2060 arrived

bassduke49 · Post by **bassduke49** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:58 pm

It's frigid here, but the case didn't feel exactly cold, so I peeked inside, checked the bass out, then put it back in to let it acclimate. Some surface scratches, none through to the wood, a few dents. Previous owner must have gigged with it a lot and didn't keep it clean. I was surprised to find the neck and fretboard were matt finished. I'll have to clean up the fretboard, polish the gold hardware, and likely change strings. Nice ambered fireglo, and the white binding is yellowed slightly. It's weird how those big pickups are mounted; apparently on big rubber mounts from behind, so they kinda wobble in slightly oversized cavities. Photos to come.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 5:37 am

yep ... that's a lot like my 2020 ... except mine has no binding ... I found on some of the 2000 series basses the neck bolts were loose and the bridge was off center ... the hb2 pickups are a little weird but they sound good ... they have a nice 80s billy Idol type sound ... my 2020 is so hot that I usually run it at less than 10 on the volume ... as you know I like the 2000 series so much that I have 3 of them ... my 86 2030 has single coil pickups and the circuit board, my 93 2030 has hb2 pickups and the circuit board, my 2020 is wired vvt and has the hb2 pickups ... the massive maple body gives it a good sound ... the 2030 has a slim jazz bass kind of neck and the 2020 has a 4004 style neck ... the 2030 basses both have finished bubinga fretboards and the 2020 has an oil finished maple fretboard ...

bassduke49 · Post by **bassduke49** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 6:46 am

Yeah, the 2020 and 2060 were the later models with the two knobs and switch, and the fingerboards and hardware match the Cheyenne/Laredo. Jeff, what would be the best way to clean and treat the fingerboard as it seems a bit dingy, and the gold hardware has some mung on it. I want to clean it but don't want to remove the gold plating :^( Any suggestions would be appreciated. I've always taken care of my basses, and thus have never really needed to "clean" them, so this is new for me.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 7:01 am

If the maple is oiled instead of CV'd then you can use some fine (0000) steel wool to get rid of the dirty look. Afterwards apply a few coats of tung oil. Apply a coat and let it dry then lightly rub it along the grain with steel wool and apply another. I put 4 coats on my 4004C fingerboard. For the last coat, I left out the final steel wool pass which left it looking shiny. I like the look and it may help it stay looking clean longer. The steel wool will take grunge off of the frets too.

phlemmy · Post by **phlemmy** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:43 am

what do those basses look like?

sloop_john_b · Post by **sloop_john_b** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:51 am

Paul's new bass.

bassduke49 · Post by **bassduke49** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 11:18 am

The 2060 is the ultimate expression of "the other" Rickenbacker bass. Outside of the 4000 series (4000, 4001, 4002, 4004, and some would include the 4005), the "budget" bass was Rickenbacker's 3001 (and the short-scale 3000) that featured bolt-on necks. The introduction of the 200 family of guitars and basses took over for the 3000 series with the 2030 and 2050 in 1984; the 2050 had binding, 2030 unbound. Further improvements in the design appeared in 1992/3 with the 2020 (unbound) and the 2060 (bound as above). The improvements mirrored some features of the new (at the time) 4004 series as you can see by the maple fretboard, single volume and tone knobs, and microswitch. The line included the 203GF (Glen Frey bass that was basically a 2020 with black-painted fretboard, silver plexi signature pickguard and jet-glo finish), and the entire 200 series ended in 1997.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 11:41 am

2000 series pics ...

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/2020.htm

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/93-2030-5.htm

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/striped.htm

phlemmy · Post by **phlemmy** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 3:44 pm

they look very cool. how much for the red and black one, jeff? haha

how do they play?

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 4:33 pm

that striped bass is not for sale ...

they play good and sound good ... it is not a 4001/4003 sound ... and not even a 4004 sound ... but I like it ... the neck is does not flatten out as well as a neck through 4003/4001 ... the 2030s are more slender at the nut than a 4001/4003 ... I like the way they play ... I gig with them ...

phlemmy · Post by **phlemmy** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:34 am

i was referring to this one: http://www.3dentourage.com/425/2020.htm

is it striped now? dang!

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Sun Feb 19, 2006 4:28 am

yep it is converted to a 5 string and striped ... it is auto detailing tape ... a 100% reverseable modification ... but when it was plain red it looked bland ...