1975 Rickenbacker 4001 Electric Bass Guitar

Yeah, we all know these are rad. It's the shape, it's the feel, it's the vibe, it's the looks. Being neck-through in construction, they're also stable as heck and the heel-to-body transition is seamless. Dual truss rods keep the neck straight and in check and the neck has a fast, easy feel to it even with the big old 105w-45w or so gauges that are on this sucker at the moment.

It has the stereo/mono option at the jacks if desired, too, and by this time the "mushroom" single coil pickups had replaced the older single-coil variants. These are a little hotter than the old ones and as a result the tone is thicker and fatter -- especially at the neck. The bridge pickup is a bit twangy, though, and lower output compared to the neck, even when cranked-up.

I gave this a glorified setup and after that it's playing spot-on and is ready to go. It's completely-original and in good order.

Repairs included: a light fret level/dress, cleaning, and setup.


Body wood: solid maple

Bridge: adjustable 4-saddle

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: maple

Pickups: 2x "mushroom" single coils


Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (quick)
String gauges: 105w-45w or so at the moment, feels heavier

Neck shape: slim-medium C

Board radius: 7 1/4"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-smaller


Scale length: 33 1/4"

Nut width: 1 5/8"

Body width: 13 1/4"

Body depth: 1 1/4"

Weight: 9 lbs 3 oz


Condition notes: it's in overall excellent shape. It does show average handling-wear via smallish scratches, nicks, and dings on the top and more aggressive scratching and finish wear near the heel on the back and sides. The adjustable saddles are adjusted as far as they will go to the rear of the bridge but the intonation is good and the action spot-on. Further adjustment (for example: to fit a low BEAD tuning and strings) would need slight modification of the saddles to allow for intonation fixes. A lot of Rickis were built in such a way that the low E saddle needs to be cranked to the far rear of the deck. I don't know if I've met one yet that hasn't had to be set that way. The damping-foam adjuster's foam inserts have dried-up, too, so if one wants to use it I could replace the foam if desired -- OTH, of course.


It comes with: its original hard case in worn but good shape.




























Comments

McComber said…
Man Jake, brings me right back to one of my favorites, Geddy Lee on Tom Sawyer. Those 4001 big bell sounds cut through! I think the Ox played a 4005 for original Tommy, too. I had one of these 4001's back in the rock tour days that I let go of - so stupid. Well, I won't get fooled again, Your dna test results are in, and you're a born bassman, for sure. What a beautiful bass.
Unknown said…
Bonjour,
Merci pour cet moment d’évasion dans les subtiles nuances sonores de cet instrument d’exception. J’imagine le bonheur que cette sonorité unique doit vous apporter. J’ai une 4003 lH de 2020 que je souhaiterais remplacer par une 4001 lH avec micro horse shoe.
Peut être avez vous l’information qui me permettra de trouver celle que je cherches depuis si longtemps…😊

Merci.