Re: 1965 4001 needs a bit of TLC
Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2013 5:01 pm
It's been a few months since I've posted anything about this instrument. As you will remember, she was in dire need of a re-fret and I wanted to have the fretboard re-finished. mark Walker suggested the Twelfth Fret in Oregon as a place that does quality work. Being in New Jersey, I could not physically take a peek at what kind of operation they ran but I trust Mark's opinion on Rickenbacker's and he know what is right and what needs to be done. I contacted Dan at Twelfth fret and told him what I wanted/needed. i sent him a few fotos and he instantly replied. He told me I could send my "baby" to them right away and it would take approx. 3 weeks to complete.
I put her in a newer SKB case padded the heck out of her and sent her off. It was quite difficult since I did not know what to expect. Dan contacted me as soon as she arrived and he and his staff all inspected her for opinions and a game plan. After this meeting Dan suggested that to keep the "mojo" intact, he would not suggest a complete re-finish. he has a very skilled finish guy that could blend in the warn finish with new and he assured that I'd never know the worn areas were there. He and the staff felt that to strip the board and apply a nice new finish would upset the balance I was trying to maintain in keeping this bass' :vibe".
The frets were toast so they needed to go and he'd use vintage correct fret wire. The cracked neck binding would stay as is and the same finish guy would fill and airbrush the crack to make it disappear. The staff felt be me increasing the string gauge from .098 -.073 -.055 - ,039 to one size larger .102 - .076 - .057 - ,041, enough tension would be enough to take out the back bow and make the truss rods work a little more. I had Circle K ship the new strings right to the shop.
well, it took about a week more that Dan estimated to do the work, not to shabby in my estimation. he gave me updates whenever I inquired, which kept me somewhat at ease. I opted for expedited shipping back because I was seriously 'jonesing" for some horse shoe bass action and I really missed her, bad!!
She arrived in 2 days and was stunned at the quality of workmanship! Her neck is dead straight and the action is perfect for my playing style. I tent to be a bit heavy on the strings when playing both finger and pick but the low action gives me no buzz and just the right vintage Rickenbacker clank! The fret work is flawless as well! The re-finish work is beyond belief!! I really can't tell where the worn areas were. What is most amazing is the air brushed binding work. I seriously cant tell where the crack was. I can't see it or feel it!! The binding is perfectly matched!! I really can't rave enough on the wonderful and skilled job they did on thsi instrument!!
Enough of my blather. Here are the fotos!!
Sepp
I put her in a newer SKB case padded the heck out of her and sent her off. It was quite difficult since I did not know what to expect. Dan contacted me as soon as she arrived and he and his staff all inspected her for opinions and a game plan. After this meeting Dan suggested that to keep the "mojo" intact, he would not suggest a complete re-finish. he has a very skilled finish guy that could blend in the warn finish with new and he assured that I'd never know the worn areas were there. He and the staff felt that to strip the board and apply a nice new finish would upset the balance I was trying to maintain in keeping this bass' :vibe".
The frets were toast so they needed to go and he'd use vintage correct fret wire. The cracked neck binding would stay as is and the same finish guy would fill and airbrush the crack to make it disappear. The staff felt be me increasing the string gauge from .098 -.073 -.055 - ,039 to one size larger .102 - .076 - .057 - ,041, enough tension would be enough to take out the back bow and make the truss rods work a little more. I had Circle K ship the new strings right to the shop.
well, it took about a week more that Dan estimated to do the work, not to shabby in my estimation. he gave me updates whenever I inquired, which kept me somewhat at ease. I opted for expedited shipping back because I was seriously 'jonesing" for some horse shoe bass action and I really missed her, bad!!
She arrived in 2 days and was stunned at the quality of workmanship! Her neck is dead straight and the action is perfect for my playing style. I tent to be a bit heavy on the strings when playing both finger and pick but the low action gives me no buzz and just the right vintage Rickenbacker clank! The fret work is flawless as well! The re-finish work is beyond belief!! I really can't tell where the worn areas were. What is most amazing is the air brushed binding work. I seriously cant tell where the crack was. I can't see it or feel it!! The binding is perfectly matched!! I really can't rave enough on the wonderful and skilled job they did on thsi instrument!!
Enough of my blather. Here are the fotos!!
Sepp
). 
Great to hear that the guys at The 12th Fret still do stellar work. They did a refret on my '79 4001 JG in 1983 and they did it the same way - keeping the original binding AND original finish.