Rickenbacker Restoration

[Jeff Scott]

Will Lee has a bunch of flowers all over his 4001V63! Think about that before you do anything too drastic!

 

[nuematsu]

Will Lee has a bunch of flowers all over his 4001V63! Think about that before you do anything too drastic!

Haha I will keep that in mind.

 

[P. Aaron]

Cool score...congrats!

 

[Jeff Scott]

BTW, the headstock paint job is really cool, I'd keep that, for sure.

 

[gidbass]

BTW, the headstock paint job is really cool, I'd keep that, for sure.

+1

I would just remove the kiddie stickers (not the flowers however) and leave it as is.

Good Luck (not that YOU need it)...

 

[FrednBass]

BTW, the headstock paint job is really cool, I'd keep that, for sure.

This.

I would only remove the stickers and have a refinish on the body and neck, but you should leave the paint job on the headstock as it is.

 

[rick4001s]

Wow what a great find! That's great. Does it work? If so, does it sound OK?

 

[bootsox]

I'll give you $21 for it

 

[Ric5]

Hello everyone. I recently found a Rickenbacker for 20 dollars at a rummage sale.

My main question is should I try to restore it myself or take it to a professional. I am fairly sure it is a 4001.

I would leave that bass just the way it is ... As long as the bass plays well and the electronics all work.

 

[Ric5]

I'll give you $21 for it

I'll give him $25

 

[Ric5]

As a matter of fact, sign up on rickresource.com, and ask for advice on who to send it to. You could be playing a like-new Ric for half the price or much less.

If you show up there with a Rick like that they may not be nice to you ...

 

[MOTORHEADBANGER]

The Ultraman fretboard stickers are really slick as is the headstock. It's like a Psychadelic-anime fusion.

 

[sadasar]

I've never been so angry about stickers in my life. Sure I put a sticker on my first bass, but that was a 100 dollar Washburn and I was 12 I wouldn't even let someone that age near my Rick if I had one. Let alone with stickers haha.

 

[Ric5]

It does have black trim it is just a bit hard to see with the custom paint job. and they swapped the knobs for chrome ones. I am going to replace those with original knobs though.

Should I be worried about this little gap in-between the neck and the pickguard?

That looks like a 4003 circa 1989 to 1995 +/- ... It has the wrong pick guard on it ... but why change it ...

 

[Ric5]

Here is a pic of it with my spare strap on it. I think this is the most hilarious thing I have done all day.

The Sailor Moon stickers are growing on me. Whoever put them on there deserves to be slapped though.


It is definitely playable. I have been playing around with it for the past hour or two now. I think it needs a bit of an adjustment though. Maybe new strings.

Serial number is K54402 so it has to be a 4003. Made in November of 1992. Same year I was born lol.

That bass is from 1992

 

[Ric5]

Hello everyone. I recently found a Rickenbacker for 20 dollars at a rummage sale.

My main question is should I try to restore it myself or take it to a professional. I am fairly sure it is a 4001.

Actually thinking it over if I had that bass I might strip it and oil finish it and convert it into a 5 string bass.

 

[nuematsu]

I would leave that bass just the way it is ... As long as the bass plays well and the electronics all work.

Yeah I am going to do that for now. I am going to save up a bit and later on get it professionally refinished and fixed.

Ill still have to leave a sailor moon sticker on there though.

 

[ShoeManiac]

Who the hell gave a $2k bass to a 12 year old? I suppose it doesn't matter. Congrats!

In the 90's you could buy that bass for about $800. Maybe less. My Rick that I had around that time cost as much. It's only in the past 10 years or so that Rick prices have shot through the roof.

 

[DBCrocky]

Actually thinking it over if I had that bass I might strip it and oil finish it and convert it into a 5 string bass.

I'd love to have a natural oil-finished Ric 5 string...thanks for the GAS!

 

[rickdog]

If you show up there with a Rick like that they may not be nice to you ...

Aww, c'mon, you forgot the smiley on that! Folks on the Rick Resource Forum love a good rescue, stickers or no.

Myself - I think (unless it's way worse in person than it appears in the pictures) I would be very tempted to clear-coat over everything and play noisy, raucous rock on it and dare anyone to say anything about my stickers!

That's a lucky score - if it had been just the body with the stickers, no hardware at all, it still would have been worth a lot more than $20.