Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have just bought a ’78 Burg 4001 and am absolutely stunned by the quality of it. The condition of it is amazing and it plays and sounds incredible. In fact the condition is so incredible that I wondered if it might not be 100% kosher.

I have stripped the thing down and it all looks fine, so sign of any refin or anything untoward, except….. it has chrome tuners with “Rickenbacker” on them. Surely these are replacement ones? Also if the condition is near mint how come someone had to change the tuners?

Anyway the bottom line is I don’t actually care too much as it is such a good player, but it would be nice to get to the bottom of this one.

Bob

Just a guess, but it probably originally had nickel plated, open backed Kluson bass heads, and they were replaced with the current "Kluson close look alike" open back gears that Are stamped "Rickenbacker".

if it had original tuners they would look awful and turn backwards ... I have restored a few 70's basses and I usually remove the tarnished backards tuners and put new ones on ... why did they ever make backwards tuners?

It originally had reverse tuners which I think are cool and look almost exactly like the new ones at least from the front except they don't say Rickenbacker on them as Don has said. They are hard to find, although you will occasionally see them on ebay, any mid 70's up to early 80's 4000 series bass has these unless they have Grovers (rare) or have been replaced.

Thanks chaps for the quick replies. I must admit I prefer the old tuners with the oxidised nickel finish. They look cool & vintage to my eyes.

I just don’t see why my bass that has been played so little over the past 27 years needed new tuners?

Why is everyone so hung up on the old "reverse" Kluson tuners? It's just a mindset issue, ya know,never bothered me at all, fwd, backward, So What? the big deal is, Do They Work??

Because they are cool Don, haha! No I like them because they turn easier besides the fact that they are original equipment.

My 4000 has reverse tuners,,,doesn't bother me at all.