Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

March '73:



...the best.

This is a good example of what I was talking about- in one months time the inlay material had changed from MOP to acrylic. Nice 73, looks like somebody really liked to plant their thumb on that one. I have a couple of 73's that have a sliver of paint missing from above the pickguard due to the thumb.

markbass99 wrote:This is a good example of what I was talking about- in one months time the inlay material had changed from MOP to acrylic. Nice 73, looks like somebody really liked to plant their thumb on that one. I have a couple of 73's that have a sliver of paint missing from above the pickguard due to the thumb.

I like the MOP, wish I had an instrument with them, but I LOVE the acrylics! They're such a nice cream color, and don't appear nearly as "swirly" as the poured ones, or even the newer cut inlays. They've just got this nice, bright, solid look to them. The new inlays are cool, but I don't care for them in silver...

badeggs wrote: I like the MOP, wish I had an instrument with them, but I LOVE the acrylics! They're such a nice cream color, and don't appear nearly as "swirly" as the poured ones, or even the newer cut inlays. They've just got this nice, bright, solid look to them. The new inlays are cool, but I don't care for them in silver...

I'm a bit confused, Jeff...the "newer, cut inlays" ARE "the acrylics". All else are polyester resin.

And, not sure what you mean by "silver" inlays. They're all white MOP, although the varnish covering them can turn yellowish with age.

jingle_jangle wrote:I'm a bit confused, Jeff...the "newer, cut inlays" ARE "the acrylics". All else are polyester resin.

I meant the material they used from March - August(?) '73, like on my bass up there. The ones before the poured kind and after the MOP...those are the ones I like. I always thought they were cut plastic, but what the hell do I know (!)...

jingle_jangle wrote:And, not sure what you mean by "silver" inlays. They're all white MOP, although the varnish covering them can turn yellowish with age.

I meant the new ones always look silver-y to me in photos - I've never seen them in person!

I always thought these were poured, too, but with more pearl in the mix, but I'll have to look at the next one that rolls through my shop to be certain. You could be right!

The newest ones look silvery because there's lots of pearl in the acrylic sheet. These'll never yellow or lose their impact, unlike the poured ones which can very occasionally shrink and go dull over time.

jingle_jangle wrote:... These'll never yellow or lose their impact ...

Ah, made of that rare element, eternium!

While we're on the subject (remember this started with inlays on a jetglo)-

These are the acrylics on my March 73 (pics by Olivia's, I paid enough for them )



Acrylics on July 73



These are the MOP on my Jan 73



And another shot of the Feb jetglo + March FG

I also found this pics of the new inlays when they were announced, do not remember the credit for pics, probably somebody at RIC.

My distressed fingerprint-glo

Eden.

I know I've been posting about this one a lot, but here's my 2004 4003:

hieronymous wrote:I know I've been posting about this one a lot, but here's my 2004 4003:

What happened to the other four strings, Harry?

OK, Harry, so how did you come by a BT bass from 2004 again? Supposedly BT (in this case, especially the binding) went away in 2002. I may have missed the story.

bassduke49 wrote:OK, Harry, so how did you come by a BT bass from 2004 again? Supposedly BT (in this case, especially the binding) went away in 2002. I may have missed the story.

Short version: possibly a one-off made for the Japanese market - besides the discontinued BT, it has a 7-screw tailpiece, older pickguard, and TRC with silver lettering. I've posted about it recently here. I bought it from Phlemmy, and there's an earlier thread with a lot of the detective work (thanks Phlemmy & Ilan!) here.

jps wrote:What happened to the other four strings, Harry?

I keep these two instruments back east, and I'm heading back in a few weeks and hope to take some better pictures of the 8-string, which I will definitely post...

Pics of my #1