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ON HOLD SALE PENDING 2005 Rickenbacker 4003 Mapleglo Fretless upgraded to V63 RI with Toaster and Horseshoe Pick Ups
£1200

johnbiffa

By johnbiffa,
in Basses For Sale

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johnbiffa Experienced

johnbiffa

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Probably the best fretless Rickenbacker ever appearing on this forum !

Shaggy and Beedster lovingly upgraded this 4003 fretless to V63 spec and described it here:

"So essentially;[list]
[*]2005 [size=4]Rickenbacker[/size] [size=4]4003[/size] [size=4]FL[/size] (fretless) in [size=4]mapleglo[/size] (natural), almost blemish-free; only defect is 2mm ding on rear of body so small I couldn’t get it to show in a close-up pic
[*]Walnut headstock “wings”
[*]VT tone circuit
[*]Fretless lacquered rosewood fingerboard, side dot markers on 1/3/5/7/9/12 etc fret positions. Has always been strung with [size=4]fl[/size]ats, so board unmarked
[*]Brand new [size=4]Rickenbacker[/size] bridge pickup and cover and original Horseshoe imported from US
[*]Vintage late ‘60’s [size=4]Rickenbacker[/size] toaster neck p/up fitted. (see how much the new ones cost on ebay, then see how much vintage Ric parts cost!)
[*]WD Music cellulose 5-ply tortoiseshell 2-piece pickguard just fitted, imported from the US. This is the proper vintage quality tort material, far superior to modern acrylic. and tort p/guards were offered on some vintage Rics.
[/list]
“Fretless” and “[size=4]Rickenbacker[/size]” aren’t normally included in the same sentence, which is a real shame; they're so playable, the all-maple and neck-thru construction make for fantastic sustain, and the single-coil pickups are wonderfully articulate. The vintage toaster p/up in particular gives a fabulously deep, warm, double-bassy growl. and this is an astonishing sounding bass and equally good on the eye as it is in pristine condition".

Having acquired a Celinder Jazz Classic which has blown me away I have decided to slim down the herd as this need to be played not just stored in my studio for a rare outing.

No trades but can be delivered to your door[b] for a reduced price of £1000 [/b], possibly in person if you are down M1/A1 corridor on NE/NW England.

This is a rare instrument and will not disappoint as Beedster or Shaggy I am sure would confirm.

Edited by johnbiffa
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johnbiffa Experienced

johnbiffa

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Rickenbacker and fretless are not words usually seen together............this is an outstanding bass particularly as it I in essence a 63 RI and sounds superb, I can compare it very favourably with my other 99 4001 V63 (also acquired from Beedster who knows his basses)

Needs a new home and someone to lavish the attention it deserves, more pics available if needed.

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johnbiffa Experienced

johnbiffa

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To answer a PM re the fretboard it is rosewood and has no indentations or marks caused by roundwounds and is fitted with black nylon coated atrings at present.

Somebody will fall in love with this bass I am sure, if my band played anything that I could remotely contemplate using it for it would remain in the herd !

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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As I've said elsewhere on this forum, looking at pics of that bass is like looking at pictures of a hot ex and realising you should never have finished with her! An absolutely outstanding instrument in every respect, and one that I genuinely miss. John, if you didn't already have a J200 I'd be suggesting a chat!

C

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='johnbiffa' timestamp='1367306847' post='2063839']
....criminal as it is you could always fret it and have a V63 at this price!
[/quote]

You could, but then me and Shaggy would come looking for you.......

All joking aside, I very nearly did that when I realised that I was never going to be the world's greatest fretless player, and that trying to play mid-era Beatles/Macca basslines on a fretless was always going to be challenging.

But then I bought a fretted v63 instead :rolleyes:

I'll search out some links to my previous threads on this bass this evening, but for the time being I'll simply say it's one of the best basses I've ever owned or played, and if John could see the light and realise that he actually needs two J-200s and not a J-200 and a Hummingbird, it would probably be on its way back to mine (actually John, mine's technically an SJ-200 if that helps!)

Chris

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='tredders' timestamp='1367317812' post='2064019']
Hmm, how much would a refret cost, approximately?
[/quote]

Depends on who you ask to do it Mark, but I would only be asking a very well-respected and experienced luthier to do that bass, the fingerboard finish is superb, and of course with a Ric, any problems with the neck resulting from poorly done work are problems you're stuck with!

Interestingly I asked a well known luthier for a quote and he said he wouldn't be able to do it as neck through basses won't go into the rig he uses for working on necks.

Chris

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tredders Experienced

tredders

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[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1367326128' post='2064180']
Depends on who you ask to do it Mark, but I would only be asking a very well-respected and experienced luthier to do that bass, the fingerboard finish is superb, and of course with a Ric, any problems with the neck resulting from poorly done work are problems you're stuck with!

Interestingly I asked a well known luthier for a quote and he said he wouldn't be able to do it as neck through basses won't go into the rig he uses for working on necks.

Chris
[/quote]

Cheers Chris. Probably not one of my better plans then.

Looks an absolute beauty for the money though.

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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I seem to remember someone saying that the easiest way would be to remove the fingerboard entirely and replace it with a custom made fretted version. There was the suggestion that this would allow the bass to be put back to original if needs be, but I suspect that in doing so there is not only an element of mechanical risk, but a substantial cost (and I'm guessing that original board would have to be both very carefully removed and subsequently kept in the humidity equivalent of Fort Knox)! The one thing I would say in favour of fretting this bass though is that it is outstanding across all strings with a stunning E-string response (not always the case with Rics after all), and pretty much all the way up the neck. OK, sticking dirty great lumps of metal in the way could change things a little, but if you are going to modify a bass in such a way, at least you know that you're working with good raw materials.

C

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Beedster Grand Master

Beedster

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[quote name='johnbiffa' timestamp='1367348629' post='2064576']
Hi Chris

Have you thought of a career in sales?

I have had 3 interesting PM's since you got involved !!!!

Mine is also an SJ200, good try

Cheers

John
[/quote]

I'm expecting my usual 20% commission John :)

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