Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello All,
It's one cold day here in Illinois. I hope everyone is doing well this Holiday season!

Did Rickenbacker ever make plastic hand guards for the 4001? I have a Jan 1978 Ric 4001 and it has a plastic pickup hand guard. Of course I was told this was all original etc.....

Thanks everyone for your comments!

Jay

Hmm, what, exactly, are you talking about? If it's the cover that goes over the bridge pickup, yes, most of these are plastic, chrome plated.

If it's the pickguard, around the pickups and the controls, these are plastic too.

Hello,

The guard over the Bridge PU. The one that I have is all plastic but looks like chrome.

Thanks so much!

Jay

JayRic wrote:Hello,

The guard over the Bridge PU. The one that I have is all plastic but looks like chrome.

Thanks so much!

Jay

That is how they are made, chrome plated plastic pickups covers.

IIRC, JH has said some of the earliest examples of the cover may have been plated metal....the thread should be in the archives..

..yes, he was looking for one to use as an example to replicate it, but, surprisingly, nobody stepped up to the plate!

Thanks All....I wasn't sure since the 64s is metal and I don't have any other original bridge PU covers.

Happy Holidays to all of you!!!!


All the best,

Jay

The metal 'covers' you are referring to are actually real horseshoe magnets! Those are not covers at all.

I believe that the earliest of the high gain covers were metal... I remember that thread.

The "Low profile" style one I made for my 74jg is stainless steel that has been polished..
Eden.

I too remember the oft talked about JH metal bridge cover thread, but I do not believe anyone before, nor anyone since has ever heard of, seen, mentioned, smelled, scratched, considered, held, bought, removed, polished, chromed, sold, dreamed, or fathomed a metal 4001 bridge cover.

Was JH possibly referring to a prototype or factory idea that never eventuated?

The thread caused lots of consternation at the time, and I don't remember it ever being settled.

So from what I am understanding..... Ric did make a plastic bridge cover that was coated in some sort of chrome looking material and it very well could of been what came with my 1978 4001? But the "Bridge" cover on a CS or a 64s is actually part of the sound function and not just a "cool" looking ornament? So what year did Rickenbacker make a metal bridge cover for the 4001? Do you get one if you buy a new 4003? I don't recall ever having one with my 4003 that I purchased in 1992...

Thanks all!!!

--Jay

JayRic wrote:So from what I am understanding..... Ric did make a plastic bridge cover that was coated in some sort of chrome looking material and it very well could of been what came with my 1978 4001? But the "Bridge" cover on a CS or a 64s is actually part of the sound function and not just a "cool" looking ornament? So what year did Rickenbacker make a metal bridge cover for the 4001? Do you get one if you buy a new 4003? I don't recall ever having one with my 4003 that I purchased in 1992...

Thanks all!!!

--Jay

Yes, the standard bridge cover for 4001/4003 bridge pickups is made of plastic that has been chrome plated. It is what came with your 1978 4001. I have a 1976 4001 with the same cover, my previous '74 4001 had the same, and my '84 4003 has it too.

The older basses with the so called "Horseshoe" pickup had curved magnets that came over the pickup. These were part of the pickup magnetic circuit and an integral part of making the pickup work. The newer cover provides some noise shielding, and has a similar look to the old horseshoe magnets.

There is some speculation that at some early time, these covers were made out of metal, but nobody has actually ever seen one (with the possible exception of some people at Rickenbacker Corporate).

My Dec 68 has to be one of the first with the cover, and I'm sure that's still chrome over plastic.


If it is metal, it's very thin...

wints wrote:My Dec 68 has to be one of the first with the cover, and I'm sure that's still chrome over plastic.


If it is metal, it's very thin...

Do you mean the guard is very thin? If so, it might be metal. The plastic guards aren't all that thin, maybe 0.2 inches thick. All the ones I've seen have a kind of ribbed feel to the underside - molded ribs to make them stiffer.

There's no reason you couldn't make them out of sheet metal, but plastic is no doubt cheaper, does the job and won't get dented as easily.

This has the ribbed back too. I'm pretty sure it's plastic....