Here's another 1970s vintage fretless bass that the collectors wouldn't want me to "spoil" with roundwound strings (see previous post).It's a Rickenbacker 4001FL in "autumnglo" finish and is on eBay right now with a Buy It Now price of $3200, so all Rickenbacker collectors can breathe a sigh of relief - I'm not going to be buying it any time soon.
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I had my 1970 Ricky 4001 converted to fretless back in the early 1980s. The work was undertaken by Fylde Guitars who removed the frets and replaced them with rosewood inserts. I also got them to remove the checkered purfling abound the body and replace that with a rosewood strip. I had removed the original dark purple finish myself and Fylde Guitars created a pale honey coloured finish for the front and a darker sunburst for the back. The work was completed with a brass chrome-plated scratchplate and renewed chrome hardware and a stereo pre-amp with a chrome battery compartment in the back.
ReplyDeleteThe instrument played like a dream and had what can only be described as a "woody rickenbacker" sound. Truly unique. The only problem is that it was stolen from my home back in January this year! If anyone sees a Ricky 4001 answering to that description, please let me know. I want it back.