Considering a 1978 Rickenbacker 4001...

[LostJohnny]

Looks more beat up than I’d expect. Is there a touched-up headstock crack beneath the rear of the G tuner? Get an unobstructed pic of the frets.

I don't think it is - it looks like it might be a reflection or something - but definitely something I will check when I get to see it in person.

 

[moon-bass]

Well, if you don't want the original 4001 tone? Then do this, by all means. Personally? I had the push/pull treble tone pot installed in my '73 4001 - and get the best of both worlds. In fact, I did the same thing to my '01 4003, which came from the factory without the treble circuit capacitor - like they all did at the time. Like I said; best of both worlds...

Not to hijack the thread, but I'm looking to add a push/pull pot to mine as well. Did you do yours yourself, did you buy a harness, etc.? Curious as to what your experience was. Thanks!

 

[9c1ny]

Looks good to me, as long as the fretboard isn't damaged at the nut due to incorrect truss rod adjustment it's a steal in todays market at $1900

If you don't like it you can make an easy grand on it flipping it on Reverb

 

[Picton]

I'd concur with everyone else's impressions: good year, honest wear. My Rick is a '79, and those late 4001s had great necks, nice and fast. Skinny but still solid.

 

[bobyoung53]

The seller's agreed to $1900. Good point about the truss rod/fingerboard!

That's a good price especially, especially considering it's not a common color, it looks like Burgundy to me and just about any problem can be fixed, normally if the neck has popped from improper adjustment they pop along the neck/fretboard line which is an easy fix and if the truss rod nuts are bent down they can be carefully pried back up with a screwdriver, the metal is soft in those. Even if you need to bring it to a luthier you'd still probably save money over a comparable one on say Reverb or eBay. I would ask him what the changed pickup is, the neck pickup looks stock to me. You could also ask for pictures of both sides of the headstock/neck joint. That's a low price for that, I'd snap it up if I were you.

 

[LostJohnny]

View attachment 4720156 I have some concern about the area around the bridge. It’s hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like the binding behind the bridge is wrong, and the position of the bridge seems too close to the edge of the body. I hope I’m wrong. I have included a picture of my 4003.

That's a good point, and something I definitely want to examine more. I will say, though, that from looking through a whole pile of pictures of other people's Ricks, that the bridge on the same instrument can seem to be in different places depending on angle and focal length of the photo, which has left me more confused than before...

 

[WillyW]

No confusion, buy it and sort the rest out later

 

[bobyoung53]

That's a good point, and something I definitely want to examine more. I will say, though, that from looking through a whole pile of pictures of other people's Ricks, that the bridge on the same instrument can seem to be in different places depending on angle and focal length of the photo, which has left me more confused than before...

That's a real Ric, you can't see that the binding stops because of the angle the picture was taken at, the bridge is placed correctly right near the end of the body. I have mine to the right of yours, mine's a '79. You can't see the binding on mine either.

 

[bobyoung53]

No confusion, buy it and sort the rest out later

Exactly, someone will snap that thing up fast.

 

[Relsom]

I'd consider taking a chance on it. I gotta agree with Single Coil... the position of the bridge looks off. And the D&G saddles are normally forward favored to get proper intonation, aren't they. Anyway, because it's burgundyglo, I'd take a serious look at it. My '76 was that color, and I regret ever selling it. $1900 is not bad for that.
Edit: I came back a day later after seeing some other photos.. that bridge is consistent with some others of the same era. I'd go for it.

 

[Wasnex]

Exactly, someone will snap that thing up fast.

I still recommend trying it first .

I really love the color. To be honest, parts of it are a bit too road worn for my taste, but AFAIK that is reflected fairly well in the asking price. Ultimately function is more important than form IMHO, and you have to look pretty close to see the ugly on that bass.

If it felt and sounded exceptional in my hands, I would probably take it home. If not, IMHO pass.

 

[Avocett]

The color of that one looks odd to me - my first bass was a fireglo 78 Ric, and my memory is that it had much more of a “burst” look - much lighter in the center than at the edges. Maybe it’s my memory fading?

Its a Burgundyglo as far as I can tell, that's had a lot of finish wear on the back of the neck.

 

[mindwell]

Fireglo 1980 4001 owner. This one looks killer and that is a great price. Burgundyglo is my favorite finish.

 

[bobyoung53]

Fireglo 1980 4001 owner. This one looks killer and that is a great price. Burgundyglo is my favorite finish.

Yes, that is very cheap for that, there is nothing visibly wrong with that bass, it's actually in very good shape for a 44 year old bass, the bridge is exactly where it's supposed to be, all the nitpickers come to every Rickenbacker thread and pick them apart. I would just want to know what's under the bridge pickup cover, even if it's some weird pickup, it would still be worth it, you can pick up original 70's pickups for a few hundred bucks. I just went to Reverb and scanned the first six 1978 4001's I saw, the cheapest was $2870, the most expensive was $4655. There was one for $2999.00 with different knobs and a lot of wear. Three out of the six were over $4000.00.

Gear | Reverb

 

[bobyoung53]

Here's a 1978 Azureglos, with two different angles.

 

[bobyoung53]

Here's one more 1978 4001, notice the tailpiece position. I'm not trying to win any arguments here just don't want to see all the naysayers scare him off like they usually do.

 

[prowla]

That's a good price for a nice, well-used Ric.
You'd need to see it up close to confirm it's OK.
Some thoughts:

• Regarding the truss-rods: you have to consider them as locks to hold the neck in place rather than adjusters to force it to position; the technique is to press against the end of the fretboard (not the headstock!) and then turn the twin rod adjusters to position. Oh, and the rods in these are field-replaceable, so if they are faulty, they can be pushed out and new ones inserted.
• The treble pickup bypass has been mentioned: the modern 4003 has a push-pull Treble Tone control which is labelled Vintage/Modern; Vintage (pulled) has the series high-pass capacitor engaged and Modern (pushed in) has it bypassed. It's an easy mode.
• You can check the tailpiece for tail-lift (where the end starts to pull away from the body); if it's happening, then it's just a fact and the fix is to replace the tailpiece which is effectively a reset and start over. (Terminology-wise, the assembly comprises the bridge, ie. the little tune-o-matic thing, and the tailpiece, the big chrome lump it sits on.)
• It's 45 year old bass and looks nice (antiqueists would describe it as "patina").
• If you look at the back of the headstock, there's an extended heel to the neck there; that beefs up the join a bit, but it doesn't get in the way of playing.

I see no alarm bells in the pictures (other than if the seller doesn't know that the DiMarzio is on another guitar!), but it would need a physical inspection to confirm.

This is my '78; I've done the Vintage/Modern mod, it's got a nice, fast neck.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

If you're wondering if it's a fake I'll leave that to the Rick experts. It looks legit to me. The sloppy routing would probably have looked nicer on a fake, lol.

If you're wondering about any structural issues there are two things in particular I would be worried about with Ricks: Tail lift and twisted neck.

The bridge does seem to have a tiny bit of tail lift but nothing that will cause any problems. If it hasn't gotten worse in all those years it's probably fine. Of course you can find replacement bridges of far better quality than the stock bridge but with an old beauty like this one it would be nice to keep it original.

As for the neck you'll have to use your eyes and look down the neck from the headstock end. It's impossible to tell from the pics. It might still be playable with a twisted neck of course but the re-sale value would be affected.

Even if these two things are fine I will STONGLY recommend trying it before buying. Ricks can vary a LOT and you won't you if it's a good one until you play it. Also, if you've never played a Rick before you REALLY need to try it. Ricks aren't for everyone.

If you decide to buy it make sure you don't use high tension strings. Thrse old 4001s do not like high tension strings. Personally I wouldn't use any higher than approx. 40-100 on a 4001. There are some old myths saying the neck on 4001s will be damaged by roundwound but it's really just about tension, not flats vs rounds (although roundwounds will cause more fret wear with the poor quality fretwire they used on old Ricks).

If you want the most historically correct strings available today you should get the Optima RB flats (45-57-77-100). They are a reissue of the Maxima flats they used on Ricks back in the day. They're not exactly the most balanced set but the total tension should be ok with a 4001.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

My first bass was a 78' Jetglo 4001, that takes me back! Mine had no shielding on the pickguard, somebody probably added that, but so what. Nothing to add except best jump on it. As others have said, in the current market that's a steal if no major structural issues. Do ask for photo under the TRC.

 

[tpaul]

Not to derail the thread but did Rickenbacker really route wire channels with a forstner bit?

Cool looking bass, I hope it works out for you!