Some of you probably saw my Ric, should I or shouldn't I thread, so I won't rehash that here. That being said, this is a 1980 Ric 4001 that I picked up in exchange for my 4003s and some cash from another sale. I've wanted a 4001 since I started playing bass in 1983. I'd owned a number of 4003's over the years but never kept them. I played my 4003s side by side this 1980 4001 and this one had "that tone" in spades.
I took it to Pick of the Ricks yesterday to be inspected and he said it is all original with the slight possibility of a replaced nut. We think it was replaced because there doesn't seem to be lacquer on it. The reason he wasn't sure was because it is such a perfect fit and the lacquer is so tight against it.
When Chris at Pick of the Ricks took the pickguard off we saw all the pots and electronics were totally original. We did see one odd thing, he just thought it was funny, the painter saw fit to make a little star out of binding tape under the bridge pickup. I said, what does it mean? Chris said, "somebody was bored at work one day!"
He inspected the neck and it is perfect. We replaced the knobs with new ones as the 3 of the 4 originals had lost the silver spots on top. While we had it apart I also asked him to install a treble bezel.
He remarked about the case saying it is one of the better ones. He said the red interiors are a bit more rare but hold the bass in much better than the blue ones. All the latches and the handle work perfectly.
If you've never heard of Pick of the Ricks or have but never communicated with them and you love Rickenbackers, you have to do it. Such a great guy. We BS'd about basses and music for 90 minutes. His prices were crazy reasonable and he did the inspection free of charge (of course I bought strings, knows, the treble bezel and some screws).
On to the pictures...
I took it to Pick of the Ricks yesterday to be inspected and he said it is all original with the slight possibility of a replaced nut. We think it was replaced because there doesn't seem to be lacquer on it. The reason he wasn't sure was because it is such a perfect fit and the lacquer is so tight against it.
When Chris at Pick of the Ricks took the pickguard off we saw all the pots and electronics were totally original. We did see one odd thing, he just thought it was funny, the painter saw fit to make a little star out of binding tape under the bridge pickup. I said, what does it mean? Chris said, "somebody was bored at work one day!"
He inspected the neck and it is perfect. We replaced the knobs with new ones as the 3 of the 4 originals had lost the silver spots on top. While we had it apart I also asked him to install a treble bezel.
He remarked about the case saying it is one of the better ones. He said the red interiors are a bit more rare but hold the bass in much better than the blue ones. All the latches and the handle work perfectly.
If you've never heard of Pick of the Ricks or have but never communicated with them and you love Rickenbackers, you have to do it. Such a great guy. We BS'd about basses and music for 90 minutes. His prices were crazy reasonable and he did the inspection free of charge (of course I bought strings, knows, the treble bezel and some screws).
On to the pictures...
