Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I wanted to add a little vintage flavor to my new 4003 so I commissioned this gold pickguard and trc from Quickguards. Mike does beautiful work and he's always great to deal with. I really love the contrast of the gold with the mapleglo. Now it looks as good as it sounds! Please excuse my amateurish photos.

Very nice,looks especially good in the outdoor shots!
I love gold plastic on most Ricks....

Thanks, Woody! I entertained the idea of a more vintage-shaped pg, but decided not to drill new holes and cover up more of the pretty maple. Someday I hope to get a 4001v63--I love the classic look!

Nice flame in the maple. Usually only 4004Cii's get that kind of wood. Who did the truss rod cover?

Thanks, Dane! The flame is what drew me to this particular bass. Mike Quick at http://www.quickguards.com in Florida did a gold sparkle pg for my Thunderbird--he's a true craftsman.

I like it! Although I think you mean "old look"

The gold sparkle pickguard on the T-bird is awesome!
The original '50's 4000 models did have gold plastic,but you don't see a lot of 4001-type basses with them.
Like i said,i love the look!

jdogric12 wrote:I like it! Although I think you mean "old look"

Right you are! I should have entitled it "Old look for a new 4003". Too late to change it now, dangit!

woodyng wrote:The gold sparkle pickguard on the T-bird is awesome!
The original '50's 4000 models did have gold plastic,but you don't see a lot of 4001-type basses with them.
Like i said,i love the look!

Thanks, man! I'm a sucker for anything retro and flashy (and maybe even slightly tacky). Before I had the Rick plastic parts made I did an image search to see how the gold might look on a 4001-style bass but couldn't find much. To my eye the stark white of the original pg was a little severe against the Mapleglo. Had it been cream-colored like the binding I might have kept it.

Even the strings have gold wrapping! What kind are they?

DR Legend flats--love 'em! I play vintage country stuff and they just sound right. Not playing my Rick in this clip but the strings are the same:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk5C2E8LgfY

aceonbass wrote:Nice flame in the maple. Usually only 4004Cii's get that kind of wood. Who did the truss rod cover?

Yeah, and the fretboard has really nice grain patterns, too!

Thanks, superheavy! The swirly grain of the Caribbean rosewood is pretty amazing--it looks great under the stage lights! I do like the color of bubinga too though.

finlover wrote:

woodyng wrote:The gold sparkle pickguard on the T-bird is awesome!
The original '50's 4000 models did have gold plastic,but you don't see a lot of 4001-type basses with them.
Like i said,i love the look!

Thanks, man! I'm a sucker for anything retro and flashy (and maybe even slightly tacky). Before I had the Rick plastic parts made I did an image search to see how the gold might look on a 4001-style bass but couldn't find much. To my eye the stark white of the original pg was a little severe against the Mapleglo. Had it been cream-colored like the binding I might have kept it.

Tacky you say? I had an Italia Rimini bass in white-mother-of-toilet-seat for a while....it was glorious.
I feel the same way you do about the very white pickguards on the walnut 4003S,it's a bit stark to my eyes. I think a backpainted gold pg and matching trc would look FABULOUS on the walnut.

Absolutely! I love the contrast of the metallic with the beautiful grain of the walnut. The white looks great with solid colors though.