This is in "The Illustrated Directory of Guitars", just to muddy the waters a little.
Electro String was Rickenbacker's original manufacturer and the brand was kept for instruments sold directly to teaching studios as a beginners outfit with amp and case.
Quoting from J. C Hall himself:
"Electro guitars were made in the same factory as Rickenbackers, and a lot of the models are the same [as] Rickenbacker models - except that they were not buffed out and polished to the same degree, in order to keep cost down."
The article goes on to say that if they ran out of Electro's for a particular order, then they would take a Rickenbacker, replace the logo and send it out as an Electro. I've seen pics of Electro guitars, but never a 4001.
interesting.
I would probably check it out. Just for a point of reference, what does a genuine ric go for in your area?
