Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Does anyone know when the nameplates were changed from Rickenbacker being screened on the back of the plexiglass piece to the plastic with the raised lettering?

I had one as late as 1975 with a screened name plate. A 75 4001 bass. In Smith's book they (John Hall?) are quoted as saying that when they ran out of standard parts they would often go back and use old parts they had left over. With early 70's basses one bass might have all modern parts on it, another might have old parts, it is hard to date any exact cutoff points for things like this. I'm sure the guitars were the same, but I am not familiar with them.

My February 1976 4001 has a raised letter nameplate. I assume the cutoff date to be late 1975.

My 1979 4001 has a screened nameplate, but it is a lefty; they continiued for sometime on the left-handed models...

My 1973 and 1974 4001's both have the screened nameplates so it very well may have been sometime in 1975.

A 1992 lefty 4003 I once owned had a screened nameplate. May be lefty 4001s and 4003s never came with a raised-lettering nameplate. Anyone?

I used to own a 1990 model 4003S and it had a raised letter nameplate. I saw another 4003S at a Guitar Show a few months back that had the same kind of nameplate, too...

Gene: Was it a left-handed model?

My '75 430 has a BLACK screened name plate (cool!). I also saw a '75 480 with a BLACK screened name plate (AKA: truss rod cover).

My '80,'84,and '91 Ric basses, and my '03 340 all have screened nameplates. All lefties.

My lefty 360/12 CW also has a screened nameplate. I think my others are also screened, but I'll have double check when I get home on next Friday.