Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Ohhh.... sounds good Paul! My nana promised me a new bass (she'd buy it, I'd pay her back) and this might be a good'un.

Nate, I e-mailed you at the nz e-mail address in your profile. If that is no longer good, let me know.

A little late getting these taken, but here the pics of the TRC on my 4001 FL BG (QF, June 1977, date code):





As far as I know, this is original to the guitar, which is Burgundy with black plastic but chrome parts and white body binding). Has anybody seen another TRC like this?

I have not. That's like a white pinstripe. I painted the entire edge of mine white instead of a pinstripe. That one is really unusual, I think, Gary.

Can you tell if the "Made in USA Model 4001" is painted on, or is the TRC perhaps a laminate with the "Made . . . " engraved down into the white portion?

The small lettering looks to be hand done - not factory. Perhaps it started life as a white TRC and was painted?

I don't think it's a laminate, Paul. Ted, the lettering looks 'normal' to me, not any different from what I see on other TRCs. I'll take the TRC off this weekend, examine it under a stereo microscope at work, and report my findings.

CSI Rickenbacker

That would make us foremsic scientists, eh?

rimshot...

Ba dum bump! Crash!

It's a modified TRC. First, here's a picture of the back:



The black paint spots are a giveaway; I'm thinking it was a white TRC with black lettering that someone has painted in its current motif. For comparison, here are the TRCs from my 1977 4000 FL BG and my 1975 4001S WHT WT:




Note that although the 1977 4000 FL BG is contemporaneous with the 4001 FL BG, it does not have the "Model ..." script on its TRC.

OK, here is the microscope I used to look very closely at the TRC in question:



The side showed distinct black-paint brush strokes:



as did the top lettering (white paint):



Also, the "model..." lettering is definitely paint-by-number rough (good call, Paul and Ted!):



I won't beat this into the ground with more pictures, as it is clear that the TRC is modified. Drat!

Looks like he painted it black, then sanded off the top of the "Rickenbacker" lettering to reveal the white plastic. Interesting, though.

Gary: Do you have any idea what kind of plastic it is made of? I have one that is covered with some kind of adhesive or paint (can't tell what it is) that will not come off with soap and water. Knowing the type of plastic would help in selecting a solvent.

the case is sol-ved...

Ted, I don't know for certain, but based on my experience working at a plastics warehouse, it seems to be ABS. If I had access to a near-infrared (NIR) spectrophotometer, I probably would be able to identify it.