Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Dave, if you ever manage to get that Steinberger back, I'd gladly take it. I think, for your sake, you've gotta stop "retiring".

I am unretired, permanently. Now with a Lakland 55-94 that will not be sold, ever. Well .. maybe for $1 million.

Yeah, '72s are fairly rare on the secondary market, if eBay is any indication. Collectors grab them up and pay pretty high prices if one is in good or great condition. If your's is a '72, it definitely had the "skunk" stripe, even if under paint.

I've got a '72 Mapleglo currently under restoration (see "PB-1 project" thread). Ted Staberow is rebinding, dressing the fingerboard, refretting, and sanding it in preparation of a new finish by Paul Wilcynski next month (I hope). You can get to see a lot of "nekid" shots of it in that thread.

"Since mine was Jetglo, I never knew if it had the skunkstripe."

My '76 is jetglo, and I just look at the back on the bass in the light. I can see though the finish (Well not really, just the neck shows) and I see the neck in three pieces.

Any idea what a 70-73 is worth these days?

The early 70's basses have been going for between $2000 and $3000 depending on color and condition. Some are offered for a lot more and sometimes get it. In the case of '73, the early ones have the nice appointments and the later ones look like '74 examples. The plain '73s are not nearly as valuable.

Wow, thanks Ted. Sounds like the pivot point is 73. Early = $3000, late and after = $1500.

Is this primarily a cosmetic thing, or did the sound and feel change? Would a V63 or C64 offer the same sound and feel?

Late '73s go for about what '74s of the same color are getting - ~$1000 these days.

IMHO It is all about the look. The binding and inlays don't do much for the sound, they are only eye candy. As for the V63 and C64, they have hotter pickups and are made a bit differently. Seeing as they are genetic relatives, they can sound something like their ancestors. Feel is another story. The necks are more or less the same width but have different shapes.

1973 is the pivot point. AFAIK (please correct me if I haven't got it right), Jan-Apr '73 had checkerboard and full width inlays, May-Aug had checkerboard but the inlays were the "new" style, and Sep-Dec is plain binding, and isn't different from a '74 (and therefore worth about the same).

Ted, from what I see on eBay, late '73 and '74s usually go for a bit more than $1,000. I'd say about $1,200. $1,000 is quite a bargain for an unmodified '74 in any color.

"IMHO It is all about the look."

+1

What was the first year of the 4001?

1961

Supposedly 1961. I've never seen one. I'd like to see one;
they must be pretty nifty.
The earliest I've held was a 1963.

Should I ask what 61 would be worth?

Very different from a 71-73?

Yes, very different from an early 70's. Early 60's 4001s are quite expensive these days. Pre '65 examples (in good condition) usually sell for more than $7000. A '61 (there were only a few made) would probably be well over $12,000. Pre '69 are getting up there too. In my experience, $5000 to $7000 is not unusual.

It's getting hard to put a certain price on any 60's Rickenbacker bass these days. They have reached the stage where a general figure simply cannot apply anymore and each bass has to be taken on it's own merit and negotiated accordingly.

I think if you pick anything up for under $5K your doing very well, with good original examples (if you can find one) close to the 5 figure mark.

The early 70's basses are appreciating real fast too. Get one while you can!