Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Really nice birdseye on that one!

Thanks for all the compliments guys.
Sure is a looker, but more importantly it is a great player and sounds super acoustically... can't wait to complete it and put it through my Hiwatt stacks!

Also I'm looking for a proper case for it (early-mid '70s)... I can trade a BRAND NEW vintage reissue silver case or a straight sale would be cool. Anyone? Thanks

I've never been a fan of Maple Glo but that bass is beautiful !

All i can say is WOW!!!!

I am absolutely convinced that Mapleglo finish is the best of all.

This is simply beautiful.

I am teased by your teasing teaser.

BobHyde wrote:I am teased by your teasing teaser.

Surely you tease us, Shirley.

I'm gonna have to file a cease order against such postings!

Shame they painted over that baby at the factory....I'm sure it happens very often though!

RickyBubba wrote:I'm gonna have to file a cease order against such postings!

Shame they painted over that baby at the factory....I'm sure it happens very often though!

Back in that bass' day there was a LOT of very nice maple and the FGs got it too.

I asked this on the official FB page, but no response yet: When "nice" batches of figured maple are spotted in a batch of "regular" wood, are those pieces pulled and used in high-end guitars or can we still occasionally get lucky with a vanilla 330, 360, or 620?

My 360MG does have nice figuring, but it probably wasn't regular enough to qualify for a cii, 381, or 660.

Thought I'd update this thread, as the bass is now completed. I did most of the work prior to the holidays, but after spending several months on another project I've now finished it.
I own several old 4001 basses and played many more, but this is the finest I've touched. Really feel lucky in finding this husk... thanks Tony and Kevin!
Much effort went into the restoration, which I knew would pay off given how well it played before I started.
Along with the strip and refinish I also...
plugged holes left from the BA bridge installed previously, using maple with the correct grain orientation. Most are under the tailpiece footprint, but four are visible around the perimeter (in fact one was drilled right through the back!).
pulled, reshaped and reseated the rods to correct the downward angle in the headstock cavity.
level, crown & polish with fall off
built the wiring harness (I used parts correct for a circa 64-65 bass, as I couldn't find the appropriate caps for an early '72)
moved the tailpiece back (as far as the route would allow), and reshaped the original saddles to assist in proper intonation. (It's now perfect!)
made bushings for the tuners that mimicked the outward appearance of Grover bushings, but had larger internal dimensions. The headstock had been reamed previously for the larger variety of "wavy" Grovers. The sad thing was that all holes were a different size!

Enough detail... PICTURES!

MORE PICS...
The recent shots are pretty bad. I intend on getting some nice outdoor photos any day now.
Cheers
Sean

PS - I neglected to mention one other thing I did during the restoration... can anyone guess what it is?

Once again,
Seriously,beautiful restoration,that is a gorgeous 4001! The Shedua strip looks slightly larger than usual? And the red-ish color of it really seems to pop against that all that maple.

xsubs wrote:PS - I neglected to mention one other thing I did during the restoration... can anyone guess what it is?

Did you add those walnut headstock wings? That's gotta be the nicest 68-up 4001 I've ever seen!

I know I said it before, but WOW! That is some nice figuring! I love the grain on those walnut headstock wings!