Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The white bass is a Sep 70, but I don't have the numbers, just the letters. Not that it would be hard to miss it, should it ever surface again...

HA! It's like the legendary Great White Whale that people have only heard about but never seen in person, poised with their harpoons at the ready for the day it should ever surface again.

OR

Someone in the UK has a fairly inflated idea of what this is worth (IMHO):

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4000 ... 0244949418

OK, it's a museum piece, but how much...???

Ken, that is the Yoyo Bass - auctions for it on eBay are up and down all the time! Price stays the same.

Assuming it's genuine (that pickguard is a very funny colour), you'd think by now that the seller would have got the message.

Actually, if I had that kind of money to spare, I'd seriously consider making an offer. How much is £10,000.00? Is that roughly $20,000 USD? I'm surprised it hasn't been snatched up already by one of the heavy-weight collectors. Is it's authenticity in contention?

We've had a thread covering all this and IIRC it has extra routing under the guard. And it's a little cheaper than that, Mark, at $19,761.70 USD. Go for it!!

cheyenne wrote:If I had $20K I'd sit around and stare at it all day.....

Thinking it was about 11-12 new 4003 basses....

johnallg wrote:

Way to scare the hell outta me. I just scrolled down and went "uuuuggh!"

An early model 4000 is a hit or miss bass in that some are terribly heavy with unplayable necks while others are some of the best Rickenbacker produced. It would seem they are the most rare 60's basses and the most collectable and valuable. The truth is I get offered first series 1950'/60's Rickenbacker 4000's often and it has been this way since the late 80's. (Before the late 80's I had never seen one in person though I had a few 4001's from the 60's). In my opinion it is the 4001 and the 1999/4001S from the 60's that are the more realized and classic Rickenbacker basses with good examples from 63/64 being tuff to come by and by far easier to sell. The thing is I would consider purchasing a 60's 4001/1999/4001S with issues however I would not consider an early 4000 with even minor issues. I feel a messed up early 4000 has little collector value at all as very few of that model bass has been noteworthy in music history and they are not super super rare. A molested early 4000 may still be a fun and useful bass but I feel the value of those would have dropped like the Mexican peso once they get molested. The bass from 1960 that has come up for sale is worth maybe $3000-$5000 tops though I would prefer a early 70’s bass or something new from the factory.

Oh you guys...

My MG4001 is a 1982 with grain that closely mimics plywood and nothing special about its pedigree. Still...I luvs it!

johnallg wrote:

cheyenne wrote:If I had $20K I'd sit around and stare at it all day.....

Thinking it was about 11-12 new 4003 basses....

Hmm... Make it four new 4003 basses, and eight 4004 basses, & you've got a deal!

jingle_jangle wrote:Well, it's very recent, but I think it could qualify as "rare", since it's a prototype and the first 75th Anniversary instrument ever produced. It's my 75th 4003 (the one with the see-through DCM paint and the single-color TRC):

75proto.jpg

I suppose, as with anything Rickenbacker, time will tell...

At only 75 units produced and 60 of them delivered in North America, these will are indeed very rare and are already collectors items !!!! Time will tell on these beauties, but if you want to speak about rare, these are a great example in my opinion !!!!