For the Rickenbacker players

[adamaarts]

i play my drummers ric with the cover off, thats the way it started out when i first saw it, and its stayed that way.

hey, anyone know when they started production of the 4003? thats the model he has but i want to find out what year it was made. it seems to be a bit older for a couple reasons. i notice on the newest ones the stripe around the body and along the neck is bright white, my bass is a dulled yellow sort of. And on the newer rics' head the plastic truss rod cover that says rickenbacker is white with ric in black, mine is the opposite, it is black with ric in white.

anyone know where i can find info on this? i also notice that theres no serial number on the bass but there are numbers on the inputs. it says:

XE
0504

thanks and sorry if i hijacked the thread.

 

[Infernal Affair]

The number on the jack is the serial number. According to the Rickenbacker page the bass was made in May of 1984 ([Invalid or Expired Link Removed]). Is the pickguard in two pieces? If so, then that's a good sign it's one of the early 4003's, though that isn't the only indication.

You can find more information on the "official" Rickenbacker forums. Someone made a timeline of the basses somewhere in the posts:

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[DeLorean]

Originally posted by stinky634
hey, anyone know when they started production of the 4003?

I think it was 1980, but they made both 4003 and 4001 basses until the mid to late 1980s.

i also notice that theres no serial number on the bass but there are numbers on the inputs. it says:

XE
0504

thanks and sorry if i hijacked the thread.

RIC puts the serial number on the jack plate on the RIC-O-Sound equiped instruments (not sure about the others). You can check the serial number for year (and week) of manufacture on the RIC web site (http://www.rickenbacker.com/), go to 'service' and pick the serial number decoder from there.

 

[Scott D]

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hey whats the little black thing to the right of the bass pickup? it looks like some kind of switch?? what is that? mine sure doesnt have one of those...

 

[kutz]

It's a "Made in America" sticker.

 

[adamaarts]

hey infernal and delorean thanks for the reply. im glad that this bass is an older version and made the year i was born!

yes the pickguard is two pieces, i never npticed that the others were one piece. thanks.

what do you guys think this would be worth. it has maybe 3 good dings and some very slight belt scuff, but nothing at all wrong on the front.

thanks again.

edit: i saw a 1981 on ebay for $1000 and its got a few days left.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2556595979&category=41439

 

[B'Aces High]

Leave mine on...i play near the neck so its not in my way.

 

[Treena Foster]

Mine is a 1961 model 4000, it has one horseshoe pickup and the pickup cover is metal.

It appears to be part of the pickup, so I leave it on, it's not in my way at all.

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Treena

 

[Figjam]

Thouht maybe this,,being a Rickenbacker thread, would be an OK place for this? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2368399158&category=38080 The Ibanez "law suit" Rick copy..one on ebay.

 

[Andy Flees]

When i first got my 4003, I took the cover off for about 3 minutes because I wasn't used to it. After seeing how the absence of the cover made the bass look, I put it back on. Now when I play it (I've had it for just over a year), I sometimes forget that the cover is even there since I'm so used to it.