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Missed opportunity - 1973 4000 Purchase

#22
Hate to be that guy, but you snoozed....you loozed on this one. Generally speaking, super deals on rare, sought after guitars don't happen much anymore (like pretty much never). There was a time though....but even way back when, 4000's were not common in my locale. I guess you could chaulk it up as a "one that got away", in the expectation that you'll likely never get another opportunity like that again. Don't feel too bad, it might have been a complete dog and you dodged a bullet. ;)

Aside: (semi-on topic)...

I walked into a pawn shop in Longmont, CO and found an all original 74-75 Fireglo 4001, complete with silver case 'n all. Asking price $450, but according to the pawn guy that price was "highly negotiable". This poor thing was one of the most worn and abused basses I'd ever seen. The Fireglo finish had discolored into a dull, orange-ish/red looking hue. I thought it looked cool as F like that! An old bass dripping with "vintage cool factor"...what's not to love right?

But the neck had a severe forward bow, probably at least partially due to the old heavy gauge flatwound strings on it, And obvious long term neglect. On the upside there was virtually zero fret wear (orig factory flats?) I looked it over real good but decided the neck may have been too far gone. But that price....even in 1996 it was a steal. Being a 74-75, no checkered binding and no crushed glass slashes. If it had those two features I'd have bargained with pawn guy and taken it home that day.

Two days later I realized it was def worth a risk, as I probably could have parted it out if the neck was unfixable. Now, I WANTED the stupid thing. Of course, too late...gone. Just another one of many missed chances.
 
#23
Its too bad it didn't work out, but I would have done the same thing. Having owned several RIC's in the 70's I can tell you that underneath that pick guard could possibly be a routing for a neck pickup. I have seen this on a few of them and almost got one for myself, but it had a major truss rod problem and I didn't buy. My 72 4001 that I bought new snapped the truss rod in 76 using round wound strings which triggered my next used one which I never should have sold, but sold a year later when my 72 came back from Rickenbacker with a new truss rod.
 
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#24
I had one of those for a short while back in '76 or '77, can't remember exactly. I used it only 2 or 3 times. My forearm liked the absence of that sharp white binding on the 4001s, but that was the only thing I liked about it. I could never get a sufficiently beefy tone out of it, even compared to my 4001 running just the bridge pickup with its tone-suck capacitor intentionally shorted just for the comparison. Probably the most "meh-sounding" instrument I've ever owned. Also its neck dive was a lot worse than the 4001's. I traded it about a month after I bought it. Good riddance. IMO the OP dodged a bullet.
 
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#28
Iridescentone said:
Hate to be that guy, but you snoozed....you loozed on this one. Generally speaking, super deals on rare, sought after guitars don't happen much anymore (like pretty much never). There was a time though....but even way back when, 4000's were not common in my locale. I guess you could chaulk it up as a "one that got away", in the expectation that you'll likely never get another opportunity like that again. Don't feel too bad, it might have been a complete dog and you dodged a bullet. ;)

Aside: (semi-on topic)...

I walked into a pawn shop in Longmont, CO and found an all original 74-75 Fireglo 4001, complete with silver case 'n all. Asking price $450, but according to the pawn guy that price was "highly negotiable". This poor thing was one of the most worn and abused basses I'd ever seen. The Fireglo finish had discolored into a dull, orange-ish/red looking hue. I thought it looked cool as F like that! An old bass dripping with "vintage cool factor"...what's not to love right?

But the neck had a severe forward bow, probably at least partially due to the old heavy gauge flatwound strings on it, And obvious long term neglect. On the upside there was virtually zero fret wear (orig factory flats?) I looked it over real good but decided the neck may have been too far gone. But that price....even in 1996 it was a steal. Being a 74-75, no checkered binding and no crushed glass slashes. If it had those two features I'd have bargained with pawn guy and taken it home that day.

Two days later I realized it was def worth a risk, as I probably could have parted it out if the neck was unfixable. Now, I WANTED the stupid thing. Of course, too late...gone. Just another one of many missed chances.
Click to expand...
No snoozing done. I was on the ball. It's a vintage instrument, and I have the right, as anyone does, to question its originality, or lack thereof. To not do so, is folly.

Sure, it got away. And it probably won't be the last.
 
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#30
if you really wanted the bass you woulda went and got it. I wouldnt answer 20 questions from someone who is within driving distance for a sale of an instrument I had. Id say come take a look at it, ive got plenty of interest, first come first served. If I was selling on here and had to ship Id sort all the questions out obviously.
 
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#31
Gunga Din said:
No snoozing done. I was on the ball. It's a vintage instrument, and I have the right, as anyone does, to question its originality, or lack thereof. To not do so, is folly.

Sure, it got away. And it probably won't be the last.
Click to expand...

Tire kickers rarely (if ever) make the big scores in the rare guitar game. The competition is way too fierce. I haven't read where you said the seller's actual price, so it's doubtful that it was anything special, anyway. If it truly was a great deal on a rare guitar, then a serious buyer made the score. Good luck.
 
#32
If it were 2001 and most people didn't own or weren't proficient with a digital camera, I'd say you're being a pest.

It's 2026 and EVERYONE has a smartphone...it's literally as easy as pressing an icon, taking said picture(s), and hitting "send". OP isn't asking for a Michael Bay production, just a couple of pictures on parts which a guitarist should completely understand. Having sold numerous things online in the past, having the additional pictures means I can send it to others who ask for them or just add them to the listing.

Sad to hear it didn't work out (thus far), hope another deal comes your way.
 
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#33
drewphishesp said:
if you really wanted the bass you woulda went and got it. I wouldnt answer 20 questions from someone who is within driving distance for a sale of an instrument I had. Id say come take a look at it, ive got plenty of interest, first come first served. If I was selling on here and had to ship Id sort all the questions out obviously.
Click to expand...
Thank you for alerting Talkbass to this. I'm sure many have taken it on board.

It's a non-original instrument. I was quite right to ask the questions and save my time and money not doing a 300-odd mile trip on wondering what else was non-original on it.
 
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#35
Gunga Din said:
So, this '73 4000 popped up a few hours' travel from me. It was listed way under the going rate, so I fired off a note of interest and asked for some pix.

A few came over. A black 4001 with a lovely 'board. Incorrect control knobs, and the wavy Grovers were - surprise, surprise - long gone, replaced by what looked like Gotoh compacts. There was also not little tail lift, which, TBF, I expected to see. I then requested a side-on view of the tailpiece and the string height at 12th fret; I also asked to see the truss-rods. The seller replied, asking me to call him, which I duly did, when I had time. He said he was selling it on behalf of a widow, along with other gear. He had tried to sell them to a local guitar chain, but wasn't happy with tthe money offered.

I listened to this spiel for a while, and reminded him that I was genuinely interested and that I needed to see the truss-rods, etc. Later on, a video arrived, which showed the rods, and they looked ok. In fact, the nuts were almost fully back, and not maxxed out. The camera moved on to the tail-lift, and the seller seriously couldn't see what I was concerned about. Again I politely asked to see string height, and also a quick look at the pots/wiring harness. Almost immediately, an email came back where he said he was not prepared to go to such lengths, and was quite happy to let the bass go to another fella coming up from England next week.

I wasn't dismayed by his response, for something told me to expect it. I replied, saying I respected his position and bade him GLWTS. A shame, because I was only asking him to what I expected of him had I just driven the 150 miles to give it the once over.
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Someone selling someone else’s stuff is a major sign of a scam. This is especially problematic on Facebook and or craigs list. Consider yourself fortunate it fell through.
 
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