I'm new to the forum, and have viewed several of the historical posts here. What an incredible resource--we are living in the Good Old Days when you can still talk to people who originally built these amazing works of art. I wonder if some of you masters and veterans might update some of the best online resources to find vintage parts for, say, my December 1972 4001. I am aware of an obscure site called ebay, and another one called Rickenbacker.... Any other good resources out there?

I am a veteran songwriter/musician, but almost completely unskilled in repair. You've heard that one before. I managed to diagnose and fix my '57 reissue Stratocaster when the middle pickup was not working, but that's about the extent of my abilities.

Even so, this bass is crying to come back into its own, and I'm determined to do what I can with limited abilities and finances. Deep maroon color, checkerboard binding aged to a nice yellow cream, neck bending somewhat but plays well, beautiful mother of pearl inlay, toaster pickup still there. On the other hand, it was badly ransacked and abused, presumably by Tommy Stinson of the Replacements, or perhaps by the drug addict who acquires his bass then sold it to me for $150. Problems are many: bastard tuning pegs, bastard volume and tone pots (or so I assume: too thick for the vintage knobs I just ebayed...were knobs on a '76 a different spec than on a '72?), broken off tip of the headstock, bridge pickup dead to the world, bridge itself not original or correct, looks like it came from an entirely different brand and style. Oh, and the pickguard was spraypainted with an ugly, thick green enamel. Nice!

So I intend to turn this around, slowly, piece by piece. Any advice on acquiring parts? Would the wiring from a 1976 4001 fit my '72? (I am currently bidding on some of this, though I know the pickguard won't fit.) I wonder if Jingle Jangle originally build my poor orphan? Wish I could afford to send it to him or to Dale, but, sadly, I'm married.

Thanks for any input! -Lyle

Oh, and the "bastard" approximates the meaning of "illegitimate." :-D

Welcome Lyle. Hope you find the parts you need. I'd think there's not better place.

Thanks for the compliment, but I'm not a "Rickenbacker old-timer", just an "old timer". I discovered Ricks just about 2 years ago, after a long career doing "other stuff", and have been enjoying my involvement since then.

Dale, however, IS a "Rickenbacker old timer"!

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Rickenbackers: I love to play them. I enjoy the challenge of working on them. I love the way they sound.

Okay, then I guess you're just a "Full Timer." But it's hard to believe after viewing some of your projects.

Say, are there any parts NOT interchangeable from a 76 4001 and a 72?

Possibly only the pickguard. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. As for this perfectly dead bridge pickup, I can make it "sing" again for you. Free of charge. Interested?

P.S. Lyle, care to send some pics of your 4001 my way?

CrazyRick, I am VERY interested in making my dead pickup sing again. And free of charge is always a generous idea, especially when I'm in Minneapolis and you are in Lisbon! Thank you for the offer.

What I am hoping to do is trade out the volume and tone pots and wiring that are in mine with that from a 1976 4001 being sold on ebay. I am pretty sure that mine has the wrong pots, because I bought some 4001 bass knobs and they are too small to fit on the knob posts. Pardon my terminology deficit... Anyway, I think the pickup itself is authentic. It could be that when I rewire that it will sing on its own. But, hey--any help would be greatly appreciated. That's the internet at its shining best.

Now, pictures... Yeah, we'll all get some laughs out of them. Or maybe even some cries, because this is a beautiful instrument that is dressed in a bad Halloween costume. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to throw pictures online. Is there an easy, free way to do this?

Thank you, kind Rickenbacker people.

Thank you

From the standpoint of what is authentic on a '72 from a '76, the knobs might be the only thing. The pickguard is different, the most obvious change is the spacing of the neck p/up. I'm thinking just about all of the remaining hardware went through a change of some sort.

Lyle, take an ohmmeter and ohm the bridge coil - it should be around 8k ohms. If you are sure you are on the wires at the coil and it has no reading, it is probably open - if it reads much lower, it is shorted. Then I can recommend Sergio (CrazyRick) to do the rewind - mine just came back from him and it is a great sounding Rick pup. Mine got damaged in a mod I was making. He fixed me up just fine!

Pictures have to be hosted off-site and you put a link to them in your post here.