increases the thickeness. Does anyone know the actual thickness? He may have to buy a 1x plank and plane it down. I don't think he has skills to cut the fret slots himself, so he's talking about buying a pre-slotted fingerboard from LMI, but I think they are all too thin.

[Captain Bob]

If I'm not mistaken, the current fretboard material is Chechen and these were previously, Bubinga. A good internet search may turn up the desired thickness.

Cheers!