Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Has anybody seen this one ?

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1453033510

??

Weird ...I wonder who did this and WHY?

I did not see what scale length was used ....must be 30" ...I don't think this would have the crisp clear tone of a "normal" Rick bass ...it looks to be very well done ,but I don't understand the thinking behind it .

Anyone else care to comment on this?

I like it. The thought behind it is - it looks cool; tons of Rickenbacker style. For all intents and purposes it's still a Rick. If the workmanship is as good as it looks then it's really no different than a prototype factory guitar. Maybe RIC has even considered this, who knows. And very practical for someone with small hands, like me. Soundwise, it probly wouldn't feed back any worse that a Gibson EB or Guild hollow-body bass, or even a Hofner. Best to all.

The guy could have sold the original 1971 fireglo 365 and bought a 4005 instead...
Looks, most probably (but for the big'n'ugly black pick ups)

BTW Mike, I seem to remember you bought your v59 at Fred's online - are these guys ok?
a

This was actually a broken 360 or somthing, that This person bought off ebay. I remember the discussion over at alt.guitar.rickenbacker. He bought it with the expressed purpose of fixing it up, as the neck was completly broke off. After much discussion, he decided to make it a short scale bass ala 4005 for fun. He did a great job as far as I can tell, and if I had the money, I would have bought it just to have it.

Hello Axel; Buying the guitar from Fred's Music Shop went very smoothly. I saw the guitar at their website and called them a couple of times over a few days and discussed the guitar and the terms. I also looked around for and priced other 325v59's (which were already becoming scarce) and Fred's price was the best one. His listed price was firm. I had asked if they would throw in the shipping, but no dice. In fact I was so jazzed about getting the guitar that I paid a little more for 3 day shipping. Anyways, as I said, it all went very smoothly. The guitar was delivered on time and in good shape. I unpacked it, tuned it up and played "Walk,Don't Run" unplugged.
Funny thing though. I've been back to Fred's website a few times since I bought the guitar and the Rickenbacker page looks to me as if it hasn't changed. It still lists the same three 325's, including the one that I bought. (Could be that he's got more than one each of these?) If you e-mail him he will mail back prices.
Are you thinking again about the 325v59 MG?
Regards, as ever.

Thanks for telling me this - indeed, the page is visibly not updated and the 'price quote' one gets via email is dated...march 99!
There's a fireglo 350-12 which looks very appealing to me - but I got no answer as to its availability and sn. Guess I'll have another try then.

No, no v59 for me - too small for my big hands. I need a 12 and I really can't make up my mind ...v64, 360wb, 350, 620, 660, aaaargh, so many beauties indeed.
Problem is : no 12s in sight in Paris! and this'll probably be a blind purchase - difficult.
thanks
Axel

I'm the person who's listed the bass. Why did I do it? Well, as one person in this thread said, I bought the body in an eBay auction, and when I got it, it was "Townshendized", as in its neck was snapped off about two inches from the body. I entertained restoring it to its former glory but elected not to. To do so would have taken much more money than it would have been worth in the end, and I've always liked the 4005, but wasn't too hot about the "cresting wave" headstock shape and the "stretched" body. So the bass is my interpretation, minus Ric electronics, of what I would like to see in a 360-style bass. I chose the EMG's simply because I wanted to see what they sounded like. Now that it's done, it has a pretty neat sound -- very punchy. It is a 30" scale, and is strung with Pyramid short-scale strings. I kind of wish I had a proper amp to air it out, but as it is, I'm primarily a guitar player, so all I've got are guitar amps. All I can say is that save for the low notes, my AC-15 does a pretty respectable job of handling it at lower volumes, and it sure sounds neat. If you all would like to see more photos, just email me offline and I'll send more.

Larry

Very interesting !

I have done some similar kinds of thing over the years .

I also agree that the 4005 body was tooo stretched out .We called it the "Tuna Boat" at the factory!

Too Badd you did not have a bridge that was a channel like an old Stars Guitars or something similar to work with and a trapeze tailepiece .That might have been interesting .

Mark,

I agree, it could have been more interesting with a trapeze tailpiece and a different bridge, but to do so would have meant custom metalwork. If I was going to keep it, it may have been worth the expense, but I did it to sell, which I have. It was fun to play with, though.

Larry

Well Larry, I see it did not hit the reserve. Did you sell it anyway?
Greg