Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have purchased a couple of my Rickenbackers not so much by the color. I bought one off ebay by the model, a 4000 MG. I wanted the bass and was less concerned with the color. Although, I already liked the color, I had no choice anyway. In that case the model was more important than the color.

I also had this issue when I bought my 4003s/5MG at Musicians Friend. At first- when shopping for a 4003/s5- I was looking for Turquoise or Midblue. Turquoise, there was the 9 mo. wait, they had a midblue at a 2 month ETA. And a MG in stock I got the MG because I did'nt have to wait 9mo. and now would not change it anyway. After I got the bass (and seeing a pic of the bass in the colors I originally looked at) I knew I made the right choice..
To cut to the chase- Due to Rickenbackers being less plentiful in some colors, or due to the 9mo+ wait time for a particular color not in stock, do you place the model first when shopping for a Rick or Color??

I go by what is available. When I got my first Rick I was looking for a 4001 as my favorite bassists then ('73) played 4001 basses. What I ended up getting however was a '67 4005WB. I had never seen or heard of this model but I am certainly glad that I still have it now 31 years later!

I think that depends. If I see something I like at a good price and can afford it, I'll buy it. If I want something particular, I'll wait. The only colors I am really inclined to order new are the limited edition colors. The standard colors I will usually just wait until I find one that makes sense price wise, or in the case of burst or natural, until I find wood I like. These days I'm pretty picky about what I really need to have.

When I got my '73 4001 last year It happened to be FG and I am quite content with it. I have put on a new pickgaurd with a VVT control arrangement and a "Vintage" switch to choose between the treble pickup capacitor or a piece of wire. This has the toaster pickup and checker binding, but alas, no wide inlays.

Those are nice vintage basses. Does that 4005 sound alot different than a 4001/4003? Being a semi hollow bass.

Do I buy by color or what's available ...

YES ...

Both!

If you are talking about new basses, first for me is the model, then the color, for example if I want a new 4003, in say Turquoise, I will wait for it, or look around for that color. I wouldn't want a lot of the same basses in the same color.
2nd hand is a different story, I think how it sounds and how it plays are first then, also if it has a problem, can I fix it? unless it's an unusual color. When I bought my Sea Green, I had never seen, nor heard of the color, and bought it just for the color (used) I actually thought it was a custom color, or had been refinished, I was told it was an 87, and had no idea really what it was, (I thought this thing is in very good shape for an 87 and has the original strings on it! haha!) I just wanted it because of the color, that same day I bought a 78 Midnight Blue 4001 in the same store, I could not pass either one of them up and still have both. Both of them also played and sounded good though. The Sea Green's neck had quite a bow in it when I first got it, but knew I could get it straight again and did.
The 78 4001 needed a lot of cleaning up.
A lot of different things come into play when buying a second hand Ric, price, condition, rarity, model, color, etc.

It depends, as I get older, I pretty much have my utility instruments. So I kinda look for a great deal once and a while. my biggest regret was a CS 4001 back in '97 for under $900.00, it was a low # played great, but I was not working at the time so I had to pass .....If I can offer any advice, remember..."Knowledge is power"

Playability is always the first thing....it,s all about "hands on" That,s why I love the 60,s Rics. Necks like no other. My 73FL that I got my hands on last week was thicker and took some adjusting too..(loved the sound tho)...The colours come later...So, a 60,s 4001 in sea foam would be about perfect. I haven,t seen one of those, so John Williams blue boy 4005 is about as good as it gets...