Brand: Rickenbacker
Instrument Categories: Bass, Electric, Guitars, SOLD, Solidbody
One of the iconic rock basses, the Rickenbacker 4001 bass was built as a two-pickup version of the 4000 bass, adding a neck pickup to the distinctive Cresting Wave body design by German luthier and designer Roger Rossmeisl.
Built from 1961 to 1986 when it was replaced by the 4003 bass, the Rickenbacker 4001 bass features a Maple body and through-body Maple neck, with a bound and finished Indian Rosewood fingerboard. Rickenbacker’s rosewoods tend to be quite light coloured, almost towards the colour tones of other species such as Pau Ferro.
For hardware, the Rickenbacker 4001 Bass carries Grover tuning gears, a proprietary Rickenbacker bridge and pickup set. The bridge pickup is a faux-horseshoe single coil model, intended to evoke the early Rickenbacker pickup design from the 1930’s. The bridge and neck pickups are single coil units. The bridge pickup has its cover – often removed if it’s in the way.
For wiring, there are individual volume and tone controls and a pickup selector, but as with many Rickenbackers there is a dual-output jack plate for both Mono and Rick-O-Sound outputs. Rick-O-Sound puts each pickup on one channel of a ‘Stereo’ or Insert-type cable, allowing the use of separate amplifiers or channels.
This Rickenbacker 4001 bass example was built during May 1973 at the Rickenbacker shop in Santa Ana, California. It is in overall good shape, with light to moderate wear for its age. On the body, between the bridge and bridge pickup, there are a pair of filled and decently touched up holes, possibly from a hand rest or pickup cover. Fret wear is also light to moderate, and the bass plays well and cleanly.
These basses are unmistakable, visually and tonally. They deliver tones that don’t really come out of the ubiquitous P-Bass or J-Bass models.
The original rectangular hard shell case is included.
- Model: 4001
- Year: 1973
- Finish JetGlo Black Gloss
- Class: Vintage
- Serial Number: ME 2184, Built May 1973 in Santa Ana California
- Country of Origin: USA
- Condition: Good
- Date Posted: 11/09/2019
- This instrument has been sold
- Consignment Item
- Required CITES documentation
- Including original Hard case
- Instrument Weight: 9/24lbs 4.20kg
- Scale Length: 33.25in 844mm
- Nut Width: 1.69in 43mm
