Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Javier, Ted does very capable work, well documented here at the forum and I,m sure I speak for everyone in saying he is without doubt one of the most trusted members of said forum.
However, possibly reading between the lines, if you want a professional luthier, Mark Arnquist,s work is second to none, especially in the field of old Ric basses. He recently finished mending a very bad neck split on a 67 bass. He is in Seattle and you can reach him here.
[email protected]

Mark has contacted me with suggestions on one of my projects. He clearly has a great understanding of Rickenbackers and would certainly be a safe bet for anyone needing repairs.

Thanks for all your comments. I guess I am growing a bit more comfortable with all this. I am just leery of getting burned with such a valuable instrument. Ted, you referred to a 4004 refurb you did. How much did that job cost, just for a point of reference in what I am looking at? I am just starting to get money saved up for this job and there are other things I must consider before committing to this. I would appreciate any comments from you guys. Thanks a lot. I am getting a lot of useful insight from you guys.

I certainly understand your concerns. Don't do anything until you are ready. In the meantime, you should make sure there is no tension on the strings if the fingerboard is separating that much.

The 4004C received a new fingerboard and some body repair. I bought it and rebuilt it. Later Jeff Rath bought it from me then traded it to Jaymi. There really was not a job cost per se. Yours probably just needs to have a lamination cleaned, glued, and clamped. This is a pretty simple deal if the damage is as clean as it sounds.

Thanks. The bass has no strings on it. It's been out of commission for years. Still based on the description you have gotten so far, and judging by what you think needs to be done, what do you think it would cost? I am sure that if I did send it to you, you would want to be compensated for it...

Here are a couple of pics of the work I need done...

Here's more...

Wonderful bass! Thank you for sharing! It is very similar to my '63. The most notable structural difference is the thickness of the neck behind the nut. Apprently they fixed that problem by '64. Mine is VERY thin there. The binding on mine is 3 ply. There is a very thin black ply against the body follwed by the checkerboard then a heavy white ply like this bass has. The binding on my bass is a bit over 1/8" wide. This one appears to be as well. Your bass has the crushed MOP inlays where mine has the old style swirly white type.

Here are similar shots of mine for comparison. It is always interesting to me how the early ones differ.

Javier, that is a gorgeous old M/G 4001. I love the way the colour yellows almost to an amber. Good to see you still have the original horseshoe pick up. That,s one thing if you had have lost would have been near impossible to find. Keep us informed of the work ahead.

Ted, the neck profile on my 64 is wafer thin like your 63

By 67 the neck is slightly thicker at the nut, but not by much

Into 68 and you can see the noticeably thicker nut/headstock area

But as ever with the 60,s basses someone got a little more creative in the shop one day, which probably seemed a good idea at the time, but combined with a highly figured neck created all sorts of problems with neck tension...

What is that last one Andrew?

Looks to me like his Green Monster.

Oh, yes - The Green Monster is his other RM1999, with the weird horn. Bloomin cool.

His green one also has extra laminations in the body wings. That is a very unusual Rick.

Is the old horseshoe still magnetized?

I believe so...