Dude!
Commemoration - Your Guitar's Manufacture Anniversary
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
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shinynewtoy
- Intermediate Member
- Posts: 1347
- Joined: Fri May 27, 2005 7:46 pm
OK. August it is.
This month marks the 28th birthday of my 1979 4001SLH:
I bought it sight-unseen back in 1993 from South-Paw Guitars out of Houston, TX. I lived in Seattle, WA at the time, and did the whole deal over the phone. I already had my other '79 4001V63 JG - the bass with all the chrome hardware & TRC, and the '76 4001FL - also chromed up the yin-yang. I wanted a gigging bass that I could kick around without having to buff down every time I came within 10 feet of it. I wanted another Rick, of course, but figured I'd do something different when getting a third, so I specifically hunted down Southpaw to find a lefty. They had three used Ricks, all around the $800 range, and the guy there told me that one in particular was in really good shape. So on his description, I had him ship me the "really good one," not really caring about the cosmetic condition too much because I planned on stripping the paint off anyway and doing the monstrosity you now see.
So the bass arrived in decent time, and as I unpacked it, I was looking forward to seeing this bass in "really good condition." I opened the case and saw that it was another Jetglo like my first 4001. I pulled it out - looked at it, looked even more CLOSELY at it, and could not find ONE hint of a scratch on it - not even on the back in the buckle-rash area. There were NO MARKS anywhere on this 14 year-old bass. And the chrome was perfect, too. I don't know how long Southpaw had it, but the bass must have spent the majority of it's life sitting in the case unplayed.
This completely spoiled my initial plan, which was to buy some old lefty bass that I could play upside down and kick around without having to baby or worry about too much. This ended up being essentially the first "NEW" Rick I'd ever owned. I agonized over what to do with this bass for about three months - strip it as planned, or keep it as-is. It nearly broke my heart to tear off that unscathed finish, but that's 'zactly whut ah deeid.
This bass went through at least 6 different Rick pickups. For awhile, it had the bridge pickup from one of Lemmy's old Ricks (I get this information from Mike Lull who put it in for me) but everything I played sounded so evil, I had to take it out. I found an old pre-WWII horseshoe pickup at a guitar show in Seattle, and slapped that sucker in there. (It was more re-routing than actual slapping.) I'm told that the toaster is from a 1968 bass. The tone pots have been bypassed because my arm kept inadvertently turning the tone knobs as I played. This bass is subsequently the brightest sounding of all my Ricks. Check it out in the intro of this song from my first CD:
Family Tree (skip to track #4)
So that's mah story, and I'm sticking to it.
Where are all the DH'ers out there? Gerry? Darren? Andy? Got history?
This month marks the 28th birthday of my 1979 4001SLH:
I bought it sight-unseen back in 1993 from South-Paw Guitars out of Houston, TX. I lived in Seattle, WA at the time, and did the whole deal over the phone. I already had my other '79 4001V63 JG - the bass with all the chrome hardware & TRC, and the '76 4001FL - also chromed up the yin-yang. I wanted a gigging bass that I could kick around without having to buff down every time I came within 10 feet of it. I wanted another Rick, of course, but figured I'd do something different when getting a third, so I specifically hunted down Southpaw to find a lefty. They had three used Ricks, all around the $800 range, and the guy there told me that one in particular was in really good shape. So on his description, I had him ship me the "really good one," not really caring about the cosmetic condition too much because I planned on stripping the paint off anyway and doing the monstrosity you now see.
So the bass arrived in decent time, and as I unpacked it, I was looking forward to seeing this bass in "really good condition." I opened the case and saw that it was another Jetglo like my first 4001. I pulled it out - looked at it, looked even more CLOSELY at it, and could not find ONE hint of a scratch on it - not even on the back in the buckle-rash area. There were NO MARKS anywhere on this 14 year-old bass. And the chrome was perfect, too. I don't know how long Southpaw had it, but the bass must have spent the majority of it's life sitting in the case unplayed.
This completely spoiled my initial plan, which was to buy some old lefty bass that I could play upside down and kick around without having to baby or worry about too much. This ended up being essentially the first "NEW" Rick I'd ever owned. I agonized over what to do with this bass for about three months - strip it as planned, or keep it as-is. It nearly broke my heart to tear off that unscathed finish, but that's 'zactly whut ah deeid.
This bass went through at least 6 different Rick pickups. For awhile, it had the bridge pickup from one of Lemmy's old Ricks (I get this information from Mike Lull who put it in for me) but everything I played sounded so evil, I had to take it out. I found an old pre-WWII horseshoe pickup at a guitar show in Seattle, and slapped that sucker in there. (It was more re-routing than actual slapping.) I'm told that the toaster is from a 1968 bass. The tone pots have been bypassed because my arm kept inadvertently turning the tone knobs as I played. This bass is subsequently the brightest sounding of all my Ricks. Check it out in the intro of this song from my first CD:
Family Tree (skip to track #4)
So that's mah story, and I'm sticking to it.
Where are all the DH'ers out there? Gerry? Darren? Andy? Got history?
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sloop_john_b
- Rick-a-holic
- Posts: 13837
- Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:00 am
My 4003v68 bass turns 7 this month, born in August of 1999.
I got it NOS from Sam Ash in March of 2002 as a "Wow, you're really serious about this music thing" gift from my parents.
This bass has a whole lot of gigs and recordings under its belt, with a seemingly endless amount of both still to come. It was the first instrument I ever truly connected with, and maybe the only one.
As everyone knows, it got a facelift between August and October of last year (the v68 treatment), and i've put a ton of mileage on it since then - myself and another forumite calculated today that it must have over 300 hours of playing time on it since I got it back from Dale in the first week of November last year.
All those hours are beginning to show in the bass' appearance, especially where my thumb rests (on top of the pickguard edge near the bass pickup) and where my right wrist sits. But another refinish is out of the question - it's all honest wear, the type you can't fake in the Fender Custom Shop, and gives me something to show for the countless hours i've logged gigging, recording, and just playing.
Hair comes and goes, but the bass is staying put.
I got it NOS from Sam Ash in March of 2002 as a "Wow, you're really serious about this music thing" gift from my parents.
This bass has a whole lot of gigs and recordings under its belt, with a seemingly endless amount of both still to come. It was the first instrument I ever truly connected with, and maybe the only one.
As everyone knows, it got a facelift between August and October of last year (the v68 treatment), and i've put a ton of mileage on it since then - myself and another forumite calculated today that it must have over 300 hours of playing time on it since I got it back from Dale in the first week of November last year.
All those hours are beginning to show in the bass' appearance, especially where my thumb rests (on top of the pickguard edge near the bass pickup) and where my right wrist sits. But another refinish is out of the question - it's all honest wear, the type you can't fake in the Fender Custom Shop, and gives me something to show for the countless hours i've logged gigging, recording, and just playing.
Hair comes and goes, but the bass is staying put.
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sloop_john_b
- Rick-a-holic
- Posts: 13837
- Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:00 am
Mark - that track is superb!
JB - Your 4003V68 is one of the most tasteful makeovers I've seen on any Rickenbacker. Dale did a great job.
My '64 RM 1999 bass (DH 153) celebrates it's 43 birthday this month. There is a bit of tale behind acquiring it, some of which I've posted in the past, so I apologise to those who have already heard the story.
Early in June of this year I arrived home on a Friday night, following a rather boozy work party. I managed to have enough brain cells still functioning to surf eBay. Not the first time that's happened either!
The listing simply read "Rickenbacker Electric Bass Guitar with Original Case". The seller claimed that it was one of the first two Rickenbacker basses imported into Australia in 1964. There were two photos of the bass, both of
which revealed enough detail to determine this was the Real McCoy. The opening bid was around $4000.
As I wrote off to the seller, I remember thinking there's no way I'm going to score this bass, the price will go through the roof by the time the auction ends. I placed my maximum bid accordingly and promptly crashed into bed.
By the morning, much to my amazement, no one else had placed a bid. I then remembered a tip-off I had been given by John Biscuti early that week. He found some chatter on another gear forum mentioning an early Rickenbacker bass in Australia. i figured this must be the same one.
The seller had specified shipping to Australia only, which prevented this bass coming up in eBay searches from overseas. I knew I had maybe twelve hours at the most before the existence of this bass was known all over the place and that the competition for it would be intense! My local forum buddies agreed to keep quiet in the meantime (thanks fellas!)
Later that afternoon the seller telephoned me. She explained how she was selling the bass on behalf of the original owner, who was currently unavailable. She read out the serial number to me and answered other questions I had. The owner had left instructions regarding his ultimate price expectations. We reached agreement that the auction would end and I would pay the asking price - no questions and no discounts.
I immediately transferred a significant amount of money into the seller's account. By the next morning an eagle-eyed Lars Nygaard made mention of the bass on the Forum and my little secret was out!
Andy Winter and Gerry Fergusson offered expert guidance with serial number details. The seller had misread the number, which caused quite a scare for a while.
A day later I was contacted by the seller again. She broke the news that someone else had also been instructed to find a seller for the bass and had already done so, at a higher price. As calmly as I could I explained the law of contract and the remedies I would seek if MY bass had been sold to someone else. It didn't take long for her to come around to my point of view.
The next call I made was to the airline, to book a flight to collect the bass in person. I was worried that as long as the bass was not in my possession the whole deal could turn sour.
I took the interstate flight and hired a car to collect the bass, but my timing was lousy. The area I had to drive through had been declared a disaster area overnight, due to extremely heavy rains and flash flooding. Nevertheless I pressed on.
When I first held the bass I couldn't get over it's condition. It was completely original with no modifications and still in the original export case. It played like butter.
I was anxious during the return flight, knowing that the bass was sitting in the cargo hold, but fortunately it was not damaged.
It turns out that the owner was 'not available' because he was doing time in the Big House. He had to sell has beloved bass to cover his legal bill and his partner, the lady I had dealt with, took care of the sale for him.
After all that effort to secure this bass I think it will be another 43 years before it changes hands again!
JB - Your 4003V68 is one of the most tasteful makeovers I've seen on any Rickenbacker. Dale did a great job.
My '64 RM 1999 bass (DH 153) celebrates it's 43 birthday this month. There is a bit of tale behind acquiring it, some of which I've posted in the past, so I apologise to those who have already heard the story.
Early in June of this year I arrived home on a Friday night, following a rather boozy work party. I managed to have enough brain cells still functioning to surf eBay. Not the first time that's happened either!
The listing simply read "Rickenbacker Electric Bass Guitar with Original Case". The seller claimed that it was one of the first two Rickenbacker basses imported into Australia in 1964. There were two photos of the bass, both of
which revealed enough detail to determine this was the Real McCoy. The opening bid was around $4000.
As I wrote off to the seller, I remember thinking there's no way I'm going to score this bass, the price will go through the roof by the time the auction ends. I placed my maximum bid accordingly and promptly crashed into bed.
By the morning, much to my amazement, no one else had placed a bid. I then remembered a tip-off I had been given by John Biscuti early that week. He found some chatter on another gear forum mentioning an early Rickenbacker bass in Australia. i figured this must be the same one.
The seller had specified shipping to Australia only, which prevented this bass coming up in eBay searches from overseas. I knew I had maybe twelve hours at the most before the existence of this bass was known all over the place and that the competition for it would be intense! My local forum buddies agreed to keep quiet in the meantime (thanks fellas!)
Later that afternoon the seller telephoned me. She explained how she was selling the bass on behalf of the original owner, who was currently unavailable. She read out the serial number to me and answered other questions I had. The owner had left instructions regarding his ultimate price expectations. We reached agreement that the auction would end and I would pay the asking price - no questions and no discounts.
I immediately transferred a significant amount of money into the seller's account. By the next morning an eagle-eyed Lars Nygaard made mention of the bass on the Forum and my little secret was out!
Andy Winter and Gerry Fergusson offered expert guidance with serial number details. The seller had misread the number, which caused quite a scare for a while.
A day later I was contacted by the seller again. She broke the news that someone else had also been instructed to find a seller for the bass and had already done so, at a higher price. As calmly as I could I explained the law of contract and the remedies I would seek if MY bass had been sold to someone else. It didn't take long for her to come around to my point of view.
The next call I made was to the airline, to book a flight to collect the bass in person. I was worried that as long as the bass was not in my possession the whole deal could turn sour.
I took the interstate flight and hired a car to collect the bass, but my timing was lousy. The area I had to drive through had been declared a disaster area overnight, due to extremely heavy rains and flash flooding. Nevertheless I pressed on.
When I first held the bass I couldn't get over it's condition. It was completely original with no modifications and still in the original export case. It played like butter.
I was anxious during the return flight, knowing that the bass was sitting in the cargo hold, but fortunately it was not damaged.
It turns out that the owner was 'not available' because he was doing time in the Big House. He had to sell has beloved bass to cover his legal bill and his partner, the lady I had dealt with, took care of the sale for him.
After all that effort to secure this bass I think it will be another 43 years before it changes hands again!
'59 425, '59 335, '60 335, '60 360, '60 335F, '60 345F, '64 RM 1999, '65 RM 1998, '65 360-12, '66 335, '67 450-12, '72 4001 '72 4001, '75 4000, '75 4000CS, '00 700S, '01 700C, '01 700S-12, '01 730S-FH, '06 660 DCM
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sloop_john_b
- Rick-a-holic
- Posts: 13837
- Joined: Tue Jan 25, 2005 6:00 am
It was a sad case. First, it was advertized as "Fireglo". Second, it was all smegma-y and disgusting. It felt dirty to the core when I picked it up. Third, it was utterly non-functional with those Seymour Duncan pickups but that wasn't really an issue for me anyway.
The only cool thing about it was that the 3 knobs it had were glow-in-the-dark rubber.
What I like best about it now is that it has a very deep, very glossy shine to it. I had made a special request for "extra glossy, please" to the refin master and Paul W really came through for me. It feels unlike any other guitar I've ever held; grippy but smooth and fast at the same time.
It's kinda weird, in fact, but it's a good weird.
Additional credits: front PU by Sergio, pickguard by Dane W. Backyard courtesy of me.
The only cool thing about it was that the 3 knobs it had were glow-in-the-dark rubber.
What I like best about it now is that it has a very deep, very glossy shine to it. I had made a special request for "extra glossy, please" to the refin master and Paul W really came through for me. It feels unlike any other guitar I've ever held; grippy but smooth and fast at the same time.
It's kinda weird, in fact, but it's a good weird.
Additional credits: front PU by Sergio, pickguard by Dane W. Backyard courtesy of me.
Listen to that sustain!
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8mileshigh
- Senior Member
- Posts: 3532
- Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2003 6:00 am
A few birthdays this month.............
In chronological order..........
1937 Model 59
I picked this lap steel up on a trip down to the San Diego World Guitar Show in January this year with Alisha. There was a guy selling a whole bunch of steels and I managed to pick up the 3 Rics that he had. One of the fun things about these steels is removing the pick up and pulling out the old newspaper inside. This one had a paper dated 23rd August 1937 inside, pretty damn cool IMHO. Finished in black crinkle paint.
1961 365..........
I bought this fairly recently, in March 2006 on a visit to Tokyo. A lot of you have heard the story of a mind blowing few days in a fantastic city, where I came home with far too many Rics. I bought this one from Heartman Guitars. A great little store in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. It's a beautiful guitar, in very nice condition and has a very dark coloured fretboard.
1967 370/12Byrd
I purchased this guitar in May of 2006 through Scott Jennings. He brokered the deal of behalf of Gary Martin of the Blackouts. It's a stunning guitar. One of the nicest playing 12's I've ever played. An original factory ordered Byrd - wired as per Roger McGuinn's original. A rare Byrd!
1967 370F
I purchased the 370F back in 1989 (I think) from Scott Jennings, when he had his store in Pasadena. I've never seen another late style 370F and I'm mighty glad that I've managed to keep hold of it all these years. A very slim late 60's neck - which I prefer. Just beautiful.
1969 360F prototype
As above, purchased from Scott Jennings on that same trip to LA back in 1989. It features an arch top, arch back, 2 cat eye holes and transitional high gain pick ups. A one off. It's a real shame the design never took off. I love it and as a bonus - it sounds amazing. Very jazzy!
1996 360/12V64
I purchased this guitar from a store in Tokyo in April 2006. It's a mint V64 12 string. Not much more to say really.
In chronological order..........
1937 Model 59
I picked this lap steel up on a trip down to the San Diego World Guitar Show in January this year with Alisha. There was a guy selling a whole bunch of steels and I managed to pick up the 3 Rics that he had. One of the fun things about these steels is removing the pick up and pulling out the old newspaper inside. This one had a paper dated 23rd August 1937 inside, pretty damn cool IMHO. Finished in black crinkle paint.
1961 365..........
I bought this fairly recently, in March 2006 on a visit to Tokyo. A lot of you have heard the story of a mind blowing few days in a fantastic city, where I came home with far too many Rics. I bought this one from Heartman Guitars. A great little store in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. It's a beautiful guitar, in very nice condition and has a very dark coloured fretboard.
1967 370/12Byrd
I purchased this guitar in May of 2006 through Scott Jennings. He brokered the deal of behalf of Gary Martin of the Blackouts. It's a stunning guitar. One of the nicest playing 12's I've ever played. An original factory ordered Byrd - wired as per Roger McGuinn's original. A rare Byrd!
1967 370F
I purchased the 370F back in 1989 (I think) from Scott Jennings, when he had his store in Pasadena. I've never seen another late style 370F and I'm mighty glad that I've managed to keep hold of it all these years. A very slim late 60's neck - which I prefer. Just beautiful.
1969 360F prototype
As above, purchased from Scott Jennings on that same trip to LA back in 1989. It features an arch top, arch back, 2 cat eye holes and transitional high gain pick ups. A one off. It's a real shame the design never took off. I love it and as a bonus - it sounds amazing. Very jazzy!
1996 360/12V64
I purchased this guitar from a store in Tokyo in April 2006. It's a mint V64 12 string. Not much more to say really.