Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello all,
My luthier has stumbled across a 1969 4001 that he has had in storage for several years. It's Mapleglo with "IC" at the beginning of the serial number.
It's not a museum piece mind you. Obviously it has the checkerboard binding, full length MOP inlays, & the mono output jack. The bridge pickup has been replaced & the bridge itself has been modded to accommodate a Badass I. It's got some scuffs & scrapes, but has not been refinished & he says the finish is in pretty darn good shape. It's also had a fret job. Currently it doesn't have the TRC, but he thinks he may know where it/one is.(I must clarify that he did not do any of this to the bass - it's simply the condition it was in when he acquired it...)

Also he thinks the tuning keys are original, but isn't 100% sure. He says that they are "not Kluson style with the key bushing being the pressed in style, but a threaded style bushing with washer and no screws holding the key in place on the back of the headstock but two little posts that go into pre-drilled holes". He thinks they look a bit modern to be on there (Schaller style?), but isn't sure. Can anybody help me on this?

With '69s being uber-rare I'm looking to you guys for some help. I know how hard it is without seeing it, but is there anyway some of you experts out there could hazard a guess as to it's worth?


I haven't actually seen the bass yet, so all apologies for the vague description. I just got off the phone with him & told him I'd reach out to my pool of "Rickenbacker Expert" friends!
He's gonna do a little work on it & try to get it up to speed & is looking for an estimate to it's worth.

Thanks in advance for all of your help!!

I'd say with the mods, around $3000. But if put on eBay, I think a bidding war would erupt and who knows from there! Is it a 21-fretter?

ah its no good-better let me help you get rid of it...

20 fretter, and upon further review he says the keys are replacements.

$3000 and maybe a little more still sounds good to me. Are you looking to buy it Chris?

Let's get this straight.The original tuners are gone.The original and VERY hard to find tailpiece/bridge assembly is also gone...oh and the original bridge pickup is gone.It sounds like the replacement tuners probably involved a half inch drill bit which means the holes will have to be plugged and redrilled...and the truss rod cover might be missing too. Conclusion...$1500.00-$2000.00 tops.

I must agree with Dane, about 1750, given all that is not kosher about it.

Yeah all thats fine and dandy but if you put it up on the bay the way things are going now the skys the limit price wise. It seems like everybody has Vintage or odd rick fever.As a player i agree with Dane and Bob but You all know that the way things are if you put that 69 on the bay it would fetch a truckload of cash . I dont care what was modded or changed .Its ridiculous i know but true.

I'm thinking along the lines of what Jeffrey has said. As it is, it may not have much appeal in the collector's market where gear has to be nearly flawless and 100% original to be considered valuable. But it has the potential to be worth quite a lot. Find the right parts and take care of whatever cosmetic issues it may have, you've got gold. Or a diamond, or whatever. If it were mine, I wouldn't sell it for any less than $10,000 - AS IS. A 1969 4001 is exceptionally rare. And if it's in salvageable condition, even more rare. I'm thinking down the road on this one. Considering how much money it would cost to get it to spec vs how much it could sell for 5-10 years from now, fuggetaboudit - name your price.

I'm looking forward to seeing pics of this one.

I guess, I guess, it's just that for me a bass has to play well and be at least 90% original. My guess at that price was probably from a players point of view rather than a collector.

My very playable '72 cost me 2K and that is about the most I would pay for a 4001. Take with a pinch of salt what I just said because I would happily pay 4K for a nice 4005 and it would hardly get played at all..!

This would probably fetch over $3K easily at present, even in it's current state. I remember when a 68 body without any hardware went for over $1200 nearly 3 years ago on eBay, and things have certainly changed since then.

Last week that 72 "project" fetched $1700, and they are a dime a dozen compared to a 69, which, as Mark says, are very rare.

The way things are at present, if you can afford to buy any 60's Rickenbacker bass, especially with an original finish, then, to quote Jared...DO IT!

You can find a bridge, tuners and other hardware over time and complete the bass if that is your goal.

The 60's Rickenbacker basses are already out of reach for most. We will be looking at 5 figures for the original examples within a couple more years in all probability, if current trends continue.

I'm not in the running. Currently 7 basses in the stable with 3 of them being Ricks....couple that with the fact that I have a baby on the way in January. I just wanna play it before he gets rid of it!

those old 60s basses are really bad ... you need to sell it to me cheap as fast as possible ... heheheheh ...

Those tuning keys are Schaller M4S keys.

Since I have all the needed parts 3K doen't sound bad. They were
going to go on the "half-a-bass" project...
Zoiks! This would make a fine project....
Is it still up for grabs.....?

How about posting a pic we can all see?