Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

iiipopes wrote:Yes, canned or bottled Coca-Cola. The carbonation reacts with the syrup in the can or bottle to make a mild solution of carbonic acid in addition to the phosphoric acid that is added as an ingredient to give the soda pop its "bite."

All this talk reminds me of the '70s and early '80s!

the 70's and early 80s were mostly a blur to me. I'm glad something good came out of them.

I read the numbers with my macro telephoto lens and got this when I plugged them into the RIC decoder:

"Your guitar was manufactured in July of 1979!"

Which was pretty much what Paul guessed.

That part is settled.

The problem isn't saltwater or salt air. The guitar was apparently stored at his mother's house in some closet where it leaked rain water. By the time he discovered it, the case was a mess and the lining was all screwed up and wood rotten. The case was not salvageable. Also, some water had settled in the area near where the jack plate sat in the case and caused what you see. He sprayed a bunch of WD40 into the jack and it made a connection again and can be played through an amp (I am using a Fender The Twin for it). But definitely there will need to be some inner works replacement. Not even a doubt about that.

First thing I want to do is get the neck adjusted with some lower action.

Would I adjust the trusses with the strings at full tension as I do with my regular guitars? Does it make any difference with basses? Not sure why it would but thought I would ask.

Best,

Manta

manta wrote:I read the numbers with my macro telephoto lens and got this when I plugged them into the RIC decoder:

"Your guitar was manufactured in July of 1979!"

Which was pretty much what Paul guessed.

July 79 would be SG. Number range is 3340 to 3950.

manta wrote:Would I adjust the trusses with the strings at full tension as I do with my regular guitars? Does it make any difference with basses? Not sure why it would but thought I would ask.

The old 4001 truss rods are somewhat black arts to me (never had to mess with mine), but Joey Vasco has a great write up:

http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/Rick_maint.htm

IIRC you do not adjust these TR's with full tension on the strings. I think that's a good way to pop the fingerboard off the neck.

Thanks again Ed!! This info from Joey is EXTREMELY helpful. There's some very good info here.

Note, he says: Truss rod adjustments of all Rickenbacker basses should be done with the strings in tune.

Anyway, I will take it slow and easy and also read about the bridge adjustment to see what can be done there.

Manta

edski wrote:IIRC you do not adjust these TR's with full tension on the strings. I think that's a good way to pop the fingerboard off the neck.

Two way to potentially have the fingerboard separate from the neck:
1. Not holding the neck in place while tightening the TR nuts.
2. Prying up on the threaded end of the TR to straighten without clamping the fingerboard and neck together.

manta wrote:Note, he says: Truss rod adjustments of all Rickenbacker basses should be done with the strings in tune.

The guitars also.

manta wrote:Thanks again Ed!! This info from Joey is EXTREMELY helpful. There's some very good info here.

Note, he says: Truss rod adjustments of all Rickenbacker basses should be done with the strings in tune.

Anyway, I will take it slow and easy and also read about the bridge adjustment to see what can be done there.

Manta

Manta, is the neck bowed forward or is the action just high? Important to tell the difference before making a neck adjustment. While I like simplicity of the conventional truss rod, I've really come to love the hairpin design of the 4001 and how it holds the neck very stable. Just please understand how it works before screwing with it. Bad things can easily happen if you over do it.

Sepp

Hi Sepp,

It is just a little high for my liking and I think it is a simple adjustment. Nothing major. I will do what I can with the bridge first and then move to the trusses if needed. I have many RICs and I'm not an aggressive "neck fixer". I shall tread lightly. Thank you for the heads up.

Awesome!! Please keep us posted!! Oh, BTW, nice find!!

Sepp

edski wrote:A new output harness is $25 US. It's a simple drop in, and you can just clean up the plate with the serial number.

Had to replace it on my 75 4001 about a year ago.

Saw your post and choked!.........
Just picked up a 74 4001 bass I'm getting into playing condition. Thought while I'm tearing it all apart, I might as well put a new harness on there and not fight the unknown condition of the pots. Well, a new harness isn't quite the bargain I had estimated. So I thought, "I'll just buy some new pots, jacks, and a switch and put one together. It's not that hard." I see a new switch is close to $50 shipped, adding in new jacks, caps, and pots...... I'm seeing about $100 in parts......

Then I see you post about a new harness for $25 and I started pushing buttons all over my computer to get at your post........ duh, then I realized you said "output harness" and my eyes began to water....

Here's the jack plate I'm starting with, so you can imagine I need to replace at LEAST the output jacks to get my project going.

That jackplate has "LK" code. That would be a November '72. Tell me, does your bass have checker binding?

Nope, she does not....... just white.
She's been around the block and knocked around a bit.... but then so have I.

Yeah, she looks pretty beat. Definitely not a '72, so the jackplate must have come from another bass at some point. Looks like you have a bit of a FrankenRick.

Paul
I know there is some descepancy with the jack plate, the pots date to 1974.
So my goal is to get it put together as a workhorse.