Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

As most of you have seen I have a thread running about my 4004 Laredo where I had the fretboard painted to match the body ("Blackening" thread). The response has been very positive and I realize also that those who disapprove may simply not be responding. The part that I find interesting is that when I mentioned or posted a pic of my former 4003's with Bartolini p/u's there was an outcry (slight exaggeration) about keeping Rics Rics and that anything non-original is ruining the instrument.

It doesn't bother me to be criticized and I feel that an owner can do with as they wish with their property. On a Forum like this you open yourself up to positive AND negative opinions when you post projects or views. It just seems odd that a completely reversible modification with almost no aesthetic impact brings such harsh criticism and a fretboard non-reversible modification is met with enthusiasm.

Maybe because the 4003 is a classic design, it is viewed as "hallowed" while the 4004 is a relative newcomer and therefore is open to mods? WHo knows.

I know over at the Fender forum I will probably catch heat when I "ReRanch" my '74 P to Lake Placid Blue- but hey, they only have to look at the bass thru the monitor, not play it every day!

It could be that some view the pickups as an intrinsic part of the Rickenbacker sound, whereas the finished fingerboard is more aesthetic.

That is an interesting point Brian. There are many purists who feel that if the factory did not put it there it does not belong. This is a somewhat narrow view but it has ensured the survival of a great many instruments over the years. I think some people also fear the return of the rampant hacking that went on back in the 80's. Things like P-bass pickps, pre-amps, and Badasses sunken into the bodies have reduced the values of otherwise good instruments today. Fortunately, those mods are most likely found on Ricks from the most popular era. They made a lot of instruments back in the 70's and most have survived.

I like both of your mods. The Bartolini pickups are a good choice. The fingerboard mod is very cool and potentially reversible, albeit with a fair amount of work.

Installing Barts is implying that Rics don't sound that good and can be improved. Painting the fretboard black is a homage to the Blackstar... anyway it doesn't subconsciously threaten us or imply that our rics can sound better. Barts do.

I've found that IN GENERAL the only comments one gets are positive, a sort of "if you can't say something nice..." approach. So my 4003 refin thread got 70 replies and Melissa B's got 400+.

I assume that means something...

Brian, if I didn't like your blackening, I would have said so! I think it is bitchin!
However, the Barts....well....Steve Wood said what I was thinking, and Ilan brought up the Blackstar, which I agree with.

hey it is your bass ... do what you want with it ... I get plenty of criticism ripping out mechanical mutes, ripping out ROS, and drilling holes and adding a low B ... I am completely comfortable with the reality of people not liking what I do to Ric basses ... it is all opinions ... we all have one and we all the right to express it ... and every ones opinion is valid ... I have a bart pickup ... it sounds pretty good, but Ric pickups sound better in my opinion, and the black bass is cool but I prefer a little chrome and a wood colored fretboard ...

If you customize your bass and you are happy with the looks and preformance then you don't need our approval ... it is nice to get some positive feedback but it is your bass so your opinion is the one that counts ...

I think part of it is that people think barts are making a bass worse...

I think everyone (including me) compliments your 4004L because it looks so damn hot!!!! If it was done with a can of spray paint people might roll over in their graves though.

As far as an all black bass/guitar goes, it's really not my thing, but yours looks great. If it turns your crank, then more power to ya. It was a fine job all the way 'round.
I'm setting my long range sights on a MID 4003 to have a 4-2-5 job done on it. Don't have the cash right now, but mods are perfectly OK if it's what you want. I wouldn't mod a COY unless they're quite common.
The bronze color is rather subtle compared to the spectacular purple burst, so that may account for the disparity in number of responses to those respective refins.

If everyone was the same, we'd all be playing P's!
Way too boring (not dissing P's, just promoting variety)

Hi Brian, I'm with Dave on this one. The 4003 could be considered the equivalent of the Corvette. It has a classic design that suffers when one begins to add body/engine mods.

A 4004 may be seen as a modern vehicle, say a Cadillac Escalade, which lends itself to customization.

An interesting slant on this issue is how factory mods, no matter how radical, are usually seen as acceptable.

Just think if you had "Lemmied" a nice Ci, or attached a reverse headstock to a 4001.

Wait a minute, that reverse headstock thing kind of worked for Hendrix. If fact I'm fairly certain his Strat sold for more than a new one, hmmm....

As to your present project, I think this time you just nailed it. The Laredo is a bit stark and your tasteful application brings her to life. You didn't blast holes in her to add "custom electronics", or carve twigs and berries in her like that old Motorhe.........OOOOPS! Gotta go!

Great looking bass my man!

I've been of the opinion that if you have an original vintage Ric and paint it, the value may actually go up depending on your choice of colors. Ric's decision to be limited in the choice of colors from the factory has caused a desire for unusual colors. Bright white, CS yellow, Blue Boy and others. Many Ric enthusiasts covet unusual colors (look at the wonder purple paint jobs on another thread.)

Changing out pickups is generally considered heresy because most enthusiasts consider Ric pups the best way to get the Ric sound. (they're probably right.)

IMO, I think your demonic black 4004 is a great looking instrument. I also don't care for Barts in RIcs, I think the Ric pups sound better. But, hey, it's your bass, and if Barts get a sound you want - gofer it.

I think the 4004 looks great Brian.
I have been thinks for many months now to send Paul, a virgin 4003 MG with walnut wings, and letting him go crazy with some kind of custom refinish. I also though of the 4003 MG, with a Pickguardian tortoise p/g, and HB1's.
It's whatever floats your boat.

"If it was done with a can of spray paint people might roll over in their graves though."


Guitar ReRanch makes some pretty good aerosol products, using Nitrocellulouse Lacquer for refinishing. Their stuff is top notch- I am using the stuff on my Frickenbird project...

Google it and see for your self- though it I had a paint gun, that's what I'd use...

"A 4004 may be seen as a modern vehicle, say a Cadillac Escalade, which lends itself to customization. "

Oh god, I hope not. Cadillac Escalades are horrendous to drive and all the ridiculous body mods that people do to them make it look horrendous too.

If anything, I think that the reason people dislike mods and such on Rickenbackers (or any semi-expensive bass for that matter) is because, not only does it imply that it's not good enough to begin with, but it also brings up the whole matter of poorly-modded instruments or fakes (say, dressing a bass up as a rare model, which we've seen), or ruining what some consider to be a beautiful finish. I'm sure every person who ADORES Fireglo is horrified every time someone takes a perfectly good Fireglo and refinishes it. Even if the new finish is awesome, they've still changed something that didn't "need" changing. I guess the perception is, when you significantly mod a bass, such that it is irreversible or not easily reversible, that you're being hasty or that you really don't realize how good the bass already is. It's like, why didn't you just buy a bass with those mods on it? Or even, why did you buy a Rickenbacker if you're just gonna change it all. Obviously, there are arguments for and against all of this. As for why the "Blackening" project was met with so much positive feedback . . . Jetglo is a very common color, so I don't think that many people will be miffed if you alter a Jetglo instrument. If the 4004 had been a Blueburst, and then you'd painted the fretboard or done something, I think LOTS of people would've been upset. Second, I don't think anyone thinks it looks bad. Sure, some people like it better with just a regular wood fretboard and/or chrome hardware, but I don't think anyone finds the Blackout bass ugly. And also, nothing was done to affect the playability or sound of the bass. It was solely cosmetic, and in keeping with the original "spirit" (as in, it started out Jetglo, and now it's EVEN MORE Jetglo) of the bass. There's a big difference between having a black bass and then putting black hardware and trim on it versus having a mapleglo bass and refinishing it black so you can put black hardware and trim on it. Obviously, it's up to the owner, because its the owner's bass. But some things just seem like natural extensions of already existing qualities of a guitar (putting a toaster in the neck, putting on vintage knobs, putting in the hipshot bridge, rewiring 4004 basses VVT, etc.), while others seem like vast, uncalled-for changes.

Unless you make your bass horrendously incredibly ugly beyond all reasoning (i.e. shave the horns, chop some stuff, drop in twenty more pickups, put stickers all over it), I don't object. And even then, I'd be fine if you did all that to a budget bass or an old beater bass. But, like, to me, you wouldn't do that to a Rickenbacker for the same reason you wouldn't do that to an Alembic or a Zon. They're just not the kind of basses that lend themselves well to being butchered.