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NBD- 1973 Rick 4001

JoePlaysDaBass

JoePlaysDaBass

Jul 16, 2009
395
63
Oak Harbor, WA
#1
Before I do anything else, I need to thank the TB'ers that helped me out yesterday. I'm confident in my buy, and I think y'all will be too...

Here she is:
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The seller was the second owner; he said when he bought it used in '82, the current replacement tuners and pick guard were already there. I think they're schallers.

When the truss cover was lifted, I had to get a box cutter to unstick it from the body. It clearly hadn't been accessed in a long time. It revealed dual truss rods that look like they've never been touched.

The bridge has a good bit of tail lift, and will be replaced (although the original foam mute is intact and functional). There is the slightest trace of a crack on both sides of the headstock, extending from the nut about half way to the first fret. I'll have my tech check it out and install the new bridge.

The finish is heavily worn, and even missing in places. But as the photos indicate, the finish that's there is still shinier than heck.

The original pickup selector was recently replaced, but the original is in the case, as well as the original bridge pickup cover!

Serial # on the jack plate dates it to Oct. '73.

I've been playing her for the last hour and I love it. The action is a bit high but I'm guessing the new bridge should fix that. The neck is almost dead straight.

I'm really excited about this NBD. Craigslist came through for me again, she was only $900!

I'm gonna go play some more now, I'll be back in a bit to answer any questions.

:bassist::bassist::bassist::bassist::bassist:
 
#2
Congrats, Joe! :cool:

Great to see that it is, in fact, a '73 model year, although the current pickguard does have the pickup and controls in the later '70s locations. If you want to get a correct type of pickguard Pickguardian is definitely your best choice, Tony has made quite a few for me and they are all fantastic. Personally, I would put the neck pickup back in the 1/2" location for both sonic/tone and aesthetic reasons.

The Schaller tuning keys are worth keeping on the bass, they are high quality and do not have the loose feel that many Grover Slimline tuning keys have, nor their penchant to fall apart (this is fixable, though).

As to the cracks in the neck, with the strings off is there any flexing of them? If so, just have your tech inject some Titebond into them but not so much that it seeps into the truss rod slots and clamp the neck for 24 hours; I had to do this on my former Feb '67 4005WB after getting back from someone who didn't know how to properly adjust the rods, it was an easy fix, really.

My old July '73 4001 had about the same amount of tail lift, with no problems and I could get the action down nice and low. Is the bridge bottomed out in the tailpiece on yours?

Enjoy that great bass.
 
#5
Thanks all! The saddle adjustment screws are worn out and unresponsive to hex wrenches; I could try with pliers, maybe...

I see no movement in the cracks with the strings loosened. I'm pretty sure its superficial, but I'll have it checked out.

I looked on pick guardian for a while today. The black marble material made me salivate...
 
#6
There was a guy in the UK offereing SS replacement screws ( kit ) for the 4001 et al on ebay some time back. Bought a set from, him though have not installed them. Fairly easy to damage the stock screws on the saddle.

Hope you keep the Rick, you did well on the deal.
 
#8
Good price given the condition. If it were mine, I would restore it. It's just me, but I wouldn't be able to handle that much "mojo" (euphemism for damage). Figure about $500 budget and you would be even. I don't know exactly how much a refin costs, but I recall there is a gentleman on TB who people have recommended. Maybe someone could chime in with a name and a price. I would get some current model new or used Ric Schaller tuners and fix the saddle height issue with new adjustment screws or a complete saddle replacement. Could bring it further up to current specs with the choke cap bypass or push/pull pot modification. Should be complete at that point.
 
#12
I think a pro refinish would cost so much it would be better to just flip this one and get a nicer one. Seeing as how a rick is neck through and has binding I am guessing a refinish is like $1000 with shipping and everything. I bet you could turn it into a mapleglo pretty cheap though with a local luthier.
 

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