1979 Rickenbacker 4001 - Think I Bought a Refin

[Kingofrock43]

I sure hope they are a shop that understands pre-'85 hairpin truss rods. The neck can be severely damaged if someone treats them like normal compression rods.

Yeah, they've had plenty of vintage stuff there over the years. I went from rounds to flats and it started buzzing, and I know I wasn't going to be the one to mess with the truss rods. It plays great now. Hoping someone will play it more than I do and will be listing soon.

 

[hieronymous]

As the caretaker of two Jetglo Rics, I think it looks great!

Full disclosure: 8-string is an S model so no binding, and the 4001 on the right is Jetglo with black binding, so I can't help with specifics. Congrats on the bass!

 

[eddybuzzard]

View attachment 7492654
Here's the 'before I started scraping' pic. Started scraping down from the E side. I expected to see the traditional white binding but nothing. I feel I was starting to dig a little deep into the body so idk…

There's a thin white binding in between the body and the outer thin black binding.
You can see only the top of the white binding, and would have to scrape completely thru the black binding to expose the side,
and I would highly discourage you from doing that.
You have two layers of thin binding on the body wings, one black on the outside, one white on the inside,
and it creates that pinstriped look.
AFAIK, this option was somewhat rare, and probably adds to it's value.

 

[Kingofrock43]

As the caretaker of two Jetglo Rics, I think it looks great!

Full disclosure: 8-string is an S model so no binding, and the 4001 on the right is Jetglo with black binding, so I can't help with specifics. Congrats on the bass!

Those are sick! Congrats on those.

I haven't seen any jetglo 4001s with black binding, with the exception of that random link to a rare BT (black trim) model that came out in the late 70s. What year is yours? Any other details you can share?

 

[Kingofrock43]

There's a thin white binding in between the body and the outer thin black binding.
You can see only the top of the white binding, and would have to scrape completely thru the black binding to expose the side,
and I would highly discourage you from doing that.
You have two layers of thin binding on the body wings, one black on the outside, one white on the inside,
and it creates that pinstriped look.
AFAIK, this option was somewhat rare, and probably adds to it's value.

Thanks for that explanation. Good news is that this 4001 looks like it has been around the block a few times, so not a case queen. But yeah, I'm not going to carve into it any further.

Appreciate your insight

 

[elgranluis]

From what I can tell , not a refin. Play it in good health !

 

[Gunga Din]

Defo 4001-B T in cavity

 

[hieronymous]

Those are sick! Congrats on those.

I haven't seen any jetglo 4001s with black binding, with the exception of that random link to a rare BT (black trim) model that came out in the late 70s. What year is yours? Any other details you can share?

Sure - mine is a 2004 that was made for the Japanese market. I think it was called "Jetglo BH BT" for black hardware/black trim. I think they had stopped doing black hardware at that point and were using it up? Notice that both have the tailpiece with the extra two screws, which is nice. The black binding is kind of silly - you can't even see it! If I were one of those players bothered by the sharp edge I'd be bummed but fortunately it doesn't bother me. I'll see if I can dig up a picture.