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Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2003 6:39 am
by rictified
I just compared my 72 name plate, my 96 name plate, and the large photo of the name plate in the ad, and I am positive that that one is a later raised lettered name plate. It is identical to the 96. Even looks like a little of the paint (ink?) was scraped off of the last r.

Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2003 6:45 am
by ken_james
Andrew,
The 63 was real eye candy no doubt but I can't deal with shill bidders, he constantly does it on every auction he runs.

Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2003 7:15 am
by paul_yan
Correction:
My '72 (#LL) was made in December in stead of October.
Sorry for the wrong info.

Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2003 2:10 pm
by rictified
That is a coincidence, two 4001FL's made in the same month and year in 1972, too bad they are different colors.

Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2003 7:52 pm
by jeff_ulmer
My '73 4001 has that same name plate as well. As for the shills, there is something to be said for waiting before bidding on ebay.

Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2003 8:06 pm
by paul_yan
Yeah Bob,
What a nice coincidence, even though mine is MG and yours is JG.
I'm curious how close in manufacturing dates our babies are. My Akiko's is LL 1758. What's that of your baby?
Would be interesting to find out...

By the way, the handwritting in the '72 control cavity is:

9 ARC
R.R.
4001 J

I suppose no handwriting can be found in Jetglo cavities? I found nothing written in the cavity of my Shadow.

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2003 2:24 am
by rickcrazy
Please enlighten me: the selector switch cap on my 21 fret 4001 is a 7/8" long, 3/8" wide matte black plastic cylinder. It has a tapered bottom and the threaded hole extends to the top. The cap threads perfectly onto the switch handle on my 4001. Can anyone tell me whether this is a genuine Rick part? Could it be a transitional switch cap?

Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2003 4:34 am
by rictified
Hi Paul my complete serial # is: LL 1756, wow is that close or what? One bass between ours? I don't have time to take it apart right now, but should tomorrow, I'm sure there is some writing in there, the cavity was not painted and I saw something. The toggle switch on my 72 is identical to later ones. 5/8" X 1/4" black.

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2003 11:05 am
by paul_yan
So close!
We can be at least very sure they were from the same batch of basses.

Wonder where #LL 1757 is now...

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2003 11:51 am
by rickcrazy
Well, my first Rick bass was a 2nd-hand December 1972 (LL) Fireglo 4001. I don't remember the number on it, though, but I do remember that the treble pickup surround had sharp rather than rounded corners. Bob, does the p.u surround on your 4001 have sharp corners?

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2003 12:11 pm
by jps
Is the bridge on the 4001 21 fret original? It seems to have a matte/satin finish, not glossy, is this normal?

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2003 12:37 pm
by rickcrazy
The serial number on the 21 fret 4001 on Ebay is JG 154 (July 1970). A July 1970 4001 with 2nd version Grover tuners?? What gives? My November 1970 21 fret 4001 has 1st version Grover tuners, which I believe to be original to it. Or could I be wrong?

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2003 12:41 pm
by rickcrazy
Jeffrey:
Just saw your post.
Yeah, that bridge is original. From pictures I have seen on the Web, some such 4001 bridge units had a matte appearance and some were shinier. The unit on my 21 fret 4001 has a shiny appearance.

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2003 3:36 pm
by leftybass
It is quite possible that the plating on the tailpiece has flaked off over time; these old-style tailpieces were cast aluminum, and once the plating started to flake it wouldn't take long for the rest of it (even a shorter time with 'help') to come off.

Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2003 6:45 pm
by rictified
Sergio, my treble pickup surround is rounded.