'72 4001 ... how's it look?

[dswp]

Here is the front closeup. I guess that's a non-original tailpiece?

I am not 100% sure, but it does look like an "All Parts".

[jps]

That is a real RIC tailpiece, the holes are ovals, not circles.

[rickcrazy]

Is that a legit Rickenbacker treble pickup surround? Look closer. As for the bridge, yes, it is a Rickenbacker part, though not period-accurate.

[jakeox]

Thanks for looking. It's always helpful to have a few extra sets of more experienced eyeballs to rely on. I guess if the replacement parts are newer but authenRic, at least they'll have some value when and if I replace them.

I'll take much larger/closer pics in a few days when the bass arrives.

Anyone care to take a stab at what I should have paid for this? I think it was a good price, if there are no more surprises. I'm curious to see if I was right .

[dswp]

I spent $3,500 for mine 3 years ago.

[jakeox]

Thanks for the data point, Dave. I paid a bit less than that.

[johnallg]

Nice, Jake, though the back has a bit of "mojo", no?

That is a RIC tailpiece - as Jeff said the holes are ovals, and comparing it to an AllParts, the "teeth" of the mute area are squared off whereas the AP part has rounded off edges.

To me the bridge surround looks accurate and aged, but the cover looks new.

Congrats on a good buy.

[markbass99]

I saw the ad for this bass and I think the price was around $3200, which could be considered OK for a 72 but the replacement tuners really bothered me since I'm a stickler for Grovers on 4001's from this era. If Grovers aren't your thing(to me they are just as important as the checkered binding) then this bass is good to go but retrofitting grovers could be a problem if those holes have been hogged out. Then you have to start thinking about plugging holes and doing a refin which could add another $700-$1000 to the price. I bought a hacked up Jan 73 knowing that a refin and various repairs were going to be required so I was adding that cost to the purchase price so I could figure out if it would be worth it. Then I spent about $200 for Grovers, $40 for bushings, and $200 for a tailpiece. Then add the cost of shipping the bass w/insurance back and forth from the restorer for about $160. Just some things to think about if you pull the tuners and it looks like this......

[gray]

Sure looks like a cool bass to me! It seems that Jetglo basses are a lot more susceptable to that kind of rash on the back. But then again, it's on the back, not the front. Looks like a nice one!

[rickenbrother]

Congrats on that 4001, Jake! I was wondering if the pickguard was original. It looks very close to the edge of the body by the output jack.

[jakeox]

John -- yes, mojo is putting it kindly! This seems way more common with Jetglo than other finishes. Is it something about the finish ... or something about the people that play Jetglos?

Mark -- thanks for the info, those kinds of estimates are very helpful. I'm content to keep this a player's bass, but I'd be interested in slowly bringing it back to original over time, too. I guess there's no way to be sure until I look under the tuners, but would later Ric tuners have a different post size than Grovers? I'm hoping that since they're Ric tuners the holes will be unchanged. We'll see.

The asking price was 3250 plus shipping, plus 3% for credit card transactions (I'm guessing the latter wouldn't be allowed on eBay). I offered about 10% less than that. I don't remember the exact number because it wasn't a round number. Probably could have gone a little lower, but he did mention he'd had about six calls since listing the bass the prior evening.

[henry5]

Gorgeous bass Jake, mojo & all!

[ben_brown]

Grover bushings should be the same size as the later nickel plated reverse tuner bushings as they were used in the same era. I imagine when they stopped using Grovers in the early 70s they still had headstocks that were drilled for the Grovers and installed the nickel reverse Klusons. My August 73 had Grovers on it and my Dec 73 had the Klusons. When I was talking shop with Dale Fortune before I sent him my Dec 73 he informed me that the bore on th Dec 73 would accept the Grovers with no additional work other than filling the screw holes and the drilled out areas needed for the Klusons to lay flat before they started using the little black shims.

[jakeox]

So the USPS "tracking" number says that they left a notice at the delivery address because nobody was there to accept the package. However, I live in a condo building with a 24-hour doorman. Even if somehow our doorman was somehow absent ... we got the rest of our mail today, and the USPS deliveryperson couldn't have gotten in if our doorman were absent.

Of course, there's nobody I can call up at USPS to complain about this.

So now this 35-year old bass is going to sit in a warehouse that is probably unheated, in the ****** Chicago weather, for another two days. Assuming they both to deliver it on Monday. This bothers me.

[gray]

That really does suck. Good ol' United States Parcel Smashers. Let's hope they don't live up to their usual record of doing stuff like, um, losing an important summons for me and consequently almost getting me arrested for contempt of court (jury duty, dontcha know).

However, I'm up in Lake Geneva and the weather here is supposed to stay fairly decent, unlike earlier this past week. Hopefully, everything will work out all right. I think we can all send some good vibes out for you.