Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

deargdoom wrote: 1990

I'm surprised it doesn't have the extra tailpiece screws. Is the tailpiece lifting at all?

Welcome Joe. Looks like you found a very pristine bass. I always thought that the red and original midnight blue guitars and basses look good with the black trim and hardware.

There's no tail lift at all. It's completely solid and the strings are medium-heavy.

Ken, I''d be even more pleased if I found it's the only "Red" lefty 4003 made. It wasn't a popular choice of colour back then. I don't know why, I think it's gorgeous along with it's dark blue cousin.

If I understand the question correctly, the transition of the red to the fretboard is seamless. As the "Redneck" is an S model (technically, it is the 4003SPC Redneck), it has no binding on the body or neck. The fretboard is maple (Blackstar and Tuxedo, too) rather than the usual bubinga. That might have something to do with paint adhering better to maple, but I don't know for sure. So before the hardware is added, this instrument is red all over, save for the tiny "microdot" position markers on the fretboard.

Ted's Redneck is the "mintiest" Redneck that I am aware of:

sloop_john_b wrote:

deargdoom wrote: 1990

I'm surprised it doesn't have the extra tailpiece screws. Is the tailpiece lifting at all?

I haven't seen any basses after 87 that had that tailpiece except for my '04 Japan weirdo model.

It looks better without them. They should bave used black screws.

I love the look of the split pickguard and 2 extra screws.

rickfan60 wrote:...I have seen Tuxedos listed as Whitestars.

White Star, eh? Here is a White Star of a different sort.

86kubicki wrote:Ted - do you have any pics that show the Redneck's neck/fingerboard? I'm curious about the paint transition (if there is one) between the neck and the fingerboard. Also, are the fretboard dots black?

I'll put some pic together but as Paul Boyer said, it is seemless. The paint uniformly covers all of the wood surfaces.

bassduke49 wrote:If I understand the question correctly, the transition of the red to the fretboard is seamless. As the "Redneck" is an S model (technically, it is the 4003SPC Redneck), it has no binding on the body or neck. The fretboard is maple (Blackstar and Tuxedo, too) rather than the usual bubinga. That might have something to do with paint adhering better to maple, but I don't know for sure. So before the hardware is added, this instrument is red all over, save for the tiny "microdot" position markers on the fretboard.

Ted's Redneck is the "mintiest" Redneck that I am aware of:

The SPC (not sure what it means) designation only appears on the certs of the Blackstar. The text on my my Blackstar cert reads "4003S/SPC Blackstar". The Tuxedo cert simply says "Tuxedo" and the Redneck says "Redneck 4" presumably to distinguish it from the Redneck 8. Yes, mine is pretty clean. I was pretty darned lucky to have scored it. Thanks for that go to my buddy forever Marc Seligman.

I've seen a couple of red leftys with black trim on Ebay. One sold on 03/11/2006 for $1100, the other on 12/06/2007 for $2500.

phlemmy wrote:...I haven't seen any basses after 87 that had that tailpiece except for my '04 Japan weirdo model.

Here's my 89....

blueflamerick wrote:I've seen a couple of red leftys with black trim on Ebay. One sold on 03/11/2006 for $1100, the other on 12/06/2007 for $2500.

Wow, $ 2500. The lefty tax can be pretty steep sometimes. A good friend is lefty and I am constantly reminded about how much leftys take it @$$ in terms of cost and availability. Guitar shows can suck for him because only a few instruments, if any at all, will be left handed. Not to start something but I have to wonder if it is not better for beginning lefties to attempt to learn playing right handed first. After all, it does take TWO good hands to play any stringed instrument. When I look at my own technique I really can't decide which hand has the tougher job. The left hand (fretting) does much of the muting and nearly all of subtle control like bends, vibrato, pulloffs, and hammers all while spanning three or four frets. At the same time it has to have the strength and endurance to hold the strings down song after song set after set. The right hand plucks, mutes, slaps, pops, and contols the dynamics. All of these things can take a lifetime to master. As far as I can tell, neither set of jobs are particularly easy or better suited to one hand or the other. I could be wrong but I suspect that what has become accepted as properl right-handed playing (left hand fretting) was a somewhat arbitrary decision and maybe not a function of the different capabilities of the player's hands.

Just teasin'.....
Here's how she really looks...

I didn't remember any of your basses being left-handed.