Like this one? The ebay posting was gone before I could see it.
If so, this one must be a fake, too.
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Fake Rick beings adverstised as real
- Thread starter Puma
- Start date
If so, this one must be a fake, too.
this is the listing. still up.
1973 Rickenbacker 4001 Checkerboard Biding - Worldwide Shipping | eBay
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Well, again... I may have my model years mixed up. This natural finish 4003 has a horse shoe and a toaster p'up, which I believe Ric stopped using in the late 60's. Although I have not seen every early Ric 4003 made, the ones I have seen always had angled edges on the bezel side facing the bridge. And I also believe the high-gain, exposed pole piece pickups began in the mid 70's, so the one mentioned by the OP ('73) may fall between those groups. Which is why I was expecting to still see angled edges on the bridge p'up bezel.
But I digress, I'm not an expert.
The "tails" on the HS surround ended around 1968 and were rectangular with the corners usually radiused but occasionally they were almost sharp with a very small radius, or as with the one on my March '73 4001 the corners were sharply squared off. The magnetic HS PU in that photos is one I installed, not original to that bass, but a true '60 HS PU that had been rebuilt by Dale Fortune from early '60s parts, and he built the bobbin.
Just in case there are any doubters left, the gray/green-burst bass is a genuine (but refinished) February '73 4001. The sharp corners were a variation on the surround, not common, but genuine. The original Toaster-top pickup was replaced in late '73. The "Rick-O-Sound" and "Standard" labels on the jackplate were printed on (probably "tampo" printed) and wear off in time. Most Japanese fakers ("lawsuit basses") had "Stereo" and "Normal" labels STAMPED into their jackplates. Don't know (or care) what they have on the latest "Chickenbackers." Didn't see the listing cited by the OP, but there are a lot of overseas sources for these Chinese copies. Some even have poor replicas of the Rickenbacker truss-rod cover logo complete with "Made in U.S.A.". Is there any wonder why RIC is so ruthless with its trademark protection?
The mapleglo bass in the photo is a 4001, not a 4003. The 4003 model never had the "skunk stripe" down the center.
That's not a 4003, that is a 4001 from March 1973. I installed that early '60s horseshoe pickup in the bass (which it still has). The toaster is original to the bass.
Except for the various 4001V63/C64 models, and that short run of RM1999 RI basses (2011, IIRC), the bridge pickup surround, beginning some time in 1968, do not have the flared tail to them, new from the factory.
