Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The finish looks a little "cheap" to me. Opinions?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rickenbacker-Bass-4 ... dZViewItem

I thought exactly the same thing when I saw it, even checked here and was surprised nobody had commented on it yet. The pictures are pretty useless; for all I know it's a bolt-on!

Yeah, the finish certainly doesn't look right, but I don't see any other clues. Usually the fakers are bound types with shark-fin position markers. Maybe this is just a bad refin? I'd like to see pix of the jackplate (it could be replaced though), routing inside, type of truss nuts, etc.

My vote is...possible re-fin, possible swapped tuner ferrules...but nonetheless, a real Rickenbacker set-neck 4001S.

[img]Definite[/img] refinish. Compare the shading pattern with any other genuine Rick FG bass from the era. Two things: The narrow band of consistent shading around the perimeter (genuine would have a wider band that varies in darkness) and especially the headstock, which has a thin band of shading all around instead of the horizontal bands we commonly see on factory refins.

Wish we had a photo of the back...

Agreed!

The "FG" on the headstock doesn't look like any RIC FG I've ever seen.

If it's a neck-through, then I have a crush on it.

Negative, Kenny. Note skunk stripe on headstock and not on body.

I too, have a crush on the (neck through) 4003S!

rickaddict wrote:Negative, Kenny. Note skunk stripe on headstock and not on body.

I too, have a crush on the (neck through) 4003S!

Ah well.

I too don't trust the finish. I asked the owner about the missing pickup cover. He says he has it and it is "a rare low profile." Anyone ever heard of that? I lovethe dot neck, but I'd hate to get it to find out it's not a real Rick.

Best thing to ask for at this point is a photo of the control cavity. It should show signs of a refin, and if it's not completely obscuring stuff, there should be some bare wood showing where masking tape was removed and hopefully some typical Rick factory graffiti. We should also be able to see the shape of the route. If we could get him to remove the guard, what's revealed could eliminate all doubt either way.

He IS offering 7 days, money back.

It looks like the real thing with a really funky finish. The neck has the characteristic skew of the set-neck models and all of the other bits look legit from here.