Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

To tell you the truth, I never even dreamt that Ric ever made one of these, and then I ran across pictures of it, and it WORKS! I'm guessing it is a 70 or 71 4005LS. Anyone know if this is a one-off or if this was ever made in any quantity? I have always loved the lightshow guitars and wished they made one in a bass version...and now I find out they DID!

Does it come in a five string version?

Steve that's a 4005 lightshow bass, a small amount of those and some guitars were made, the lights flashed in different sequences when different strings were struck. Very, very valuable now, no 5 strings were made Jeff, and I dare say that you'd murder a big investment if you'd try to make it into one.

I think not even Jeff would have the cajones to make that one into a 5-string!
G.L., How many do you think were made? I am guessing maybe a handful at best, considering the rarity of the lightshow guitars, which are fetching $12K. This one would beat that, I'm sure!

you guys do know I was kidding right?

Yeah Jeff, we now you were kidding, but we also know you wish there were a couple made so there might be be just a slight possibility of you getting one. Just like I recently found out about the few fretless 4003S/5 basses that were made.

There is a photo on page 91 in Richard Smith's Rickenbacker book that shows a 4005LS along with two 331LS guitars.

Of course Jeff, just the obligatory dig about wanting to convert everything to 5er's. What would the place be without your obligatory 5-string desires and Philco and his OLP bass comments just wouldn't be as interesting, or fun.

I won't be back until after Christmas, got some traveling to do. Me and my wife will be visiting her transplanted Venezuelan family in Miami, I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas season, no matter what your beliefs, let's all hope for "Peace on Earth and Good Will Toward Men".
Take care my brothers and sisters, talk to you later!!

For as far as Jeff goes: he might benefit to go to Doctor Phil - I saw an episode on TV last night dealing with compulsive behaviour......LOL Maybe it's curable to make everything a 5 string. And uhhhh as I can be lazy some times, it seems more easy to me to convert guitars (6 strings) into 5 stringers, just leave one string of choice away........

No Jeff, just joking, but please don't do it to the lightshow Ric's....instead we trade a nice 5 string for you in that ocassion. But perhaps is it possible to convert the Lightshow Ric into a quadraphonic instrument for me as Jeff suggested a few days ago.....

I will be out maybe a few days, so just in case: HAPPY CHRISTMASS and a BASSFULL NEWYEAR!!!!!

Hey Big G, my wife is from Perú, which is where I am for the appreciable future, ever visit the land of backwards toilets?

Bob, stupid question? Is it hard to get musical stuff in Peru? Like replacement parts, or complete instruments?

As I consider myself living in the Western world (The Netherlands/Europe), without having a Ric Distributer in my country, how will it be in countries who, at least to me, seem remote from the westen world?

Have you moved to live there forever, or are you there to do your job for some time?

Well at least you must have enough lama's around to keep you happy LOL

Happy Xmas to you all, and as said before: the wish, and cry for peace has nothing to do with religion.....we all want it!!!!

What would the place be without your obligatory 5-string desires and Philco and his OLP bass comments just wouldn't be as interesting, or fun.

And Paul's incredible RIC photography, Peter's groan-inspiring puns and tasteful administrating, Mr. Hall's insightful comments, Bob's semi-manic use of Peruvian internet cafés, and the frequent thread topic drifting

Happy Holidays Big G and the rest of my brothers and sisters!

Those Peruvian internet cafés cost a lot of soles also, haha! And parts are very hard to come by here in Perú Robin, Anything form The States is almost double here, Rics are just too expensive for Lima, and are very expensive anywhere in S. America. I get practically all my stuff from the web. Some stuff I buy and have shipped to my fathers home in Massachusetts, then have him send it here for me. And No I'm not here forever, probably half of the year here and half of the year back in Mass. or New york or even Miami if my wife has her way.
and actually I'm in the western world, just the Southern hemisphere part of it. There are some pretty good rock bands in S. america, especially Argentina, where I would like to move eventually.
All the llama's are up in the mountains and they are mean, they like to spit at people! Manic?
They're coming to take me away, haha, hoho, to the......... Who said 60's music was boring?

John,
Hey I'm glad I could contribute a little visual entertainment here.

Robin and Bob,
We don't have a dealer here in Taiwan as a part of the Eastern World, either. If I wanted to buy a new 4003, I could only buy from Shinseido Japan for $1558 USD and apprx. $120 USD shipping plus 15% custom tax ($233 USD). That's $1911 in total for a new 4003! Thank God I was lucky in that I had friends who could bring back to me the 3 RIC basses I purchased from US sellers.

Not very long ago, I bought from Shinseido Japn some parts and t-shirts... And a set of 4-piece vintage knobs cost $19.5 USD before shipping charge. (You can get a 5-piece vintage knobs set for $13 USD, free shipping, from Pick Of The Ricks if you live in the US.)

Oh well, nobody forced me to fall in love with Rickenbacker...