Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

libratune wrote:

chefothefuture wrote: Are you suspicious of fakery Ron?

No masking tape on underside of guard for pots, that combined with rewiring and short guard -- maybe a new pickguard?

I know the gap widths were all over the place, but looking at what is available on the Register for model 1999 made in 1964, the other guards appear to have smaller or no gaps.

Also the FIreglo on this one seems unusually light and "orange-ish." Could be the photos.

The broken ear is a bummer too....

The color, assuming it is original, looks closer to a '67, but it does have the square neck heel.

I clearly remember a 1960 F@#&er Jazzmaster coming into my shop that was stupid clean. A true closet-classic guitar. All original, never been messed with... But it had a beautiful two-tone sunburst that looked to be factory. However, they stopped the two-tone burst in 1958. Modified? A refin? Removing the screws from the upper chrome control plate and lifting it gently revealed the transition red which was entirely missing from the rest of the exposed finish. Red dye (tint, colorant, pigment, whatever...) used back in the day was very susceptible to fading, even to the point of disappearing. Hence the "Unburst" LP guitars where the red has faded completely away leaving only the base yellow behind. Just my observation. I have seen many older Ricks which have shown evidence of the red having faded somewhat leaving an orange-red shaded finish.

Jim

The finish on this bass is original, and as Jim states in the above post, is common among those older finishes where the red has faded. Beat, but sweet, and always nice to see one from this run.

Pickguard and wiring are not original, but we've already cleared that one up here. Apart from the non working toaster and missing mute, it seems a fairly complete old RM1999. The main issue for concern is that the action looks very high on the E string on the photo's posted and therefore the overall issue of the neck being "straight" and the rods functional is something that needs close attention.

Taking all that into consideration, the location, and the relatively depressed market, realistically, in this still market a €7-8K bass, as the ended auction posted here shows...

Hello Andrew,
That the wiring is not originial is cleared. But nobody said that the pickguard isn't. So what makes you say that ?

libratune wrote:

chefothefuture wrote: Are you suspicious of fakery Ron?

No masking tape on underside of guard for pots, that combined with rewiring and short guard -- maybe a new pickguard?

I know the gap widths were all over the place, but looking at what is available on the Register for model 1999 made in 1964, the other guards appear to have smaller or no gaps.

The same reason as Ron states here Sambor. A short guard, along with all lack of masking tape on the underside and non original wiring. The pickguard plastic doesn't have that aged look they usually do either, especially compared to the wear on the body.

It appears highly unlikely at this point the guard is original.

I just pulled out the bass to check on what you've said. I have to admit that the pickguard looks quite white. About the action on the E string : The distance between the E string and the fret is above the sixth 2.5 mm and above the twelvth 3.5 mm. I played a bit and I have to say it still feels good to me. Then I plugged it in and to my surprise the neckpickup was working again. And wow, what a sound they got, those pickups ! I forgot about. So I guess it's just a matter of a bad connection. Thanks anyway for the further input.

My April '64 has a short guard.

opticnerve wrote:My April '64 has a short guard.

Masking tape on the underside Tony?

Hey Andy,

Actually my pick guard is not original, however you can clearly see in the picture that it was a short guard.

Here's a picture of my bass in 1975 with it's original pick guard.

That's a great photo. I remember that one now...

It's always possible it is the original guard. They are all over the place at this point in production, and this is about as short as I have seen from '64. It still looks slightly "off" to my eyes, and the lack of masking tape doesn't help, as one presumes even with the additional wiring, someone wouldn't have had to remove the pots.

That's if it ever had masking tape at all...

Andy, I don't think you understand. The pick guard in the picture from '75 IS the original pick guard.

Sometime after the picture was taken the owner Michael "Mick" Griffith painted the guard with black nail polish

to match his fingernails! You can still see remnants of the black polish at the lower left corner where the guard sat.

The guard was then replaced in 2002 with a fugly oversized guard.

When I had the new pick guard made I wasn't going by the '75 picture, I didn't even have it yet. I traced the "ghost"

finish fade "imprint" on the bass. I would say that the "imprint" is definitive proof that the original guard was short...no?

BTW, the kid in the '75 picture is Mick's son Jackson....who sold me the bass.

For those interested, here's the thread with the full story of the bass.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=393879

Moral of the story...

There is very little 4001S/RM1999 from that era that are untouched.

So be my guest paying $20k+ for the assumed mint one. I'll buy a Patek Philippe or a A. Lange & Sohne watch instead...

Colonel Sanders wrote:...I'll buy a Patek Philippe or a A. Lange & Sohne watch instead...

Save a bunch of money and buy an ORIS.