1972 Fireglo 4001 on the 'Bay

route66guitars · Post by **route66guitars** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:07 pm

Am I the only one that lost interest in these basses when they discontinued the one piece neck?

Regardless of the other transitional features that bass may have, the laminated neck has always been the deal breaker for me.

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:21 pm

Personaly I like the skunk stripe.

modelcitizen · Post by **modelcitizen** » Tue Jul 19, 2005 7:52 pm

Same here, beautiful contrast to the rest of the wood, esp. in a FG finish.
My (recently aquired) '79 4001LH also has an amazing aged fireglow, much warmer and smoother transition than what Ric seem to finish now (and what's up with the fireglow on the C64 and v63? ugggggly...). The skunk stripe peeking through the finish is the icing on the cake I reckon!

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:48 am

Hey, Neil, I don't want to be a wet blanket here, but as far as you can tell, is the bridge/tailpiece assembly on your lefty 4001 an original Rickenbacker part?

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 2:59 am

I grew up with the skunk stripe and baby headstock. I like the way they look. For a long time, the older ones just looked weird to me. I now have a v63 and a c64 in my stable and as much as I like them, something about them just doesn't feel as "familiar" as my older 4001/4003's.

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:27 am

A nice c64 is my next target ..... anyone have one they'd like to consider selling ?

Fireglo of course !!!

ken_swearingen · Post by **ken_swearingen** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 5:09 am

Im not a big fan of the skunkstrip either.

modelcitizen · Post by **modelcitizen** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 1:21 pm

Sergio: Yep, looks like it. The bridge/saddles are brand new (not even any string notches filed in), but the tailpiece has a couple of marks and that ever-so-slight lift in the tail that comes from years under string tension. Also looks identical in every way to my 4003's tailpiece.

Pickguard, pickups and knobs are changed, possibly the tuners also 'cause they're awfully clean and have very new looking black plastic "scuff" pads between them and the headstock.

I'm not fussed that it's not totally original...I had wanted pretty much this setup for a while, and since it was gonna be played RH I figured originality would be thrown out the window anyway!

I'm a player first and foremost...

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 2:43 pm

Hey Neil, thanks for your reply. I asked that bridge/tailpiece question because I do remember seeing, not too many months back, a lefty '79 Fireglo 4001 on Gbase with a horseshoe pickup and a replacement ('AllParts'?) bridge/tailpiece assembly, which was not mentioned.

modelcitizen · Post by **modelcitizen** » Wed Jul 20, 2005 3:00 pm

Hmm, could be the same one 'cause it's Gbase where I found it. To be honest I wouldn't know what an Allparts tailpiece looks like...it might be one though. The string holes are more oval, less "squared" than the tailpiece on my 4003. Couldn't really compare to my 4008 (totally different tailpiece) or my 4001 (Ibanez?) copy.

I guess i'd be a little happier if I knew it was an original tailpiece, but since it's got so much mojo playing and tone-wise, i'm not too worried. A bass is a tool to me, Rickenbackers just happen to be very well-made, quirky and gorgeous tools!

Cost me $1200, but there don't seem to be many FG leftys for sale, but as soon as I saw that horseshoe, just had to have it. Wife wants a new car now, typical, just 'cause I have a new toy!

wints · Post by **wints** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 2:19 pm

Under 20 mins left and at $1350....Time to take a seat and watch the last hectic 15 mins....

wints · Post by **wints** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 2:43 pm

And the hammer drops at $1975...That seems about right for this bass.
If values keep going up the way they have, it will soon become very hard to find these pre 73 basses under $2K...

marc61 · Post by **marc61** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 2:51 pm

Bob Atherton got an absolute steal on his.

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 7:12 pm

And to think it had a BIN of $1295 when it started....

seth_lorinczi · Post by **seth_lorinczi** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 7:49 pm

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't a '73 with checkerboard, toaster but no FWMOP go for $2200+ recently? Now THAT seems a little off to me....