Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

i don't have any of my other '72 4001's with me - but i don't recall ever seeing a blue cap being used for this period.

can anyone tell me if it's stock or not?

thanks-

I'd say it's cool, based on comparison with this August, 1972 4001, which is original:

great! thanks, Mike.

The cap looks to be correct, however, I'm not sure that there's not been some rework of the harness.

I'm basing this in the amount of flux residue on almost all the joints in the first picture. Compared to the second shot where the joints looks to be clean.

I'm wondering if the factory wold have cleaned the joints after the soldering was complete, this would be a normal process as the flux can be corrosive.

Any thoughts on this ??

Almost no consumer electronics cleans solder joints.

Kinda looks like some of the flux may have spattered onto the pick guard. Not that that would stop me from buying it, and I can't really tell from a photo anyway.

Another oddity...what's up with the masking tape around the screw holes on the pick guard?

Electronic solder fluxes used in the 1970's were almost always rosin based. These are not particularly corrosive to the materials used for electronic components so often were not cleaned off. Cleaning rosin based flux is very difficult without some fairly nasty chemicals (one that worked well was, believe it or not, called "Flux Off" by Chemtronics, it's still made, but is a different formula these days) so cleaning was typically not done.

Most new solder flux is water soluble and is much easier to clean. For things like surface mount PC boards, cleaning is necessary as the water soluble fluxes can, under certain circumstances, become slightly corrosive or can cause other problems with the high density circuitry (metal migration, electrical leakage), but would not generally be a problem for the type of circuitry used in guitars (wires & lugs, point to point connections).

The new lead-free solders present other problems, but the fluxes are fairly similar, water soluble types.

rickaddict wrote:Kinda looks like some of the flux may have spattered onto the pick guard. Not that that would stop me from buying it, and I can't really tell from a photo anyway.

Another oddity...what's up with the masking tape around the screw holes on the pick guard?

the 'guard is a replacement.

The Sprague Orange Drop caps are not original to this harness - no covers on the lead wires. The factory always used insulation on the cap wires. The blue cap is like those used in the 60s and is either from a earlier harness or was still being used in the early 70s.

The blue cap belongs in a 60s bass, Please send it to me!
Mine is missing...
Eden.

Ps It is probably correct!