4000 with bound fretboard??

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 12:51 am

The fingerboard looks strange to me.

dswp · Post by **dswp** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 1:15 am

Never saw that before???

inhuien · Post by **inhuien** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:26 am

Take a look at the photo of the back of the neck, it's not a through neck. Copy me thinks..

anoukane · Post by **anoukane** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:32 am

The fingerboard looks darn ugly

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:41 am

Most 4000's were a set neck design. I'd ask for photo's of the truss rods.

inhuien · Post by **inhuien** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:34 am

I must bow to your greater knowledge here Scott, thanks for that.

marc67 · Post by **marc67** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:58 am

Could it be that the fingerboard was replaced or maybe a fret job to a fretless?

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:07 am

Fretless 4000's are very rare, Gary has one, I don't think his has a bound neck either. It maybe has had a fretjob as the fingerboard is very dark but that would not explain the bound neck either, he said the headstock is also bound.
The bound portion looks like stock Rickenbacker binding.

ricosound · Post by **ricosound** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:10 am

Looks stock to me. See how the binding covers the edge of the fret. Either that, or someboy put a lot of quality work into a mod.

bob_atherton · Post by **bob_atherton** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:18 am

I must say the wood looks way too dark and the binding just a touch too thick. If it is not stock, and it might well be, I agree with Wes that someone did a good job.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:32 am

The darkness would come from having the finish taken off, I have a 4001 that was re-fretted years ago and is dark like that. But if it was re-fretted the binding most likely would not cover the edge of the fret as mine doesn't. It looks stock to me too, but that still doesn't explain the bound headstock although I have heard of a few 4000's made like that during the late 50's, early 60's.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:28 am

Some Ricks have dark boards but the dots don't look right to me (one size too large perhaps). The binding work is excellent but I don't believe it to be factory done. The instrument is genuine but has been repaired/altered. One of my neck binding jobs was recently taken as factory work. You can't go by that alone.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:26 am

What Ted said....maybe somebody had the usual "accident" with the rods and decided to replace the whole board and add binding...

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:35 am

I seem to remember a rumor of a few ebony boards leaving the factory. Maybe this is the case.