Rickenbacker Skunk stripe

[Axelorox]

I'm currently after a Rick 4001 in a natural finish, but the vast majority of them have the shedua skunk stripe. Is this at all possible to remove or to otherwise hide the stripe?

 

[254 stringer]

Does it have to be a 4001 if so the early ones didn't have the stripe it was started in the 70's I think. The new 4003's are great and stripe free. It my be blaspheme but I like the new fretboard wood better than the older wood too.

 

[Paul Boyer]

The shedua stripe down the middle was a feature that started in early 1972 and went through the rest of the production run of the 4001 to the early '80s. It was also in the rare 4002, and in the necks (only) of the 4000, 4001S, and 3001 during that period. The "vast majority" of Rick basses actually don't have this stripe, as the most-produced model ever is the 4003 which doesn't have the stripe (like the example above). If you don't like the stripe, keep looking around!