Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi,
I just bought a 4001 ric (80's) it was pro. modified- a fretless ebony fret board and the finish was removed and the body oiled.


I want to take a crack of fretting this bass
but I want to put 24 frets rather than the standard 20. My question is:

Since the bass is 33 1/4 scale would the addition
of the 4 extra frets, with out lengthing the fret board-change the intonation? (I have the formula to make a spread sheet to give me the locations
of the frets)

also, I wish to remove the oil finish and stain the body using colored oils(MTD makes sunburst finishes this way) then coat the body with wax.
What is the techinque to remove tung oil.

Thank you

Jeff

You cannot put extra frets without lengthing the fretboard as the only place they can be put is after the previous ones. I think you'll find the fretboard just about runs out after you replace the original 20.
There is only one way to add more frets without lengthening the fretboard, and that is to move the bridge closer to the neck, but this will: produce a short scale bass; cause troubles with the bridge pickup position; look strange; not sound very good, and not be worth the effort.

If you have to have 24 frets ...here is an option that you might consider....

Leave the scale as is and add a piece of ebony to the pickguard.
This could be held on with a couple of screws from the bottom side .That way you won't have to fool around with the bridge or rethink the whole instrument.Pickup location and bridge locations will move with scale changes.

Tung oil does not really penetrate very deep...especially on maple.

Mike Tobias uses spray equipment to spray ALL of his bursts.If he tells you other wise ...he is pulling your leg.Trust me ...only the 'WoodWright' on PBS TV does sunbursts with a rag or a french polish technique .

Wax.....hummmmmmm!

I would have to guess that you know little of finishing .
Applying color and expecting wax to save it from wear and tear is unreasonable .Wax just won't do the job.
You need to get a book by Bob Flexner on finishing .The ISBN# is 0-87596-566-0.
This will give you lots of ways to do the thing you want to do and without the cost of lots of equipment.

DON'T dive into a project without preparation .You will only make it worse by not being informed.

Bob does a good to excellent job on ways to achieve what it sound like you want to end up with .

But wax is NOT the answer.

Thanks for the quick response-most interesting

Jeff