My new '71 Fireglo 4001

[sys700]

Yes, the finish of these strings is smoother than the standard Rotosounds. Frets show little to no wear and the neck is very straight. It's a good one!

[jps]

Are the ball ends of those Rotos adjustable? I used to use those Superwounds, or whatever they were called, (Super Core?); the ball end was adjustable to get the core/windings positioned correctly for the differences in saddle displacement on a bridge and then you would lock them down with an Allen wrench, IIRC.

[sys700]

Yes, they are adjustable. The ball ends are two pieces.

[jps]

I thought that was a very cool concept, but I don't believe anyone is doing that kind of thing, these days. Tapered strings seems to have taken over, maybe too many people had problems with dealing with the movable ball ends, or too many strings broke? Yours seems to have held up just fine, though.

[sys700]

Yeah, but I just took them off, and will be installing TI flats instead. They sounded ok, but I already have roundwounds on my other Ric.

[jps]

TI JFs sound great on Ricks; if the strings feel too loose, give it time, you will get the hang of them and will find they really feel like strings should feel.

[sys700]

I have some flatwounds on my Precision fretless that I think may be TI flatwounds. They have red silks, and are not completely shiny, a bit loose, yet have a great sound.

[jps]

Sounds about right for TIs.

[sys700]

Took the bass apart completely yesterday. Pulled the rods out somewhat to see if they were bent and they were straight, so I decided not to pull them out all the way. The routes don't go all the way to the treble pickup, and it appeared you had to bend them somewhat to get them out at the headstock end (which I didn't want to do). I checked to see if the hairline crack would close up without glue (which it did), so I pulled the rods out an inch or two and glued up the neck and clamped it in place. You can't even tell there was a crack there now. While I was at it I cleaned up all the frets and chrome/nickel parts. Used some Zymol on the finish and aside from the yellowed binding, it looks like a brand new bass now. TI Flats are on the way and will hopefully arrive tomorrow. I'll string it up, adjust the neck, and post some completed photos tomorrow.

[Ontario_RIC_fan]

I'll string it up, adjust the neck, and post some completed photos tomorrow.

Cool! Looking forward to seeing the pics!

[glking14]

Congrats on your new bass,71's rock!!! Not that I'm biased or anything

[sys700]

Ok, here are some pre-string images:

[Ontario_RIC_fan]

Oh yeah!!!! Was that bass ever part of the Sunshine Band?

[sys700]

Funny. That's the first thing that came to mind when I read the serial number.

One thing I found interesting. Under the pickguard, the letters NAT are written, but then crossed out, and replaced with FG. It also says 4001a. What does the "a" stand for? I guess it was going to be a natural and they decided to finish it FireGlo. Wonder what prompted the change in direction...

[Colonel Sanders]

What a beauty!

Enjoy this one!