Restoring a '76 Rickenbacker 4001

[Yvarg]

Grainger, are those real Ric pickups? If so, where did you come across them (probably the 'bay)? The restore looks great so far! Good luck with the refret; that's gonna be "fun."

That's funny that both you and Mobis have thin-necked Rics; all of the ones I have played in stores have had rather chunky necks.

 

[LGT]

Grainger, are those real Ric pickups? If so, where did you come across them (probably the 'bay)? The restore looks great so far! Good luck with the refret; that's gonna be "fun."

That's funny that both you and Mobis have thin-necked Rics; all of the ones I have played in stores have had rather chunky necks.

I believe that that is because the 4003s, which are the current models, are made with thicker necks.

 

[jmorbita]

Subscribed! love your attention to details on your first post!

 

[Grainger]

Burgundy Mjum!

Íf this bass ever gets a refin it would be Burgundy...
And I'm almost a 100% certain it's getting refretted. Not even sorry!

 

[Grainger]

Grainger, are those real Ric pickups? If so, where did you come across them (probably the 'bay)? The restore looks great so far! Good luck with the refret; that's gonna be "fun."

That's funny that both you and Mobis have thin-necked Rics; all of the ones I have played in stores have had rather chunky necks.

Nope, not from the bay I have this contact which also mods alot on his basses. He once had the idea for building a Fender/Ric-hybrid. With a Fender body and Ric hardware. Of course this is almost impossible due to the differences in the positions of the bridge, pups, start of the neck, and so on. He had posted a Jazz Tractor mod once in the modded bass section. Peter*something*, just Peter on the Dutch bassforum

He already had the bridge and the pups in house. He just gathers and goes all 'wicked scientist' on ideas. The man has an array of parts that's incredible. Darkstars lying around, Lindy Fralin BassBuckers, Wide Range Fender Buckers... Come to think of it, all those named above are lying in my parts drawer as well

Either way, when he found out about my buying this Rickenstein he admit I had the most use for the bridge and pups and sold them to me for the price he bought them for (from another Dutch forummember, still following?). I had them the next day for 250 euros (approx. 300 to 350 dollars), which is a major bargain!

Subscribed! love your attention to details on your first post!

Took me some time and a steady to get it in a photo
Or did you mean the thinking already put into it?

 

[Grainger]

I was studying *admiring* the Ric some more and I noticed the work on unfretting. Now, the 21st fret is just out, obvious. Now for the rest of the frets, they are so darn straight that I can't quite say for sure; are they filled or are they viled down frets?

Can someone put his eye on this and add some constructive critisism? I really hope it's filled, a viled down fret would be nearly impossible to remove!

 

[vbasscustom]

thats the fret tangs. you can see the little bits of the barbs that hold the frets in. so, your stuck fretless.

 

[mobis.fr]

looks filed off. look at the small scratches on the fret"lines"
and i was wondering how they kept the binding intact..


well, it seems you have to stick with the semi-non-existing-frets ^^
since you have all the parts, put everything together and give it a try.

 

[Grainger]

Not that sure, I'm still planning on removing them. It'll just take a lot of patience and a steady hand...

 

[2-Sticks]

Wow, subbed....looks like a fun project. I am amazed at how fast you sourced your parts, I never seem to have that kind of luck with Ricky parts.

 

[Grainger]

Well, I already had the wiring harness. After this bass came in it was just sending an email to my partner in moddingcrime, I knew he had the bridge and pups lying around.

The pickguard and screws weren't that hard either.
Just properly thinking ahead...

Does anyone has some suggestions on how to remove the last strippieces of the frets?

 

[LGT]

You could remove the binding. I would personally keep it fretless, since you already have a fretted rick.

 

[Grainger]

If I'll leave it fretless I'll hardly play it. I'm a fretlover.

The binding must stay on! No way that's coming off, too much of a beautymark in my book

 

[Jim Campbell]

thats the fret tangs. you can see the little bits of the barbs that hold the frets in. so, your stuck fretless.

is it not possible to use a very fine drill bit in the fret tang nearer the center of the fingerboard and lever them out from there without disturbing the binding

 

[Grainger]

Yes, that's my plan so far. Just raising one end of a fret so I can grip it with plyers and then gently pull it out further...

 

[Jim Campbell]

Yes, that's my plan so far. Just raising one end of a fret so I can grip it with plyers and then gently pull it out further...

i was thinking in the center so you can use half as a fulcrum for the other,then get right under the second half from the open side

 

[Grainger]

That might even be a better idea... Sorry, my sense of logic is somewhat down, almost midnight here and I haven't had much sleep last night as well.

But Jim, I guess you gave me a great plan which is worth trying. I will discuss with my luthier on this, I'm visiting him thursday or friday...

 

[vbasscustom]

yeah see what he says. im sure there is a way to get them out.

 

[jmorbita]

I meant both! Yout post got me all excited about this proyect! Hope it turns out great.

Isn't there a way to carefully remove the binding, then applying it back?

 

[tjoepatjoep]

Nice project Grainger!