Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I noticed the writing in it. Sure, I've asked about this before.. but it says 4001 W.. does that mean it would've been white? Also the routing for the neck pickup looks really odd. It looks like it could fit a P bass pickup in it. But the Jetglo finish is in that hole too. Could it have been refinished? It also has a lot of chalky white stuff in it.. really dusty stuff. I'll try to get a pic a little later today. I see traces of white in the screw holes for the pick guard and near the jack plate holes.. but I don't know if it's the chalky stuff.

Little help?

White or black are both opaque and may have been interchangable in that case. The wood probably was not attractive enough for FG or MG. The white stuff may be polish/wax residue. I see it all the time on older Ricks.

What about the big hole?

I'll try to clean the white stuff off of it.

Is it a '75 by some chance? All of the '75s I have ever seen have larger than normal neck pickup routes. This is because 1975 was the transition year from the 1/2 inch neck pickup space to the 1 inch space. The wood was cut to accomodate either guard type.

No.. I did the number look up. April '76. Did I get an off one?

It is not impossible. The nice thing about those is you can easily go with either spacing if you have a preference. I went 1/2 inch on my '75.

That's kind of handy. I'm used to the 1" but I'll give the 1/2" a try when I get some money for a pick guard.

My damn pickup surround left rust marks on the finish.. grr. Least it's hidden.

My selector switch is being a pain too. When it switches between the pickups it gets stuck on the metal. The rubber thing at the end of the switch goes too far or something and is a pain to get back to the middle. I never use it, so it only moves if I hit it without thinking. What should I do? I think I might break it.

I had the stuck selector. It's a metal burr on the ball part of the switch. You have to take the switch out/apart, and sand it lightly with a very fine sandpaper (at least 800 grit).

My '75 (White) has 4001-W in the pot cavity.

And like Ted says, it has the large neck route. But my pickguard is for the 1 inch spacing.

All 3 of mine (4000 FG, 4001 WHT, 4080 JG) have still got traces of the white powdery stuff. Looks a lot like fine sanding dust from a top coat or clear finish.

I have the powder in my '75 as well.
As for the selector switch, I used to accidentally hit it so much, I installed it UNDER the pick guard in the both pickup position.