Poor old 4000

[Lewis90]

A few weeks ago I got my hands on this Cliff Burton-ized Rick 4000. It's built in July 1975 and has a wonderfull neck, but has seen better days.
With some work this could become a real nice player!



The good:
- The neck doesn't seem to collapse into the body
- The bridge pickup is original and sounds amazing
- Most of the hardware is original and working fine

The bad:
- The frets on the lower register are worn down
- The neck pickup is very poorly installed
- The electronics are fried, probably been installed by someone with little knowledge of soldering
- It looks like someone tried to carve new slots in the nut with a hacksaw

For now, I'm thinking of converting this to a pre-1974 4001S, a bit like this:


More pics (not for the faint of heart)

[sloop_john_b]

Man. I love that as-is.

[s4001]

There was a mudbucker in my 68 when I got it. It blended great with original pickup. Either way it's win/ win.

[cassius987]

Man. I love that as-is.

Can't say I love it, but if the price were right, I probably would have added it to the stable anyway. Seems like it has a lot of potential. (And I love mid-70s Ric necks.)

I admit, I'm curious how the giant lego brick pickup sounds. Congrats on the cool new (to you) bass, OP!

[bassduke49]

I WAS going to ask why you thought it was a 4000 and not a 4001S, but after I saw the shot of the routing for the neck pickup, I see that you've nailed it. This is an example of the mid-'70s "set neck" 4000, somewhat crudely converted to a "4001S." The contemporary 4001S had the same chassis as the 4000. Looks like a sleeper!

[collin]

I WAS going to ask why you thought it was a 4000 and not a 4001S, but after I saw the shot of the routing for the neck pickup, I see that you've nailed it. This is an example of the mid-'70s "set neck" 4000, somewhat crudely converted to a "4001S." The contemporary 4001S had the same chassis as the 4000. Looks like a sleeper!

You couldn’t tell that just by looking at the first picture, with no skunk stripe

[wim]

I'm wondering, seeing that route, if the neck joint is stable? There could not be much wood left.

[bassduke49]

I WAS going to ask why you thought it was a 4000 and not a 4001S, but after I saw the shot of the routing for the neck pickup, I see that you've nailed it. This is an example of the mid-'70s "set neck" 4000, somewhat crudely converted to a "4001S." The contemporary 4001S had the same chassis as the 4000. Looks like a sleeper!

You couldn’t tell that just by looking at the first picture, with no skunk stripe

No. Because a '75 4000 and a '75 4001S would both have the set neck with the shedua (skunk stripe) neck.

[collin]

I WAS going to ask why you thought it was a 4000 and not a 4001S, but after I saw the shot of the routing for the neck pickup, I see that you've nailed it. This is an example of the mid-'70s "set neck" 4000, somewhat crudely converted to a "4001S." The contemporary 4001S had the same chassis as the 4000. Looks like a sleeper!

You couldn’t tell that just by looking at the first picture, with no skunk stripe

No. Because a '75 4000 and a '75 4001S would both have the set neck with the shedua (skunk stripe) neck.

A mid-70s 4001S had a set neck? Didn't realize that.

I always look for the stripe down by the tailpiece to check if it's a set neck or not.

[jps]

A mid-70s 4001S had a set neck?

Yes, starting around 1974-ish. Maybe, 1973.

[collin]

A mid-70s 4001S had a set neck?

Yes, starting around 1974-ish. Maybe, 1973.

Not entirely surprised. 1973 seems to be a major dividing line for all kinds of production details (large and small..), on most of the lineup.

[henry5]

'73. My old '73 4000 was a set neck. That was the most aggressive-sounding bass I've ever played, and I've played literally thousands of basses at all price points.

[daveman]

Nice score. If it were mine, I'd restore it to a 4000. Plug those nasty holes.

[Kiddwad57]

I’m with you, daveman.

[teeder]

'73. My old '73 4000 was a set neck. That was the most aggressive-sounding bass I've ever played, and I've played literally thousands of basses at all price points.

There's not much you can't do with a good sounding bridge PU in a Rick.