Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hope this sort of post isn't inappropriate for this forum.

Can someone recommend a tech/shop based in Manhattan or Brooklyn* to do regular maintenance , and possible restoration work, on my '77 4001? Must be competent in
the unusual setup requirements of old Ric basses.

(*can't do Mandolin Bros, unfortunately...Staten Island is too long a haul)

What sort of restoration work?

Welcome to the forum, Steven. Maybe there's someone in the NYC area willing to help you out.

Mark Walker.

Competent? Hmm.....

In the near term I just want to get the neck checked out and adjusted if need be by someone who won't screw it up, and in the long term, a place to have competent routine setup done and making sure the pups and electronics are all clean and working properly, when I'm too busy to do that myself. I've had some bad experiences with techs over the 34 yrs I've owned it -- and some good ones. I sent the bass out west to Mark Arnquist himself to fix the truss rod mechanism about ten years ago, when some previous tech(s) had overtightened it; and about two years ago Mandolin Bros did a fine job of rewinding the dying bridge pup , and setting the bass up generally, but neither of those options will 'work' for me on a regular basis, as neither is local to me.

Restoration tasks could include a refret job, refinishing the fretboard, and possibly restoring the original Rick bridge (I had it replaced with a Badass II way back in the day when that was a trendy thing to do). Maybe installing a push-pull cap bypass switch. But those are not top priorities.

(Don't know who Mark Walker is, so I'm not getting that joke.)

I'm not sure I get the joke either, but I'll be glad to meet with you and talk about the work on your bass. I also rewind pickups, if that's something you find yourself needing done again, too.

My strange humor, I guess. Mark is a great guy and will take good care of your bass.

Silly Jeffrey!

jps wrote:My strange humor, I guess. Mark is a great guy and will take good care of your bass.

+1!
Good on ya, Mark!

jps wrote:Mark is a great guy and will take good care of your bass.

Aw, thanks, Jeffrey! I figured that's what you meant to say!

I second the motion that Mark is a good guy! But really, Jeff isn’t any stranger than most of us here…. Did that sound right?

ram wrote:Jeff isn’t any stranger than most of us here…. Did that sound right?

That must be it...maybe!

ram wrote:I second the motion that Mark is a good guy! But really, Jeff isn’t any stranger than most of us here…. Did that sound right?

Actually, I think that nails it....

Time to update this...I brought my '77 4001 and a pack of new Rotosound Swing Bass strings to Mark , and he did a *superb* job of setting it all up -- adjusting the action, intonation and pickup heights (the neck was OK as is), installed a bridge pickup cover (I removed it decades ago, but I have a hankering for the 'classic' look these days) , recrowning the frets, oiling the fretboard, measuring the pickup outputs to make sure they're working right (Neck: 8.1k, Bridge 9.9k, in case anyone's interested) . The bass plays 'like buttah' again and sounds fantastic..I gave it a workout last weekend jamming with friends to old Rush, King Crimson, Yes , and David Bowie tunes...

Mark's price was *very* reasonable too and the turnaround was just 24hrs. I'm definitely going to use his services again, not only for routine setup of my basses, but more substantial work like the push-pull pot install , and the bridge replacement I mentioned above...

krabapple wrote:....oiling the fretboard.....

Thanks so much for the kind assessment, Steven! Looking forward to working on the bass again. We'll have to jam on some 'Dueling Squires' the next time you're over!

Just to clarify the reason for the lemon oil on the fretboard - the finish is completely worn off it, leaving the exposed wood. The lemon oil helps clean and rehydrate the wood and leaves it looking darn nice. (can I say 'darn' on this site?)