Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Definitley keep the 5 ply guard!

"... I always thought the 5 ply ABS pickguard was so Fenderish."

That's not the only Fenderish attribute in the 4002. The pickup locations are similar to a Jazz Bass.

I don't get out too much these days with the Ebony (see the relevance to this thread?). The photograph was made at South Chagrin Reservation near the Quarry Rock area in Bentleyville, Oh.

I have done exposures as long as 25 minutes to get what I want sometimes; this is pretty normal for large format photographers in deep woods late in the day, using small apertures for great depth of field. I'm glad I didn't use this camera for my pics in the RIC factory!

Oh yeah, someone asked for more photographs:


Brandywine Falls (c) Jeffrey P. Scott 1990


Garrapata Beach (c) Jeffrey P. Scott 2001

Very beautiful, Jeff.

Unfortunately, these online images pale in comparison to the original prints.

I have decided to keep the original wings because they are made of some very nice maple. So, I spent most of the day cleaning up and then filling the errant voids in the body wings. Afterwards, I planed the top down to the bottoms of the binding routes and glued new tops on. The maple I used has some very flashy flame. You can almost see it in the pics of a dry fit test.






The upper wing has its checkerboard binding already. The outer layer of binding will be a half and half black and white laminate. Some 4001s have it as their only binding. In this case, it goes over the checkerboard with the black side out.

Ted, it's looking nice. Can't wait to see the final product. Were you into woodworking before your interest in restoring Rics?

Lookin' good, Ted!

This is better than Dynasty or Melrose Place. Can't wait to see the finished product!

There is at least one minor miscalculation so far. I failed to notice that the 4002 has a slightly thinner fingerboard than other Rickenbacker models. The other members of the 4000 series have 3/8" thick boards but the 4002 is only about 5/16". So mine will be 1/16" too thick. Unfortunately I have already fretted it so there it will stay. I know that sounds like a trivial difference but it will pull the strings that much further from the pickup tops. Of course I will be using HB1s and not the magical 4002 pickups so it probably won't matter.

Rikk: No, but I did watch a lot of woodworking shows on TV. I have to admit that Norm Abram is my earliest influence. I was always fascinated by the tools and techniques he used and filed them away for future reference. The last 4 years I have finally been able to try them out.

Ted, you're a fast learner. Keep up the great posts.

Can you mount the PUPs 1/16" higher?

if you don't do any pickguard at all then you can mount the pickups like a 4004 and reverse load the electronics as well ... make it a cross between a 4001/4002/4004 bass ... a true one of a kind ...

with the pickups mounted like a 4004 you have more control over the pickup height ... you won't be limited by the pickguard ...

Then you also get to show of the nice wood as well ...

I have been considering that approach Jeff. That is a great suggestion. I do like the clean look of no pickguard.

Rikk: That is fairly easy to do if I do what Jeff suggested or if I use thicker material for the guard.