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Ricky build

A

Al Heeley

Dec 2, 2007
635
20
West Yorks., UK
#1
Here we go then: Stage 1
I've really always wanted a Ric 4003, but I can't afford one or wait for x months for one to come up so I decided to have a go at building one.
Here's stage 1 - the full -size plan drawing from which the varioous templates will be cut.
Construction planned: traditional maple body wings, thru-neck maple (maybe walnut sandwich), 4003 electronics with push-pull bright cap on the bridge pup tone.
Finish: most likely black rattle can with Rustins plastic 2-pack resin. White binding (of course) :cool:
plan.jpg

Now the shopping begins.
Disclaimer: I am building this bass for my own pleasure as a home hobby and do not intend to sell or profit from the guitar in any way - should the finished item bear any resemblance to a real Rickenbacker, then it is purely coincidental.
 
#3
That looks really good. I have two '74 4001's. I'm currently rebuilding one of them... I modded the poop of out it over the years. It was mapleglo, then I painted it burgundy mist metal flake. I think I'm going to paint it black.

Make sure you use the disclaimer that you are making this for yourself... John Hall doesn't take kindly to Ric copies.

Also do yourself a favor and put some carbon fiber rods between the truss rods, and use modern two way rods. This way you can get the neck nice and thin and not have neck issues which are common with the 4001's, which have slimmer necks than the 4003's.
 
#5
I've considered making a Rick-ish bass in order to have the style with some personal mods; I've always wanted a singlecul Rick bass with 5 strings, no body binding, no fingerboard inlays (bound is fine), and a pointier headstock that allows the strings to have a straighter line to the tuners. The catch to the singlecut is that the finish would follow the upper horn line as a show of respect to the original Rick shape. Yeah I've given it some thought. Nice project, please post pictures of your progress.
 
#6
DavidRavenMoon said:
Make sure you use the disclaimer that you are making this for yourself... John Hall doesn't take kindly to Ric copies.

Also do yourself a favor and put some carbon fiber rods between the truss rods, and use modern two way rods. This way you can get the neck nice and thin and not have neck issues which are common with the 4001's, which have slimmer necks than the 4003's.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info - disclaimer added! Be intertested to learn a bit more about the use of carbon fibre stiffeners in the neck. I'm going to cut corners and stick with a single truss rod.
 
#7
Fretboard arrived tonight. This is after a quick sand to remove the surface saw marks. Comes up really nice with a little elbow grease.
fretboard.jpg

That's my 2007 rough'n'ready P-bass homebuild in the background with huge solid Bubinga slab body. Weighs a tonne but sounds marvellous.
 
#11
You think thats an error? The old rics had dots before triangles but no bound fretboard. I guess the fretboard binding came with the triangle inlays. I'm not too anal about this, wanted to have a go at doing a bound fretboard, but if you think it will look wrong with the dots maybe I'll rethink the plan.
Aaah, look - I'm building a little jewellery box for my wife from the leftovers from the fretboard. Makes a nice lid. Good tone.
lid.jpg
 
#17
Mitchell Royce said:
Maybe it's the perspective but your upper horn doesn't look quite right, as if it was a bit short. I've got the real deal standing next to me.

Hmm, looking closer at your drawing, it does seem to reach up to the 13th fret, which would be right. Odd.
Click to expand...
No, you are right. Although there is a little foreshortening, the upper horn needs lengthening about 3/4 of an inch. I've redrawn on the plan the correct position of the lower horn and the upper also needs shifting up a bit. Will do this when the shape is transferred to the wing sections. I had a bit of foreshortening in the photo I scanned in and resized, you only notice it when you draw the neck in to scale.
 
#18
if you want it to be personalized then by all means the dot and the binding will make yours stand out to those familiar with Ricks. i'm no expert and can't say if they were ever available like that. were it mine i'd have no binding or inlays. one of these days...
 

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