Restoring a '75 4001.

[Stablemate]

I'm currently in the midst of thinking about what I need to do to bring my '75 Rickenbacker 4001 back to it's former glory. This bass plays and sounds great, but was previously butchered by the original owner, and restored in a half-assed way by the guy I bought it from.

The short story is the original owner wanted, for some bizarre reason to turn it into a Rick/Fender hybrid. Different pickguard (putting random new holes in the body and paintwork), P/J pickup configuration (you can still see the shapes under the guard), BadAss bridge with surround, and ugly Grover tuners. It's been routed out pretty good under the guard and coated with copper shielding paint (that's turned black?), but thankfully it's still a very resonant bass. The guy I bought it from kept the tuners and BadAss bridge, but installed a new guard and modern 4003 pickups.

The pics below document how it currently looks.

For the restoration, I bought new 4003 tuners, a new TR cover (you can see the original has a chunk missing to allow for the oversized Grover bushings), and am about to buy the new 4003 tailpiece/bridge Rickenbacker just released. It's also going into Pat Wilkins refinishing for a brand new white/black paint job.

The tuners swap I can handle, but am more concerned with the electrics and how to approach the 4003 tailpiece/bridge installation.

The pic of the wiring shows its really messy, and I want to clean all the **** off the pots and start again. I don't really know what I'm doing though, so would copy what the last guy did in a much neater way, or follow a diagram, or buy a pre-wired harness for the easy option? Can you guys tell if these are the correct parts for Rick electrics, and if the wiring is all correct? The bass pickup looks okay at the back, but I'm doubting the way the treble pickup is hooked up is good? Looks like a soldering hack job.

As the BadAss bridge cavity has been routed and sunken in about 1/4 inch, I want to glue some wood in there to give the 4003 tailpiece/bridge something to screw into. Any suggestions on how to approach it? I'll be giving it to a pro tech for the actual tailpiece/bridge placement and setup, just trying to do the basic things myself in an attempt to save money on some of the time intensive stuff.

[Dirk]

Ok looks like a great project.

The easiest electronic fix would be just buy a modern harness replacement.
Search for aceonbassworks1 on Ebay, I'm happy with the harness he made for me.

Although your current wiring doesn't look that horrible to me.

Now on to the badass repair, do you have a router and the ability to use it?
If not a pro would be best used here.

You'll need to create a perfectly fitting inlay to fix the routed out area on the bridge.
The holes are fillable especially if you're doing a complete refinish. Also you'll want to fill the Jazz pickup routes as well.

Don't worry about the black, that's what grounding paint looks like, and it's going to help and be much easier than copper shielding.

Good luck,
Dirk

[jps]

Was there a Gibson 3-point bridge on this bass at one time?

[maxwell]

(...really good photos....)

[Stablemate]

Was there a Gibson 3-point bridge on this bass at one time?

I've no idea, but it's possible. Lord knows what this poor bass has had to endure.

[Stablemate]

Ok looks like a great project.

The easiest electronic fix would be just buy a modern harness replacement.
Search for aceonbassworks1 on Ebay, I'm happy with the harness he made for me.

Although your current wiring doesn't look that horrible to me.

Now on to the badass repair, do you have a router and the ability to use it?
If not a pro would be best used here.

You'll need to create a perfectly fitting inlay to fix the routed out area on the bridge.
The holes are fillable especially if you're doing a complete refinish. Also you'll want to fill the Jazz pickup routes as well.

Don't worry about the black, that's what grounding paint looks like, and it's going to help and be much easier than copper shielding.

Good luck,
Dirk

Thanks for the info, Dirk - very helpful. Routing out a larger hole (where BadAss currently is) to fill with a wood inlay seems daunting, I would definitely give that to a pro tech. It seem the original owner filled in the Rickenbacker made cavity, then extended a shallow cavity towards the bottom of the bass. As long at the 4003 bridge has enough wood to screw into, it should be fine and the rest will be hidden? I could probably fill the BadAss rout with 1/4" thin wood, shaped to fit?

[jps]

Was there a Gibson 3-point bridge on this bass at one time?

I've no idea, but it's possible. Lord knows what this poor bass has had to endure.

These are why I asked about the Gibson bridge.

[Stablemate]

Yeah, looks like you're correct. So it was once a Rick/Fender/Gibson hybrid. Holy smokes!

[Dirk]

Wow I didn't even notice the gibson post remnants, absolutely looks like what was there at some point.
Good eyes and catch on that jps.

Since you're talking refinish, might was well do it right.
Actually I'd get rid of the existing sort of ring inlay, so that the new inlay will fit snuggly.
I can't even tell if it's actually wood or not.

So routing out the old patch, make a template of the finished hole, create the perfect inlay.
I wouldn't suggest trying it yourself if you don't have the skills.
Dirk

[cheyenne]

Gibson 3 pointer on a Rick. The definition of a bad idea.

[thx1955]

Gibson 3 pointer on a Rick. The definition of a bad idea.

I'm feeling queasy at that thought

[Korladis]

Gibson 3 pointer on a Rick. The definition of a bad idea.

Seems like a lateral move or even a downgrade.

[Stablemate]

I've bought some 24" x 5" x 1/8" thick maple that will be cut to shape to fill the cavity routed for the BadAss bridge, ready for a Rick bridge to be placed on top (after pro refinishing). I should leave a small gap in the inlay for the ground wire to be threaded through and attach to the new Rick bridge?

Will also layer some pieces to fill the routed Jazz pickup cavity you can clearly see, so the treble pickup surround has something to screw into at the bottom.

Any suggestions on a good strong glue to use with wood? I figure Bondo will be great for filling in and sanding any gaps, but probaby not a good adhesive by itself.

The builder pencil marks read (what looks like) "4001 A/W Robin K" - does this give any indication of the date? I only have the the 1975 dual input plate to go on, and although unlikely, removable hardware can be switched out.

[Dirk]

Ground wires are usually drilled in, but I suppose you could route a channel when making the patch.

Titebond of any flavor, please don't use Bondo, it's for metal cars not wood. Modern wood glues are so optimized these days, the joint will be stronger than the wood itself.

The date would be from your serial number, not sure about pencil marks.
I seriously doubt the plate was replaced, but I suppose it's always possible.
I'm sure someone with that knowledge will chime in.

[aceonbass]

The Grover tuners that are on the bass now likely required having the original tuner shaft holes to be drilled oversize. You'll need to dowel these holes and drill new ones for the new RIC tuners. When you put these dowels in, DON'T force them or you'll split the headstock. Make them a slight interference fit. You'll be drilling most of them out anyway. As to the wiring, if it doesn't function properly, I build a period correct reproduction using NOS Cornell-Dubillier caps like the original, which you appear to still have. Make the replacement maple blocks for the body as tight fitting as possible so the seams don't show after Pat refinishes it. I would also make a tight fitting maple block for the neck pickup pocket, then route a new cavity put just big enough for the pickup. Make the block a slip fit on the sides, but EXTREMELY tight lengthwise. The reason for this is that a LOT of these basses develop a negative neck angle over the years, and clamping the nack backward just a bit while fitting that block will help stabilize this area.