Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

When sorting out my old music magazines I came across an article on Rickenbacker Custom basses which had a picture of a one-of-a-kind 30 inch scale Rickenbacker 4001S which belongs to Golden Earring Bassplayer Rinus Gerritsen. He apparently had it made for him in the early seventies when the Earing toured the USA together with the Who.

The bass is a fairly normal looking Fireglo 4001S but with a shorter neck (in the picture a full scale 4005/6 was standing along side it showing how much shorter it was) and a stereo output. From what I read he used that bass alongside his Danelectro Basses on the "Moontan" tour. And he's seen playing it in the music video for "Radar love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeRa3RtBiIU

Little else was said about that bass and I would like to know if anybody on this board has more info about this one

Interesting, it doesn't look short in the video, but then it is said that TV makes things (read poeple) look bigger than they really are!

Hmmm... watching that video, the bass appears to be standard scale. Any chance you could scan and post that article?

That would be copyright infringement, but I suppose he could e-mail it to you privately so that it doesn't get published on the web.

I would be interested in more info to use in the book. However, the one in the video appears to be a standard Fireglo S and doesn't look at all like a short scale. Maybe he had both?

Richard Smith did document a 30" scale 4001 in his book......made around 1970, IIRC...

I nearly bought one once. It was advertised in a small UK guitar shop (which I'm not sure still exists) in the back of a UK guitar mag; it didn't say in the ad it was shortscale, but it had all the same spec as my 72, so I was hoping to get it as a backup. When I rang the guy he ran through the condition etc with me and said, the funny thing is, it's a shortscale. Everything he told me sounded legit, and he seemed to know his stuff; at that time I didn't even know they'd made any. Unfortunately it turned out the shop wasn't set up to take credit cards and I didn't have the cash, so it never came off. That one is a big "what if?" for me! I wonder who got it?

Wow, Golden Earring... hadn't thought of them in awhile. Especially liked their album "Switch"

Oddly enough, I still have scads of the original Maxima-made Rickenbacker flat wounds- in short scale to fit this bass and the Model 3000.

John, do you know the bass in question? Can you shed any more light on a short scale 4001? I'm intrigued, as would Paul Boyer be for his book.

This is the same bass, right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWu2Rcb4OQY

Apparently he didn't record much with that bass. "Radar Love" was recorded on EB-3, BTW.

Rinus is a great player and has a very good sound. "Live" (1977) is a favourite.

I never said that he used the rick on "Radar Love", I said that he got it on the "Moon tan" tour to support the album where "Radar love" came from.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HLVl921gN8

No rick in this clip but the sheer awesomeness of this rendition of "radar love" makes up for it.

Blazer, I didn't mean you (or anybody) said it was recorded on a Rick. Sorry.

Great live version, apparently from 1977. Cesar is a fantastic drummer.

Are you sure it was an EB-3 in that song? Doesn't sound at all like any EB-3 I've ever heard. Always sounded like either a Ric or a jazz to me. Is the guitar loud enough in that ten minute clip? I think there's a bass sonewhere in the mix.