1972 4001s project advice

[BQmusic]

Hi,
I just became the happy owner of a 1972 Rickenbacker 4001S, Jetglow, black bridge and pickup ring, white scratchplate.
I wanted a rick since I first saw one some 30 years ago.

This one was cheap but needs quite some work:
Scratchplate is broken. saddles are missing, Grover tuners have been replaced witch Schallers.
Although the schaller tuners work great they look really bad.

I want to restore it as good as possible without breaking the bank.
Original 70's parts are above my budget

Searching for parts I am looking for some advice:
What is your opinion on the Hipshot HB5 tuners and on the Allparts Rickenbacker bridge

Pictures will follow soon

Thanx in advance

[anoukane]

Nice one. Saw it for sale too.
Looked like it had a bad refin as well.

Don’t have experience with the parts your mentioning.
Good luck with the project!

[Dirk]

Pickguard is the easy part, contact Pickguardian. Tony made me a nice custom 2 piece replacement for my '81 4003.
https://www.pickguardian.com/

You should be able to find the bridge saddles?
http://boutique.rickenbacker.com/SADDLE ... p_538.html
I think more folks seem to like the Hipshot bridge if you are replacing it completely.

Tuners I would guess the Hipshot might be the best, but I've had no personal experience.

Have fun getting it back in shape.

Good luck,
Dirk

[jps]

Another option for a total replacement of the bridge/tailpiece is the new V2 assembly from RIC.

http://boutique.rickenbacker.com/4003v2 ... p_786.html

[teptwizz02]

I have the hipshot HB5's on my 4003 in black and they look fantastic and function perfectly. I needed to specify that I wanted the "short pegs", although that might be standard now. I would also ask if you can get both sizes of bushing as it may be difficult to be 100% certain they’ll fit properly in your headstock. Here's some pics of mine.

[BQmusic]

Here is what it looks like now.
Apart from the bridge saddle and tuners everything appears to be original. No one has soldered in it. Pots are from '72 and still working
I ordered tuners today.

[Badanovski]

The all parts bridge has the rattling saddle problem that the Rickenbacker bridges had at one time. They picked the wrong bridge to copy. lol

[bassduke49]

FYI, the "black" tailpiece and treble pickup cover are either replacements or refinished originals. Rickenbacker started doing blackened metal parts in 1985.

[BQmusic]

Thanks for the info.
I glued the scratch plate this afternoon.
A big piece is missing but now it plays.
Pickups are out of phase.
That is weird.
With the bass cut cap bridges the pickups cancel each other out.
With the cap in the system it works though.
The bridge has a tooth gap and just 3 screws.
I found this nice read:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=388381
So it is probabely a refin.
I'll check it today

[BQmusic]

Here are pictures ofthe bridge.
It looks like a solid cast aluminim bridge, identical to the 60's and early 70's bridges but it is black.
Doesn't loo like it is hand painted.
Can't it be a limited run or a one-off bridge in this colour?

Under the bridge a patch of clearcoated wood is visible with handwritten 4000G underneath the clearcoat.
The marking have been masked during the black coating.
I think this indicates a refin, doens't it?

[BQmusic]

The bridge seriously seems to be powdercoated.
The powdercoating pocess has been invented in the 40's so it should be possible this was done in '72.
I tried removing the black colour with acetone on the bottom of the bridge but the coat is hard as rock and not the slightest bit will dissolve.


Does this look like a refin? I am afraid so but would like confirmation.

If so should I sand it down and make it mapleglow again?
Clearcoat, waterproof sanding and polishing isn't too difficult. Just takes time.

Even easier is a high grade wood oil and machine polish, and a finish with polished wax. Gives a fantastic feel for the neck.....

This his bass is so old I may consider selling it or trade it for a newer more modern Rickenbacker.

Although I love the look and the idea of the history of vintage instruments I always seem to like modern sound.

[jps]

I've never seen a black (however it was coated) aluminum tailpiece. Never say never, but this had to have been done after the fact. Same with the rest of the hardware; as Paul note above, Rickenbacker did not offer black hardware during that timeframe.

[jps]

Oh, yeah. What's with those three extra holes in the tailpiece route?

[thx1955]

Another option for a total replacement of the bridge/tailpiece is the new V2 assembly from RIC.

http://boutique.rickenbacker.com/4003v2 ... p_786.html

Congratulations on the find, and your first Rickenbacker.

+1 on that, the new bridge is great.

Additionaly you could replace the tuners with new "open back" tuning machines, again available from Rickenbacker.

[BQmusic]

Two of the 3 extra holes in the bridge route are for the threaded studs that hold the homemade saddle assembly up.
The other hole is a mystery. I'll make a photo of the saddle later. It'll be a good laugh.

Still don't know what to do with the finish.

The bridge will stay black... can't take the finish off.

Maybe I'll sand it and turn it into a mapleglow with black scratchplate and black hardware.

Or I'll just keep it like this and turn it in a nice road worn player.

The neck is good and straight and the acion is low. I'll rock it in the band as soon as I have decent saddle assembly and the intonation is better

I'll be back here when the bass is ready.

Thanks everybody!