Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Greetings from Canada, I am new to the forum and have been enjoying myself with all the rick talk.
Here is what I need help with...I am looking to aquire a 4001 (beater)...I would like to know if anyone would consider a trade for a 52 reissue
telecaster?...any help at all..I am tired of being outbid on e-bay....probably by all you guys
....anyway...thanks for listening....John

e-bay is ****....well, IMHO. Guess you have to try hard, spend a lot, and then sometimes you get lucky.

Beater 4001's are going to be waaaaay too expensive on the bay. This is the place to look. Put a post in the "wanted" section of the forum. Folks have eventually got the 4002 they were looking for. A "beater" 4001 should be relatively easy to find in this crowd!

Welcome to the Rick world!

Welcome John!

I posted in wanted... then searched old ads... took a chance and now I have my '77 4001JG that I am in love with. I was looking for a beater also and found a really nice one!

A fellow canadian named John... welcome. My advice is to look into an 80's or 90's 4003. They look the same as a 4001 (aside from the skunk stripe), have hotter pickups... and an improved truss rod system.

Old enough to be lower than buying cost, new enough to not tweak the interest of vintage collectors.

I got a near mint 96' fireglo 4003 for 1000$ canadian (850$ us). Mid to late 90's 4003's necks were very thin and I love mine to death.

Keep the 52 reissue... my old guitarist has one and I think they are kick-***.

By the way, I swear to god about 90% or 4001's are owned by like 5 people on this forum... hahaha. They have pictures to prove it!

Also... chat with some of the older bass players in your area. I have found that although 4001's are not very common... many players got them in the 70's, played them while they were trendy, and then stuffed them in a closet/sold them.

You might be surprised what is out there. Countless people I have talked to give me the old... "I used to own one of those, but I sold it. I really wish I had kept it..." Once and a while you find a guy who did keep it.

Thank you John, also great to meet another Canadian bassist,I do believe you are right....all the 4001's are owned by all the guys on the forum...how about it guys...one of you probably has my old 4001...I do dabble in the luthier arts a bit, I am willing to take a complete trainwreck....any bites?

You might be surprised what is out there. Countless people I have talked to give me the old... "I used to own one of those, but I sold it. I really wish I had kept it..." Once and a while you find a guy who did keep it.

I hung out a couple of weeks ago with Andy Winter, and his 68 4001 is a perfect example of that situation. Perfectly mint (save a small wear spot on the side of the neck by the 2nd fret), spent about 30 years in a case under the original owners bed.

Now, I don't have a 4003, but I do have a 4004 and the neck is similar to a 4003 (a little bit wider) and has the newer truss rods. That is an option, as even frankenstiened 4001 sometimes evoke bidding wars on the bay. As John D said, the early to mid 90's 4003's don't elicit these responses yet, and are fine basses.