Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi
Does anyone know if there is a hard shell case for a 4001 that is internally form fitted for the exact shape of the body?

Other than a factory Ric HSC, probably not. I recently bought a case for a bass I custom built, an oddball headless Steinberger hybrid I was not hopeful finding a case for. I went to GC and they were actually really helpful (YMMV) digging through piles of cases to find one that fit right, not perfect, but perfectly adequate to prevent undue movement inside the case. If you go to a GC, Ric in hand, I'll bet they can find a very good fit for relatively short money. I've seen Ric HSC come up on Ebay, but usually dinged up or overpriced by somebody parting out the whole ensemble. There's a few up right now. Good luck, maybe somebody else knows an aftermarket source for less.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/rickenbacker-bass-case

Calzone will make a custom case like this one I had made, or I'll sell you this one
Be warned it's heavy, even empty, with a instrument in it it's probably 20-25lbs

For my custom I created a few strategic pillows...works well. I had the foam, used a pair of women's black tights to cover the foam. There were a couple pieces that were super-glued together before I made the outer covering.

I hacve an original one from the early '70s that I could be persuaded to sell. It does have some minor issues given it's age, mostly external.

Do you mean this type of case?

http://www.rickresource.com/register/us ... llsize.jpg

http://www.rickresource.com/register/us ... llsize.jpg

RIC used them from around 1979 to around 1987. If you look hard enough one might eventually turn up on ebay, but they can get kinda spendy.

1979 is the earliest? I don't really know, but my March '73 4001 came with one but I suppose it may not be original to that bass.

thx1955 wrote:Calzone will make a custom case like this one I had made, or I'll sell you this one

Calzone.jpg

Be warned it's heavy, even empty, with a instrument in it it's probably 20-25lbs

Jim's right on the $ here! The only way to go!

jps wrote:1979 is the earliest? I don't really know, but my March '73 4001 came with one but I suppose it may not be original to that bass.

I'm not positive Jeff, but I don't think they were around that early. I guess I just came to that conclusion from years of scouring ebay listings and from the 4001's that I've owned. My '76 and '77 didn't have them, but my '79, '80, '81, and '87's all did. I had an '89 that didn't have the form-fit...sorta like a blue-fur-lined, black tolex version of the current silver RI cases.

I'm a big fan of those old plywood/tolex form-fit cases and used to snag 'em when I'd find 'em on ebay. And they do fit the earlier 4001's nicely. My '72 4001 came with a junk case that I immediately hurled into a dumpster and replaced with this handsome, black-fur-lined ebay find:

http://www.rickresource.com/register/us ... llsize.jpg

Finally...A case worthy of the instrument!

My '74 did not come with a fitted case. It had the blue fur-lined black tolex case. The case was definitely original...