Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Had a MG 3000-Wish I still had it. I got it dirt cheap and replaced the black guard and TRC with white, moved the jack to the body edge so it was more road worthy, and replaced the stock pu with a toaster. Got MANY comments on how good it looked and sounded. It didn't have the best sustain [bolt on neck,short scale]but sounded great playing melodic, McCartney style bass. The one bad thing about it was it was a little on the heavy side.

I got three 3000s off Harmony-Central classifieds last year. They're superb but, as Chris says, heavy for their size. I think that Mani is probably one of the few bass heroes to emerge in the last 15 years or so, and certainly one of very few that play a Rickie, which he describes as "a man's bass". He raves about the 3000s in interviews and stuff, which is why they sell for more in the UK and why nearly anyone selling a 3000 (or 3001) includes his name in the text.

Hey, K-tel is a great label. I hear there going to re-issue all of Lawrence Welks stuff with the Lennon sisters.

Hey man, "Freedom Rock"

I've raved about my '78 3001 elsewhere in these pages, but I stand by my words. Great basses you can still get for cheap! Unique tone - lotta lows with enough of that signature Rick growl.

They are shoulder breakers though...

I won this one off ebay and it arrived a couple days ago. It's in good condition considering its age. After inspecting it, I've come up with a couple questions. First is the lettering on the three knobs (volume, bass and treble). As I recall, the normal Rickenbacker knobs say 'Volume' and 'Tone' on the appropriate knob. The lettering on all three of the knobs on this bass have been rubbed off (it's just the silver cap on the standard black knob). I was wondering, for those of you that have a 3001, what lettering do the three knobs have on them. Second, the TRC has raised lettering. This bass is a '76 (per the "P" at the beginning of the serial number). I've had a '73 4001 BG and a '77 4001 AG in the past and I remember the TRC having the lettering set in from underneath (i.e. the top of the TRC was smooth). I seem to remember that it was about '78 when the raised letter TRC started being used. Can anyone confirm this? And, just in case anyone else has a '75 through '77 3001, are the letters on your TRC also raised?

I have a 1978 3001, which I purchased back in 1994. The knobs on mine (& on ALL of them as far as I know) have no lettering on them. Just simple volume, treble & bass boost. Possibly due to the fact that the 3000 series was supposed to be an affordable, no-frills line?
As for the TRC, being that mine is a 1978 it does have the raised lettering, but if my memory serves me most of the ones I have seen have the raised lettering. I can't recall seeing a 3000 series with a plexi TRC, though I may be wrong.

Still a great bass though, huh?

Donald, My 76 4001 has the raised letter tr cover. I've seen other 76's with the raised letters so I would think that a 77 with the silkscreen cover was just another rick anomaly, kind of like the covered/wavy tuners. Anyone have a 74/5 with the raised letters?

I had a March '76 3001 and all of the knobs were blank not rubbed off. It also had a molded truss rod cover with the model # on it. I have a December '75 3000 that has a black plexi cover with white silkscreen logo on the back and no model #. I also have a Feb.'76 3000 with black molded TRC with the model#.So it would seem that '76 was the first year of the molded TRC's.

Thanks for the great info! I'm not sure if the lettering was rubbed off or if it was manufactured blank on top. It sounds from your responses as if Rickenbacker didn't want to make knobs specifically for this bass (just use generic blanks).
And, on the TRC, I've got to admitt that I'm assuming my '77 4001 was a '77. I bought it new in June of '77 and it was my first 'real' bass. I sold it to get the '73 BG(MD 1445, God I miss that bass) about a year and a half later. So, I suppose that my AG 4001 could have been a '76.
Also, the 3001's TRC doesn't list the model number on it, only "Made In U.S.A.". I think this is why the previous owner didn't list the model number in the Ebay posting. And I've got the Rickenbacker Forum to thank for my acquisition: It was this posting that alerted me to the auction. I'd been searching on '3001 bass' for several months and had missed it.
Thanks for all your help!