1958 Rickenbacker 4000 Bass On Ebay!

beatlefan · Post by **beatlefan** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 6:43 am

John,

do I detect a bit of drool?

wints · Post by **wints** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 7:32 am

The repair looks like it was done by a talented guy. It,s a shame it was so damaged originally in transit. It,s a cool one though and you could probably count on one hand how many there are.

For some reason they don't seem quite as collectible as the 60's basses though, so it,s hard to put a price on it. The J/G 68 4001 that the Guitar Broker sold for $6K is far more common but I,d be surprised if this made 80% of that figure.

Phil, not all old basses are "cows" to play! My white RM1999 plays itself almost. Real low action with that super thin neck makes it the easiest bass I,ve ever played. My 73 fretless comes in a close second...

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 8:24 am

Chris, let's just say that any 1958 Rickenbacker has a home in my collection.

Even with the damaged neck it appears to be one of the cleaner early Rickenbacker basses I've seen for sale in recent times; it could be easily worth the opening bid for sure.

I don't mean to pick on Larry, but trying to identify a '58 4000 with McCartney and Squire is a bit of a reach...it's safe to say the basses they played were a bit different.

philipharris · Post by **philipharris** » Tue Feb 15, 2005 9:39 am

fair point, wints, and I shouldn't have included my 65 which is great for feel (but so-so for sound).

henny · Post by **henny** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 12:34 am

Stunning bass. That pickguard design is wow.

beatlefan · Post by **beatlefan** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 8:39 am

I might go for this one if it were a "buy it now" at that price....

wints · Post by **wints** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:09 am

Chris, a lot of people may be scared by that neck repair and I think this will not fetch as much $$$$ as many people think. If I was really interested I,d place a bid at that price and start talking to the seller....

henny · Post by **henny** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 12:08 am

I think if somebody here nailed it, it'd take the place of Wint's Rm1999 as the forum flagship bass.

relayer · Post by **relayer** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 6:52 pm

That thing is just too cool!

I'd love to have it myself just for the wow factor, but the timing isn't right for me, not to mention that I don't think I'd feel comfortable not being able to see it in person first (err...actually, to have one of the forum experts check it, really).

OTOH, I ran the s/n through RIC's decoder, and it came up as invalid - that's probably an issue with the decoder though, right?

ken_j · Post by **ken_j** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 2:45 am

The ser# is correct for a 58' per the Smith book. B=Bass Smith's example for a 57' is B7105.

wints · Post by **wints** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 3:08 am

It's all kosher, but no bids and a day and a half to go. Is someone going to come in late and snipe it...

ken_swearingen · Post by **ken_swearingen** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 3:31 am

Hate to say it Mark ,nothing with a repaired headstock and no history could topple wints's RM 1999 first of all it was maurice gibbs bass and the only white RM I know of-wints Ive been meaning to ask[who painted it white?]we know it wasnt ric. it would be cream colored by now.

henny · Post by **henny** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 3:38 am

True, you have a point.

So, did Roger Rossmeisl design the initial 4000 shape?

ken_swearingen · Post by **ken_swearingen** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 3:58 am

50s basses are cool but with a lot of snags thick and clunker not a player for the most part unless you really set it up to be and that could hurt the value of the instrument,this one could be messed with without worry.mark i believe he did then over time refined it,my personal feelings these basses are cool i like the guard and the look-if they were only like a vintage fender great players.ive seen 3 of these 50s 4000s for sale in the last year how many RM1999s none

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Sun Feb 20, 2005 4:02 am

Yes he did, Mark.
Rossmeisl joined Rickenbacker (then Electro) in early '54, after working for Gibson for about 1.5 years. He left Rickenbacker in '62 and then worked for Fender for 6 years before going back to Germany. He was responsible for the contemporary Rickenbacker style, including the Capri's, Combo's and the original 4000 (although I much prefer the refined version from '61 on).