A Ric with issues

[prowla]

This one appears to have neck-lift.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166459748088

 

Hope the buyer knows how to sort it.

 

[vinorange]

They need to learn how to string a bass too. 🤮 at that stringing…..

[Bassassin]

Nasty bit of delam going on there. Seen that fairly often on older 4001s but didn't think 4003s were prone to it.

 

"Nothing major", says the seller.

[EssentialTension]

And it has exciting provenance ...

 

'I have had this bass for 20 years or so. I bought it in the USA for on a guy who had been the bassist in an unsuccessful Sub Pop band - and whose name I can’t remember although he told me he had played it on their one single.'

 

... that's OK then.

[Beedster]

Where’s my credit card 😆

[Cairobill]

I love a Rickenbacker, especially the V63. But it seems 75% of V63s have 'gone banana' (as I like to say) and there's no real way of getting the playability sorted. I had a V63 that I spent a chunk on doing the whole 'wood wedge by the neck and a bit of heating' which didn't solve the problem. 

And yet, those V63s are just off the scale price wise. I always get gas when I see them up for sale but then I get a glimpse of the neck from the side and there it is....'gone banana'

Amusingly, I often see the same issue (due to the horseshoe cavity being so close to the neck) on the outrageously overpriced Squire models. 7K for a banana no thank you very much...

This one has definitely 'gone banana'

Edited November 26, 2023 by Cairobill

[NikNik]

On 26/11/2023 at 11:50, Cairobill said:

I love a Rickenbacker, especially the V63. But it seems 75% of V63s have 'gone banana' (as I like to say) and there's no real way of getting the playability sorted. I had a V63 that I spent a chunk on doing the whole 'wood wedge by the neck and a bit of heating' which didn't solve the problem. 

And yet, those V63s are just off the scale price wise. I always get gas when I see them up for sale but then I get a glimpse of the neck from the side and there it is....'gone banana'

Amusingly, I often see the same issue (due to the horseshoe cavity being so close to the neck) on the outrageously overpriced Squire models. 7K for a banana no thank you very much...

This one has definitely 'gone banana'

I had a V63 and I drooled over it....except I couldn't get on with the baseball bat neck, so it went. The neck was ok. The swimming pool behind the neck is not good for those basses.

 

And, yes, their prices are nuts right now, and most of them appear to be in Japan.

[NikNik]

On 25/11/2023 at 21:08, vinorange said:

They need to learn how to string a bass too. 🤮 at that stringing…..

The E looks like .110

[vinorange]

7 hours ago, NikNik said:

The E looks like .110

Could it be that a simple truss rod tweak for heavy gauge strings is required? They’re not great at handling heavy strings if not set up right.

[prowla]

8 hours ago, vinorange said:

Could it be that a simple truss rod tweak for heavy gauge strings is required? They’re not great at handling heavy strings if not set up right.

The wing separation suggests there's more to it.

[Bassassin]

5 hours ago, prowla said:

The wing separation suggests there's more to it.

 

Yep, classic banana-neck. String tension pulls the neck forward, the big neck p/u route being a natural weak point, the adhesive holding the wings to the centre starts to fail, making it weaker, and the whole thing bows so much you could shoot an arrow with the result.