V63 on the 'bay

[rickaddict]

I believe that other owners of the original Rose Morris imports with dot inlay (other than Bass God Paul and Bass God Chris, etc.) were:

Donovan (BTW, his bio is in the remaindered discount books at Barnes & Noble in the U.S.)
Roger Waters
Pete Quaife (The Kinks - nice 4001S image at this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Quaife)

Any other well known "S" types after that?

-Maurice Gibb had one (I think a '64) played it for a few years in its original FG and then had it refinished in white. It is now alive and well and living with Andy Winter.

-John Entwistle had one also (I think it too was a '64) in FG. Apparently John overstressed the neck on his. He only played it for a few months. There aren't many photos of him with the bass. There is some good footage of him playing the bass on a recently released Who history documentary that's been playing on VH1 Classic.

[pacealot]

And Mike Rutherford, Peter Giles and Ashley Hutchings, too!

And the guys that had them but didn't make much use of them publicly, like Greg Lake & John Lodge for two....

[JakeK]

John Entwistle had one also (I think it too was a '64) in FG. Apparently John overstressed the neck on his. He only played it for a few months. There aren't many photos of him with the bass. There is some good footage of him playing the bass on a recently released Who history documentary that's been playing on VH1 Classic.

There's a whole thread about that with some pics...

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=378718

[rickboy88]

...
-Maurice Gibb had one (I think a '64) played it for a few years in its original FG and then had it refinished in white. It is now alive and well and living with Andy Winter.

-John Entwistle had one also (I think it too was a '64) in FG. Apparently John overstressed the neck on his. He only played it for a few months. There aren't many photos of him with the bass. There is some good footage of him playing the bass on a recently released Who history documentary that's been playing on VH1 Classic.

Ah yes! I forgot about Maurice Gibb.

[cheyenne]

Dont forget Roger Waters of Pink Floyd.

[teeder]

FYI, My V is listed in the classifieds.

[alanz]

Clearly the only logical explanation for all for this is that Brits weren't worthy of Zeus' finest creation.

[seyesbass]

I have been fortunate enough to have owned the M Gibb bass and John lodges RM and if my tight fisted manager had helped me out I would have bought Greg Lakes RM (£750 in 1981!) that I tried out in a shop in Oldham. I also had RM DA24 .
I miss them but having said that I wouldnt take any out to a gig because of their value so the CS (even thats getting a bit pricey to insure) and V63 basses are fulfilling a role much the same as the one Gibson Les Paul 58 re-issues do for guitarists. Not forgetting the Fender Custom shop 60s Jazz basses either when you see original 65 Jazz basses going for massive sums of money.
I think when an instrument has gone through changes over the years and vintage versions are out of the reach of working players because of price and rarity but still have features/sounds that current players are looking for then the manufacturer should try and respond to that market.
If the V63 was brought back into production then the over inflated second hand prices we have seen on the bay and elsewhere would calm down and there would be a huge order book in it for Rickenbacker.
I would even go as far as saying that if a true RM + Deluxe version replica of the 4001 was put on limited production it would sell out before a single piece of wood had been cut!
The guy "somewhere outside London" sssh theres a war on..might be the one I got my V63 off and yes its way over priced but I bet someone goes for it.

Get that production line going again!

[sloop_john_b]

If the V63 was brought back into production then the over inflated second hand prices we have seen on the bay and elsewhere would calm down and there would be a huge order book in it for Rickenbacker.

A year or so ago I would have agreed, Pete, but the prices of new Rickenbackers have gone up a whole lot in that time. A brand new 4003 lists for $2159, so you'd have to imagine that a new v63 would cost several hundred dollars more, bringing the prices about equal to what we've been seeing on eBay and elsewhere.

Also, factoring in the long wait, I don't think the demand would die down any, and the used market on these would continue to flourish.

[teeder]

John,

How are you liking your V?

[pacealot]

I wonder if RIC issuing a C64 with the right-handed headstock would taper off the skyrocketing V63 prices much? It is just that much closer to an accurate RM (although still nigglingly not quite - cast bridge and true HS please?) and maybe the people who covet the V63 now would be satisfied ordering a C64 "RHHS"? For about the same price as the V's are running now? All hypothetical anyway....

[rickaddict]

I haven't seen much difference in the price of a nice 4001v63 vs. a nice 4001C64.

But I do know this...There are quite a few RIC customers that would like the C64 more if it were offered with the correct facing headstock.

[pacealot]

...and I'm definitely one of them!

[ricosound]

...and I'm definitely one of them!

+1

[ricosound]

Actually, we let RIC off without much fight about the V68 idea. I do believe this discussion of a few years ago did influence the return of the walnut wings, vintage tone switch, and amber finishes. If we get a feature a year, then we should be looking at about 2010 for the anouncement!

Progress:
No 4001 skunk stripe - check
60's headstock - check
Thin neck profile - check
Toaster option - check
silver case option - check?
Walnut wings - check
Vintage tone circuit - check
Amber Fireglo - check
Checkered binding - other V guitar models
FWMOP inlays - other reissue guitar models (well at least FW)

So close I can taste it.