Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Congratulations!!!!

Do you happen to know what year those pics are?

I've noticed the tailpiece is not the original as it doesn't have the 'split'.
Also the pickguard had a crack below the controls as early as '67 and it has been replaced in the above pics.

I know it went back to the Rickenbacker factory early '70's for some work and the horseshoe and toaster were replaced with highgains, and I thought the pickguard replacement and other repairs were done at the same time, but the pics show otherwise.

I think I'll let Dale Fortune (who was in the assmebly and repair department) comment about Mark Arnquist's statements (who worked in the finish shop).

Anyway, I assure you the zero fret modification on Paul's bass, as least as long as I've seen it, is absolutely permanent.

Marty,
I think the above pics were taken in the early~mid '70s.

In this '68~'70 shot, the cracked picguard, split tailpiece and horseshoe magnets were still on the bass. Notice the upper horn was not hacked yet.


The bass was sent back to RIC for repair in the early '70s. Here's Mark Arnquist's statements that Mr. Hall mentioned.
http://www.thecanteen.com/arnquist.html

In the above pics, after coming back from the RIC factory, the bass had a new pickguard and tailpiece/bridge, but the horseshoe PU were still there.

The horseshoe PU was replaced by a high gain, probably in the late '70s/early '80s, IMHO.


Dale,
Please chime in and let us know your view on this.

The McCartney (album) era shot is proof that the horn was not sanded down when the SPLHCB/MMT paint job was removed – obviously happened somewhere between then and the WOA tour.

Every time I see that bass the toggle switch is down – bridge pup I presume!

Thank you again Mr. Yan the Picman!

And yes Dale, if you’re out there, we’d love to hear about your experience!

Cheers!

I've always seen the toggle down, too.

Cheers, Andy.

Here's an old posting by Mr. Arnquist in this forum, in 2001. I'll copy and paste, just for the sake of discussion.
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Mark the MD
Posted on Monday, June 11, 2001 - 08:21 pm:   
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The bass was returned to the plant and the following was done to it and why;

The original sand cast bridge was cracked and the saddle assembly was held together with some wire.He wanted it fixed or replaced.

It was replaced with a current model bridge assembly that also had polished saddles .This polishing was not STOCK ...it was done because of who's bass it was .

The nut was replaced with a piece of bone ....either Bill Meyers or Joel Helin came up with it .Joel spoke to me about this around February of 2001

The fret work was fixed ,they were in poor condition .

The pickguard was cracked ...I made the new one and aligned the knobs straight ,not this uneven look that is so common.

The bridge pickup was dead ,the cobalt magnets were lifeless and after several attempts to recharge them (they would not hold a charge ) we grouped together and decided to make a custom version of the stock bridge pickup.That is what you see in his bass as of last year .Rumor has it that he now has a reissue horseshoe pickup in the bridge pickup location.

The bass controls were cleaned and the fur ball that grows inside of so many instruments ,was removed.

The body shape was left alone and so was the bare wood.It had a used odor about it .Kind of "Drip O'sweat " !

It was set up and intoned ,then sent back to the sales office for shipping or delivery.
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Dale, come in please.

The TRC on Paul's bass(at least the one in the pic)isn't the original one from 1964....it was probably replaced when the zero-fret was added, but the one on the headstock in the above pic has 'made in USA' between the two screws near the nut, the original didn't have that.

Does anybody know where the original parts for the bass are, such as the bridge, pickguard, horseshoe, etc.? Does Ric still have them?

Good point, John!

Black nut changed to white nut too!
The original TRC is way longer.

Damn I love this stuff!

I never before picked up on the rumor of the reissue Horseshoe! John H or Dale or someone – please comment!

I just did a regular search on this site to find those posts! Search for keywords "Zero" and "Fret", and make sure Keyword options is set to "And".

I love the colour of the bone in the second pic, wonder what kind it was, would be nice to make a similar one for my v63 to replace the white plastic ...

I've also been thinking about making a black one from some Ebony I've got to replace the nut on my 4003 ...

Very Interesting!

Thanks again for the great pics Paul...I havn't seen those before

I always thought the shaving down of the upper horn was done as a result of overdoing the sanding when removing the original finish, but the pictures show it was done some time after and probably by design rather than by accident.
Or was it re-sanded some time after?