Searching for Rickenbacker 4001 s/n PL7996

[AMV001]

Hello All. If you will all forgive me for such a forthright first post, I am putting out an appeal. I would like to trace- and if possible buy back- this guitar (see pic below). 1976 Rickenbacker 4001, serial number PL7996. When sold, this guitar had a Jazz bass pickup fitted in the bridge position. Black scratchplate and Jazz pickup were added by me and I played this guitar extensively during the early-mid 1990s. In 1995, it was sold without my permission by someone working for Nomis Studios, London (possibly to a client or customer).

I know this is a long shot and it may have changed hands and locations many times in the past 28 years. But in my experience musicians are generally a sociable lot, who like to discuss and share info about their instruments and spend a lot of time online, so if I can spread this appeal as widely as possible, someone out there may realise that they have it. There have been a few recent extraordinary examples of items found in this way so I thought it may be worth a try. Any info gratefully received.

 

 

[ahpook]

Good luck with your hunt - fingers crossed

 

I have to say, both you and the bass do look somewhat familiar...

[AMV001]

1 minute ago, ahpook said:

Good luck with your hunt - fingers crossed

 

I have to say, both you and the bass do look somewhat familiar...

Yeah, possibly. I've been around a bit...

[Skybone]

Saw the posts on Facebook, obviously took an interest as it's a Ric, and the connection with Swervedriver. Good luck with the hunt for your old bass.

 

Definitely not the one in my avatar though, that's a 4003.

[AMV001]

11 hours ago, Skybone said:

Good luck with the hunt for your old bass.

Thank you. Not having a whole lot of luck so far but its still early days. Plenty of best wishes and encouragement being sent my way though, so that's cool. The Rick Resource and official RIC forums are being painfully slow at responding though, which is a bit frustrating. Still waiting for the admins at RIC forum to approve the registration.

[Skybone]

They tend to be very US oriented. Have you tried TalkBass? Again, US based, but a more "Global" user base.

[AMV001]

11 hours ago, Skybone said:

They tend to be very US oriented. Have you tried TalkBass? Again, US based, but a more "Global" user base.

Yep. Posted on Talk Bass and The Gear Page too, as well as here. Also posted in a load of Rickenbacker groups on Facebook and it has been shared pretty widely. Also following it up via some private connections with former staff at the studio.

 

Someone has listed it on the registry at Rick Resource but as what is known as a 'collected item'. Meaning it has been sourced online from public info rather than actually listed by the owner. I'm attempting to get control of that listing so I can tag the instrument as stolen, but its taking a while to get a response from the admins.

[Steve Browning]

Stolen? Might that be more likely for any current owner to keep quiet?8

[Cliff Edge]

Interesting thread, I hope you find it. I’ve been looking for the 1996 EBMM Stingray I bought new in New York when it was only a few days old, and foolishly sold on eBay to someone in Scotland a few years later. Sometimes I do stupid things. 

[AMV001]

2 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

Stolen? Might that be more likely for any current owner to keep quiet?8

Depends. Whoever bought it back in 1995 probably didn't know then and still doesn't, if they even still have it. On the other hand, if it turns up again on Ebay/Reverb there are people who watch out for these things and report back.

[AMV001]

2 hours ago, Cliff Edge said:

Interesting thread, I hope you find it. I’ve been looking for the 1996 EBMM Stingray I bought new in New York when it was only a few days old, and foolishly sold on eBay to someone in Scotland a few years later. Sometimes I do stupid things. 

I wish I'd had the choice...

[AMV001]

Just a quick update. Sadly, I am still no closer to finding it. The situation is that I have now been in contact with the person who sold it back in 1995. However, they claim to “not remember that time” which is odd because, even though it was 28 years ago, it will have been the only occasion in their life that they have sold a guitar, so its extraordinary that they can’t remember a single detail about it. I've sent a follow up with more questions but have yet to receive a reply.

In the meantime, there are threads running on all the major Facebook Rickenbacker groups, in both of the dedicated online Ricky forums and other bass related sites like this one and alerts are set up on Reverb and Ebay. I guess its going to be a waiting game now, not sure what else to do, but while I think about that, here’s more pics.
 

Edited October 12, 2023 by AMV001
Wrong size pics

[geoffbyrne]

Good luck with the search.

 

[Beedster]

1 hour ago, AMV001 said:

Just a quick update. Sadly, I am still no closer to finding it. Things are also becoming a bit murky. The situation is that I have now been in contact with the person who sold it back in 1995. However, they claim to “not remember that time” which is odd because, even though it was 28 years ago, it will have been the only occasion in their life that they have sold a guitar, so its extraordinary that they can’t remember a single detail about it. Furthermore, I know that this person told a mutual acquaintance that it had gone to an ex-partner who apparently obtained it as a gift for a sibling. I’ve therefore also been in touch with this ex-partner and they deny buying it or knowing anything about it being sold. So, someone here is mistaken (to put it politely). I’ve sent follow ups to both these persons but have yet to receive replies.
Not sure what else to do TBH but while I think about that, here’s more pics.

 

 

 

I suspect I'm technically owed several items that bandmates borrowed and either broke and handed back, kept, or sold when I was in my 20's, a lovely old tube combo, a fiddle, a Selmer Sax and a decent Westone bass among them. The thought of trying to chase them down now fills me with anxiety at the sheer level of work and potential pain involved. I can only guess this Ric must mean a hell of a lot to you to be going to these lengths, so all the best with your search. 

 

But as @Steve Browning said above, and as your post that I've quoted suggests might be the case, unless you're suggesting that you're prepared to forgive and forget and pay market value today for the bass, if you were lucky enough for the current owner to come across one of your threads, I suspect you're going to make them less, rather than more, likely to get in touch   

 

Good luck either way 👍

[AMV001]

3 hours ago, Beedster said:

unless you're suggesting that you're prepared to forgive and forget and pay market value today for the bass, if you were lucky enough for the current owner to come across one of your threads, I suspect you're going to make them less, rather than more, likely to get in touch   

 

Good luck either way 👍

Thank you.

 

Yep, as I said in the original post above and as I have stated in all the posts on social media etc. I'm prepared to buy it back if it can be found and the owner is willing to sell. If the owner isn't willing to sell, then I'm happy to leave my contact details in case he/she changes their mind.

[AMV001]

Six weeks on from the above and I'm still searching. There were a couple of brief moments of excitement during Nov, firstly when a used black/black '76 with road wear turned up on Reverb.  But it was a manufactured a couple of weeks before mine according to the serial. Also, The Bass Gallery in London had listed a used Jetglo '76 with a non-original bridge pickup. TBG are located just a couple of miles from my old apartment, so I was immediately intrigued. A quick trip up there confirmed it wasn't the one, unfortunately.
So, I’m still no closer to finding the guitar and the waiting game goes on. In the meantime, here’s  a pic of my manservant giving it a quick tune up back in 1992.

 

 

Edited November 25, 2023 by AMV001

[sky]

On 25/11/2023 at 13:37, AMV001 said:

Six weeks on from the above and I'm still searching. There were a couple of brief moments of excitement during Nov, firstly when a used black/black '76 with road wear turned up on Reverb.  But it was a manufactured a couple of weeks before mine according to the serial. Also, The Bass Gallery in London had listed a used Jetglo '76 with a non-original bridge pickup. TBG are located just a couple of miles from my old apartment, so I was immediately intrigued. A quick trip up there confirmed it wasn't the one, unfortunately.
So, I’m still no closer to finding the guitar and the waiting game goes on. In the meantime, here’s  a pic of my manservant giving it a quick tune up back in 1992.

 

 

 

sorry to hear its still not showed up, hopefully you hear something soon! same colours as the fernandes copy i play with the black pickguard / white truss rod cover, although was the pickguard painted black looks like its worn through to white in the picture or is that a sticker?

Edited November 30, 2023 by sky

[AMV001]

On 30/11/2023 at 10:17, sky said:

 

sorry to hear its still not showed up, hopefully you hear something soon! same colours as the fernandes copy i play with the black pickguard / white truss rod cover, although was the pickguard painted black looks like its worn through to white in the picture or is that a sticker?

Its a sticker. Was on there for a few months in 1992, not sure exactly how long though. The pic in the first post is from Feb 1993 and it has gone by then.

[AMV001]

So, its been six months since I started the search for my old Ric 4001 (serial number PL7996). Still having no luck, although there have been a couple of near misses- a guitar shop in Germany recently sold PL7986 and the Rick Resource website, who have a member compiled database of over 50,000 instruments, are listing PL7998 as being located somewhere in Tennessee. Both of these were probably from the same production run as mine.
I’m not deterred though, but as mentioned in an earlier post I’m now just playing the long game, waiting for some info to appear. There are plenty of examples of missing guitars suddenly appearing again, even after many years. You just have to stay vigilant. If Peter Frampton's Les Paul can turn up 31 years after being lost in a plane crash in a jungle, there's always a chance. Although, for obvious reasons I hope it doesn’t take that long…

[MoonBassAlpha]

Macca's bass turning up after 51 years should give you hope!

[AMV001]

On 17/02/2024 at 19:08, MoonBassAlpha said:

Macca's bass turning up after 51 years should give you hope!

 

It does. Even though I don't have his profile or resources, I'll still keep searching.

[ead]

I can add to the hopefulness for you.  I finally managed to reacquire my old ACG fretless bass that I (stupidly) sold 12 years go.  I got it back last week.

[AMV001]

9 hours ago, ead said:

I can add to the hopefulness for you.  I finally managed to reacquire my old ACG fretless bass that I (stupidly) sold 12 years go.  I got it back last week.

 

Congratulations. That's great to hear. Stories like yours do give me hope.

[AMV001]

Hello All.

 

I've received a message from a friend of mine earlier today saying a Jetglo 4001 with a JB pickup in the bridge position appeared on Facebook UK marketplace this morning. However, the listing seems to have disappeared and does not also appear under the 'Sold' category.

 

I didn't get a notification from Facebook about a new listing (no surprise there though, considering how ropey that place is) and I can't see a duplicate listing on Ebay, Reverb or Gumtree or in the 'For Sale' sections here and on Talk Bass, which is often the case.

 

So, I don't suppose, on the off chance, that was it was listed by someone who is also a member here? Please feel free to let me know. Thanks.

Edited April 11 by AMV001

[AMV001]

According to my diary notifications, it seems it was one year ago today that I started the search for my old Rickenbacker 4001, serial number PL7996, which I was daft enough to let out of my sight for a while back in the 1990s and as a result ended up being sold without my permission. Still no sign of it popping up yet, despite numerous appeals on forums and various socials and alerts set on all the usual selling sites. There have been a few near misses- PL7986, PL7998 and PL8021 have all turned up online but I’m still no nearing tracing the real thing.
I have found a few more pics though, mostly from a gig at the Manchester Boardwalk in October 1991, which nicely show it as it was after my modifications (black scratchplate added and Jazz Bass pickup in the bridge position). I have no idea, obviously, if it still looks like this, wherever it is now.
I’m still searching though and not giving up…

 

 

Edited August 15 by AMV001