Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi All, Thinking of buying a 4001C64..
What was Pauls Original Color?
I like the Jetglo, but not sure what to Buy???

Thanks,
Mike

Paul's original finish on his Model 4001 was Fireglo, which was later stripped to Mapleglo.

At some point, I think during making of Sgt. Pepper, Paul painted his fireglo 4001S in a psychedelic style. You can see the paint job in the 'All You Need is Love' broadcast from July 1967 and it's prominently featured in the 'Magical Mystyery Tour' movie and the 'Hello Goodbye' video. Paul had the bass stripped down to natural sometime during 1968. You can see the new, mapleglo version in the background of the Let it Be movie.

The book "Beatles Gear" has more specific information, but I don't have here in front of me right now (for some reason...)

Here's a quick progression through the various paint jobs that bass has seen:

http://www.thecanteen.com/mccartney6.html

Pauls Original colour was firglo, at the end of the Pepper recordings (I think at Johns house) They had a party to celebrate and all brought their instuments and after a few beers and a few puffs of the old herbal jazz ciggies, out came the paint, John also painted one of his guitars and Ringo his Bass drum (can be seen in Magical mystery tour) The colours Paul used were Dark Red, White and silver and all painted in a pychadelic way and done using an aerosol although he painted the silver and some of the white by hand, By 1968 he regretted doing this after the hippy movement was moving on,so he stripped it back himself including the fireglo so it was back to the original maple wood but for some reason shaved off the horns on his bass aswell. This is what is knowen as the 4001C64s that you can buy now. Hope that helps?

I wonder if Paul shaved the horns to look like the ones on the early 4000 basses.

You can see some great video of the bass in the movie Give My Regards To Broad Street. There are a couple jams featuring cool angles of the bass. It is worth watching to see it.

Actually, Paul didn't shave the wings down till the early 70's. There are photos from around 69 - 70 where the bass has been stripped natural but still has the wings.

Yes thats true infact Carmen, pity he stopped using it pretty much and switched to the hofner for the last 2 albums, Ive never seen those photos? wher'd you see them?

Alan,

I've seen a few on this site. You could probably do a search yourself, either in the Beatles forum or in the Bass forum. I'll keep an eye out for them too. If I see them around, I'll link to them.

ah.....but.......Ive seen ppictures of the bass in 70 without wings......He has two.....i think there are wings on the mccartney album

...or at least on his first few albums. "Band on the Run" , "Wings Over America", etc.

Paul doesn't have two original 1960's 4001S basses. There is a twin to McCartney's bass out there somewhere, which I believe has a 1967 serial number, but Paul doesn't have it. I've been looking for it for many years.

Paul does own a couple of other basses that RIC made for him. A 5 string, and a 4004 I believe, but John Hall would know best.

I think I read somewhere that John Hall actually gave Paul the first 4001C64S during the Driving Rain sessions in LA and according to this it is the very same bass he used for one of the songs in the album.

Hes got two rick basses......at least.....sometime in 1972-73 is when the picture is from.......one is fretless though