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1974 Rickenbacker 4001

Outsider

Outsider

Jul 6, 2009
233
19
42
Cape Town, South Africa
#1
Hi

A friend of mine and I went to go look at a 4001 Rickenbacker 1974 that he found on gumtree (our local version of eBay).

This thing looks like the real deal and is going for R9000 (+- USD 1125).

Is this a good deal?
What should we look out for to make sure its the real deal?
 
#2
I have a 74 and it has red fret markers on the top side of the neck. I think they only did this that year, but don't know if all 4001s had them that year. There are Rick experts around here though, so you will likely get some more reliable info from them.
 
#3
Neck through , dual truss rods , skunk stripe . Some 74s have red dot markers . Serial number is stamped on the output jack . Have a look at the truss rods to see if they are bent down , it will indicate they were not properly tensioned before being tightened . They can easily be removed and straightened . See if there are any cracks along the fretboard on the first three frets , another sign of truss rod abuse .

That's a very good price for a 4001 .
 
#5
Many of the fakers have very dark rosewood fingerboards , Ric boards are much lighter . If you checked the serial number stamped on the output jack , the odds are it's the real deal . Perhaps if you post some pics we can tell you if it's real or has been modified .

The later 4001 basses have plain binding , high gain pickups with the one inch spacing at the neck , raised letter truss rod covers and do not have full width neck inlays . They are very nice basses .
 
#8
I got a '74 4001, all modded up, years ago for about $1000. It had the Ric-o-sound removed, brass nut, and a Badass installed. Finish is a bit ugly - depending on the color I'm about to drive down there and get it! I love the sound of mine which is why it is still around. Neck is one of the fastest I've ever played which is what I like.
 

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