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What we have here is a Rickenbacker 4005. If that was not rare enough already, it is a lefty. Even rarer than that, it is also a Bass VI. Apparently the 4005 was introduced in 1965 and remained in production until 1984. This also applies to the 4005/6 model seen here, although perhaps the 4005 was never a production model as much as a custom model, so lord knows if any were made after the late 60s. It is a guitar very much of its time, appearing in the tiny gap of time between the rise of the humbucker and the fall of clean tones as well as the only time when bass VIs were 'relevant'. Unlike the Fender Bass VI which was a stand-alone design, or the short scale basses turned VIs made by Gibson, this appears to be the full 33 1/2 inch 4000 series bass scale, meaning chords are a distant memory here. The price here is steep, but seemingly justified. I can't say another of these will EVER see the light of day, especially not in Left handed spec.Thanks Andrew, I've been meaning to feature a Rickenbacker 4005 bass for a long time and you managed to find a lefty Bass VI version. Very cool. I've also been meaning for a very long time to mention a really fantastic book, The Rickenbacker Electric Bass - 50 Years As Rock's Bottom by Paul D. Boyer and published by Hal Leonard. Although you might think that as the book covers a very specific niche subject that it would only appeal to the real fanatics, it is so well written and beautifully illustrated with colour photographs throughout that I think it would keep ANY guitar enthusiast enraptured for hours, and not just the bass players and/or Rickenbacker enthusiasts.
Other weird 4005 basses to look out for are the 8 string version, the lightshow edition, and the 8 string lightshow edition.
Before I go I'd like to talk about the unfortunate tale of this bass for a second. Given the extortionate cost of the 360 model guitar in the late 60s, we can only imagine the cost of the 4005. This obviously hurt sales, and the lack of any real big names behind the model didn't help. The model is also unique in being an early example of an actual semi-hollow body bass, rather than the mis-named EB2 and violin body hollowbodies. But as 1970 approached, the disastrous pickup placement (on some bass models, the bridge pickup touches the bridge) and hollow body were seen as outdated and the thin sounding pickups were too weak for the in-crowd. By the early 80s they were so utterly worthless that the bassist for one of Steve Albini's groups, and the bassist for the Replacements, Tommy Stinson, were easily able to afford them. The closest shot at fame the bass had was with Mani from the Stone Roses (who later ditched it in favour of the underrated 3000 series bass), and only rare appearances since.
This sad history means what is a very unique design of bass basically languished in obscurity before becoming so valuable no-one can buy them. Ricks are called semi-hollow for want of a better description, but the body top is thicker and a solid piece of wood, routed out from the rear with the neck set under the pick-ups creating a union of centre block and neck rather than the slim tenon joint used on the laminate Gibsons. This basically means the body isn't going to thump like a violin bass or EB2 bass, and is likely to be far more piano like. The only basses with similar construction not custom made are the small-bodied G&L ASAT and the Gibson Midtown bass, both of which have their own tone as well. I honestly think Rick need to reissue this thing, it may have failed first time round, but times have changed, and this bass is primed to be a hit. The world has changed! We're mature enough to realise our stupidity now! We'll burn all the P-Basses if you just put this back in production!
The 4005 served as a baseboard for some interesting variations. The first of these was the six-string 4005/6. Similar in purpose to Fender's "Fender VI," the instrument was strung EADGBE, but an octave lower than a standard guitar. Both rounded-top and WB [i.e. non-rounded top "with binding"] versions of the 4005/6 exist, and at least one leftiy4005/6 was made. While the six-string bass was offered on price lists from 1967 to '78, very few were made.
Owner kept it tuned down a step to relieve tension on the neck, which we recommend, too. Tuned up to pitch bows the neck a bit more then usual on the bass side.C'mon guys, this is a high quality professionally-made instrument from a world-renowned manufacturer, it's not some cheaply-made plank from China. The prospective buyer should NOT have to compromise. If the neck bows more than usual on the bass side, that says to me that this instrument has a problem that needs to be sorted. Don't Rickenbackers have two truss rods? At a guess I'd say, hey, maybe the bass-side truss rod needs adjusting.
This unique FMW bass by Berlin luthier Frank M. Weber is quite a stunner. It's obviously based around the Rickenbacker 4000 series basses, is of walnut and maple through-neck construction with see-through luctite body wings. The body is equipped with 8 white LEDs to illuminate the see-through sections. It also has LED position markers mounted into the top edge of the ebony fingerboard. Pickups are "Harry Häussel" Bass Bars.
This is a guitar which was constructed using:Likely this guitar is as amazing as the seller claims, but it's sure not going to win any beauty contests. Personally I think the placement of the volume and tone controls is a mistake - and I appreciate this was dicatated by the plate used from the Rickenbacker lapsteel. Nevertheless, I think he should have put the controls in the usual position for a Tele, and maybe plugged the holes in the lapsteel plate - else not used the plate at all if it is detachable from the pickup. I'm not just talking aesthetics here, those controls would get in the way where they are.
Fender MIM neck Serial Number MZ4013361 (hard rock maple)
Non-Fender Tele style Mahogany body
Rickenbacker horseshoe pickup from a Rickenbacker (old spelling is Rickenbacher) Model 100 lap steel
Lipstick pickup (4.9K) GFS from Guitar Fetish
Brass nut
Other misc parts from Guitar Fetish, staggered tuners and string tree, 3 way switch, tele jack cup, Tele dome knobs, cloth wiring.
This guitar was born in a Hamtramck second hand store where I found the Rickenbacker lap steel. At the time I could not even tell what brand it was because there were no tags, markings, or serial numbers on it. Also the body had been crudely modified, some wood cut away, strap buttons put on so it could be played slung around your neck more like a regular guitar. The store owner told me it had been owned by a friend of hers that had passed away. who was from the coal mining fields of Tennessee. He had also painted numbers on the metal fretboard. That genesis gave me the idea of putting this pickup on a telecaster style body.
Since the Rickenbacker is an old pickup with usage marks, I bought a Fender neck which showed a little natural wear. I then yellowed the face of the neck over the logo to make the neck looka little further aged. It is a very subtle effect. (I used gunstock oil infused with a little walnut dye.)
I picked up a mahogany body and modified it so the Rickenbacker pickup fit on it. At first I used a Gibson style wraparound bridge behind the rickbacker pickup. But it seems like some of that lap steel singing quality was missing. So I filled those holes, cut a little more wood and used the bridge integrated into the pickup. I also more tightly attached the neck to the body by using threaded steel neck inserts instead of the standard wood screws. You can search on ebay to see what inserts are are like.
The end result is that this thing sings like a woman! I took the guitar to my sister's house in Michigan's UP and played with her old-timey, bluegrass band. With the bluegrass band, I had to use the lipstick pickup because the Rickenbacker was too powerful, too bluesy. We were just playing an instrumental, but after the end of one song, someone asked "Who is singing?" No one was singing. It was the TeleRick. I was playing on the next song, and I thought I heard a woman singing vowels, I looked up from the fretboard and no, my sister (the only female musician present) was not singing. It WAS the guitar.
I had configured the guitar with a brass nut at first. It sounded great. I then switched to a solid plastic nut, and the open notes sounded more muffled than the notes held with the slide did. So, I put the brass nut back on. Also, when you play I think the brass affects the tone even more than just the open notes. I mean, the string does vibrate from the slide back to the nut unless you dampen it. The lipstick pickup loves the brass nut. I think the singing woman tone is a combination of the brass nut, lipstick pickup, mahogany body, threaded steel inserts, and the very solid Rickenbacker bridge. As I mentioned, the bluegrass people were not into the powerful Rickenbacker sound.
I put a 3 way switch on the guitar so you get the raw lipstick pickup, lipstick and Rickenbacker combined, and Rickbenbacker by itself. The tone and volume knobs only affect the Rickenbacker pickup. I did it this way for a couple reasons. If you wanted you could physically move the Rickenbacker pickup from the tele body to the Rickenbacker body, by only by snipping two wires. If I had integrated the tone and volume with the lipstick pickup, then more wires would have to be cut. Tonewise, the guitar rocks this way. The lipstick is a kind of a hollowed out singing acoustic sort of sound, you can play 4 strings together and they blend like a gospel choir. The Rickenbacker pickup has twice the output of the lipstick and is more raucous so you would only want to play 2 notes together (unless you are going for the heavy distortion). So you can do this multiple string sliding with the lipstick, and then flip the switch and go into a real heavier tone on the Rickenbacker pickup. You can tone down the Rickenbacker pickup with its controls to more closely match the lipstick if you want. The one pickup sounds like a logical extension of the other.
This guitar sounds so good, it could be the basis for a whole new unique style of playing. You can get lost flipping back and forth between them for hours..
The string height (action) is such that you can play the classic boogie woogie on the low strings from open to the 7th fret, and if you are sliding at the 5th fret, you can press down the strings behind the slide to get the missing notes in the scale, but when you are at the 12th fret you will be all slide all the time. Now, the action could be lowered a little. The bottom of the brass nut could be filed, maybe the neck truss rod could be used, but the Rickenbacker bridge is a little higher than the tele bridge, so the action will always favor the slide player. But that is not a loss on this guitar, because this is a slide players guitar.
In my heart of hearts, I believe that is a guitar born for slide and it will need a slide guitarist to properly appreciate it. That is why I am putting it on a month long listing. This special guitar requires a special person...
"...combines the sounds of the plectrum banjo, mandolin, Hawaiian guitar and Spanish guitar. Two harmony string pairs and two single strings plus a vibrato unit create this incredible range of tones."To look at the Banjitar you might think at first glance that it was a standard Rickenbacker guitar, but the very narrow long neck might cause you to do a double take.
