Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Ken, I take it that's a round heel? I,d like to see under the guard to see if it has been converted from a 4000. Smith's book does not list any M/G 4001S from 68. It could be a refin I suppose. Could you send me those pics full size to my e mail? They don't appear to be on his website.

Getting back to that 68 and already being sold for $6500...It's getting hard to keep up with 4001 selling prices. People seem to be asking top $$$ and getting it. That bass was nothing like Jeff's old F/G which seemed a lot of $$$ just a couple of months ago, but a good buy now...

i guess that means to those that have them feel lucky those who dont your going to have to pay now or pay later.one thing i learned about vintage stuff once it goes up it will never com back down.about four years ago i had a 1970 426 plymouth hemicuda ,all original [loaded] my dream car when i was 16 ,they were $10,000 then,six years ago i paid $32,000 for it,sold it two years later for $45,000 the same car[mine]just sold in minn.for $130,000 if its a hot item there[60s rics]are not getting any more common they will keep on going up in price,and you might have to wait 30 years as i did to get what you want.

Ken, is it really a 4001S or a conversion?

I had a chance to buy a '65 Mustang Fastback 2+2 for $800 bucks back in the '70s, man how I wish I'd done that! They aren't making any more of these basses and there weren't that many to begin with... I couldn't help but be amused at the pic of the '69 Jetglo 4001 with the horseshoe... It seems like just a week or so ago, one of the "experts" here was swearing up and down that the horseshoe was discontinued in 1968, and if I recall correctly they had figured it out almost to the month... I've learned never to say never about Ricks!

gerry ,i dont know that much about the 68 but i know a very knowlegible guitar broker who offered him $7000 in cash two years ago,as for the 63 it is a 4000 converted to a 4001-probably more rare as a 4000.

Gene, the 69 J/G has a lap steel surround to the horseshoes and it would be a fair bet to say that the magents came from one too. We debated that bass a couple of months ago.
The 68 is probably a September or earlier model. Over the years from the 68 basses I,ve seen (and finding an unaltered bass from this period is very difficult) I,ve yet to see a post Sept 68 bass that has a horseshoe.
Does that mean to say there aren't any? Of course not, as we know the Ric timeline often overlaps. Jeff's Sept 68 had a horseshoe and I,ve seen a same month bass without. My stock Dec has a hi-gain as did the original Nov M/G 4000 that surfaced recently.
No expert opinions, just observations...

Wints, while I can't recall exactly who it was with the "expert" opinion, I KNOW I was not referring to you on this issue. In fact, coming from you, I would tend to believe it, but there aren't too many regulars here that I would believe on that issue. Several years ago, I saw an alleged 1970 bass that had a horseshoe pickup, but I never held the bass in my hands, it was polaroid pics that a guy sent me from W. Virginia, and he sold the bass locally before I could get to second base on the deal.
I guess I find some of the "experts" here a little less than expert, which is part of the reason I post and visit here less than I used to, but I didn't mean to refer to you specifically. I certainly hope you did not take offense from my post.

According to the Smith book JH thought the horseshoes had been phased out gradually. I don't think there were many abrupt transitions at rickenbacker back then.

Gene, absolutely no offence taken and thanks for the kind words.
I know that old 70 bass is something that makes you think about the horseshoes and of course it may well have been. We should have learned by now "never say never!"
Good to see you here, and please continue to contribute like you have always done.