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The missing pieces
Plum Crazy Purple
I have nothing to lose
A new experence.
I started to get a little nervous about this point
...with some Chrome, White and a touch of Wood
I wish I looked this good up close.
The truss cover was in great shape
It matched the color and translucency of the original and fit the holes perfectly
Too bad about the Jackplate...I can't fix that
This metallic paint has a lot of flop
Thank God because I can't afford a set from Ebay
Documented restoration of a horribly disfigured bass.
I can fix this
The missing pieces
Several months later...
Plum Crazy Purple
About Me
Cool Blogs
Irreversible Modifications ?
Let me start off by saying my motivation to restore this 1973 Rickenbacker 4001 was driven by guilt over the evil I had bestowed upon it and the fact that I loved playing it.
I played in a band back in the early 1980’s. We were a 4 piece Hard Rock/Metal band that was playing in local clubs. Sometimes headlining, mostly opening for more established bands like Seduce. They ruled Detroit at that time and probably still would if they ever got back together.
My only bass at the time was a bright Red 1981 Washburn Scavenger. The Washburn was a great sounding bass for the type of stuff we were playing then. I played it the majority of the time. The tone was simply awesome. The lows were strong and crisp. There were no holes in the frequency range. The sustain went on forever and you could get it to feed back like a guitar. I used to get tons of compliments and questions about my sound. The great tone is partly due to the Ampeg SVT’s and the fact that the Washburn weighs 12.5 lbs! Tone was the main reason I played this bass.
Early on I realized after blowing a string in the middle of a song I would need a back up bass. I didn’t have much money back then so a new ax was out of the question. Our Drummer told me about a bass that a friend was selling. I looked it over and bought it for $175.00.
I was a Maple Glo 1973 Rickenbacker 4001. It had been refitted with a Badass I bridge and a Low Z jack on the stereo side but other that it was stock. It was showing major cosmetic ware, lots of belt rash, scratches; some chipped binding and wood at the top of the rear and was missing the last fret. It had lived a tough life.
But the action was low and smooth. I could play it with little effort and no back and shoulder pain after long gigs. It felt so light compared to the Washburn. I loved the neck shape. The tone however was a problem for the type of music we were doing. I wanted it to sound like the Washburn. So being young (19) and non-appreciative of the Ricks natural tone, I routered it out for P-Bass pickups. And since I had my tools out, instead of repairing the missing binding, I cut off the entire area at the top rear that had the missing Binding. I sanded it down and painted it metal flake Purple. After the disfiguring modifications, the bass suited me fine…back then.
I didn’t give it much thought at the time. Although Ricks were not common back then, they were not considered rare or desirable. A few years latter I quit the band and went back to college to finish my degree.
Fast forward 24 years latter. I was now married with 3 kids, had moved 4 times and had not played bass for many years. My basses moved with me being stored in closets but stayed in there cases. Than one day I became interested in playing again.
Surprisingly, it only took about a couple of months to get back to the level in which I had left off.
But I had changed. I was now opened minded to the different types and styles of music and appreciative of different tonal qualities. Looking at how I had mutilated the once proud 4001 bummed me out.
OK, enough of that boring history stuff.
As I looked it over I could see the neck was still straight, there were no cracks anywhere. Its case was like a time capsule. I began to realize I could fix this thing. I decided I would restore to original or at least as close to original as was possible for me to do at my skill level. What was my skill level? I had restored old cars and every home I had lived in but this would be my first attempt at a stringed instrument. I felt as if I had nothing to lose by attempting this. The worst thing that could happen would be to mess it up and sell it for parts on Ebay.
I started by disassembling and taking inventory. The curly Grovers, Toaster pickup, Pots, knobs, switch, truss rods and truss rod cover were in great shape. The pick guard had been shortened to fit the P-Bass pickups. The Serial Jack plate was modified on the stereo side to accept a Low Z jack. The original Bridge and pickup were long gone.
I did have replacement Bridge/Tailpiece. The tunebility of these bridges being somewhat limited I would be would go with a Hipshot replacement. But I would make sure the body could also accept the stock Bridge if I changed my mind later. I lucked out one day and snagged a Bridge Pickup assembly from the Rick Boutique.
I would reuse the Jack plate.
I had a plan. But repairing the body would be the real work. The first conclusion I came to was the original color, Maple Glo, would be impossible for me to pull off because of the missing pieces. I could fill in the pieces but the grain would never match and I didn’t think I could blend in the piece of the dark stripe that was missing. It would have to be painted an opaque color.
I did not have another Rick to make templates off of so I used Photoshop. I overlaid photos of my Rick along with photos of several complete 4001’s to figure out the exact size and shape of the missing upper piece. I was able to print this full size. From this I made a template. I also made templates of the missing bridge and pickup areas. Later I came across a vintage Rick at a music store. I traced the body outline on some paper and compared it to mine. I was dead on.
I started by sanding off all of the paint, most of which had held pretty good. Some areas I used Bix stripper. Using the templates, I cut the missing pieces from a chunk of Maple leaving them slightly over sized. I would need to trim of more of the body at the top because I needed a clean straight surface to bond to. I glued and clamped the pieces in place and let them dry. The next step was to shape the new piece on the upper tail. I did this by block sanding by hand, being careful not to take off too much, until I arrived at the proper shape.
Next I removed the old binding. This was easy for the most part. There were a few areas that were stubborn. I carefully picked away until it was all removed being careful not to disturb the wood around the binding. I did not want to re-router the entire body, just blend in the new piece. I set up the hand router to the exact depth and proceeded carefully.
I used white plastic binding and corresponding router bit from Stewart-MacDonald that matched the original thickness. I would trim and sand flush with the body later. I used one of my wife’s high powered hairdryers to warm them up and worked them into the proper shape by hand. I then started gluing and taping them in place about 6” at a time starting at the neck working my way back. Next I sanded them flush with the body.
I then laid down a few coats of automotive primer to seal the grain and level any slight imperfections.
The neck was straight but was in dire need of refret. The inlays and neck binding were extremely yellow compared to the new binding. I hired the services of a professional for this. Mike Koontz from Koontz Guitar repair located in Ferndale Michigan. I met him at his shop and explained what I was doing. He is very knowledgeable about Rickenbackers and dual truss rods and has as over 30 years of experience. Also, judging by the caliber of some of the instruments in his shop it was obvious that a lot of people with some rare axes trust him. Mike did a fantastic job. I was very happy with the fret board and fret work. The set up was exactly as I wanted. He left the fret board bare as instructed, I would clear coat this at the same time I top coated the rest with 2 part Polyurethane clear.
After some more priming and sanding I was ready for the color coat. I chose the Plum Crazy Purple after seeing it sprayed on a new Dodge Challenger.
I wanted the bass to have a unique look while remaining, for the most part, original in appearance. The original Maple-Glo was no longer an option because of the grain miss-match of the new wood.
Spraying Polyurethane was a new experience. It is actually easy to work with. I shot it in my driveway…no paint booth
I had to chose still days with little wind and before the Cotton wood fuzz started to fly.
Scraping the binding was an interesting experience. I developed a technique using a single edged razor and a tongue depressor that worked great. I masked the sides with striping tape and scraped the top.
The next step was to spray the clear coat. This went well. I masked the tops of the frets. I practiced on scrap plastic sheets to get the spray right. I moved it in the garage after shooting to minimize anything landing in the fresh paint.
After letting the clear Poly cure I started the Wet sanding process. 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000.
I rubbed it out with a small wheel using extra fine compound followed by a mirror glaze polish then re-assembled.
I seem to be a project person. I am always involved in something. This project took several months to complete. Spare time is hard to come by with a job and a family so I would put in an hour here and a half hour there. Many thanks to my wife and kids for being so understanding.
Whats next !!!
I played in a band back in the early 1980’s. We were a 4 piece Hard Rock/Metal band that was playing in local clubs. Sometimes headlining, mostly opening for more established bands like Seduce. They ruled Detroit at that time and probably still would if they ever got back together.
My only bass at the time was a bright Red 1981 Washburn Scavenger. The Washburn was a great sounding bass for the type of stuff we were playing then. I played it the majority of the time. The tone was simply awesome. The lows were strong and crisp. There were no holes in the frequency range. The sustain went on forever and you could get it to feed back like a guitar. I used to get tons of compliments and questions about my sound. The great tone is partly due to the Ampeg SVT’s and the fact that the Washburn weighs 12.5 lbs! Tone was the main reason I played this bass.
Early on I realized after blowing a string in the middle of a song I would need a back up bass. I didn’t have much money back then so a new ax was out of the question. Our Drummer told me about a bass that a friend was selling. I looked it over and bought it for $175.00.
I was a Maple Glo 1973 Rickenbacker 4001. It had been refitted with a Badass I bridge and a Low Z jack on the stereo side but other that it was stock. It was showing major cosmetic ware, lots of belt rash, scratches; some chipped binding and wood at the top of the rear and was missing the last fret. It had lived a tough life.
But the action was low and smooth. I could play it with little effort and no back and shoulder pain after long gigs. It felt so light compared to the Washburn. I loved the neck shape. The tone however was a problem for the type of music we were doing. I wanted it to sound like the Washburn. So being young (19) and non-appreciative of the Ricks natural tone, I routered it out for P-Bass pickups. And since I had my tools out, instead of repairing the missing binding, I cut off the entire area at the top rear that had the missing Binding. I sanded it down and painted it metal flake Purple. After the disfiguring modifications, the bass suited me fine…back then.
I didn’t give it much thought at the time. Although Ricks were not common back then, they were not considered rare or desirable. A few years latter I quit the band and went back to college to finish my degree.
Fast forward 24 years latter. I was now married with 3 kids, had moved 4 times and had not played bass for many years. My basses moved with me being stored in closets but stayed in there cases. Than one day I became interested in playing again.
Surprisingly, it only took about a couple of months to get back to the level in which I had left off.
But I had changed. I was now opened minded to the different types and styles of music and appreciative of different tonal qualities. Looking at how I had mutilated the once proud 4001 bummed me out.
OK, enough of that boring history stuff.
As I looked it over I could see the neck was still straight, there were no cracks anywhere. Its case was like a time capsule. I began to realize I could fix this thing. I decided I would restore to original or at least as close to original as was possible for me to do at my skill level. What was my skill level? I had restored old cars and every home I had lived in but this would be my first attempt at a stringed instrument. I felt as if I had nothing to lose by attempting this. The worst thing that could happen would be to mess it up and sell it for parts on Ebay.
I started by disassembling and taking inventory. The curly Grovers, Toaster pickup, Pots, knobs, switch, truss rods and truss rod cover were in great shape. The pick guard had been shortened to fit the P-Bass pickups. The Serial Jack plate was modified on the stereo side to accept a Low Z jack. The original Bridge and pickup were long gone.
I did have replacement Bridge/Tailpiece. The tunebility of these bridges being somewhat limited I would be would go with a Hipshot replacement. But I would make sure the body could also accept the stock Bridge if I changed my mind later. I lucked out one day and snagged a Bridge Pickup assembly from the Rick Boutique.
I would reuse the Jack plate.
I had a plan. But repairing the body would be the real work. The first conclusion I came to was the original color, Maple Glo, would be impossible for me to pull off because of the missing pieces. I could fill in the pieces but the grain would never match and I didn’t think I could blend in the piece of the dark stripe that was missing. It would have to be painted an opaque color.
I did not have another Rick to make templates off of so I used Photoshop. I overlaid photos of my Rick along with photos of several complete 4001’s to figure out the exact size and shape of the missing upper piece. I was able to print this full size. From this I made a template. I also made templates of the missing bridge and pickup areas. Later I came across a vintage Rick at a music store. I traced the body outline on some paper and compared it to mine. I was dead on.
I started by sanding off all of the paint, most of which had held pretty good. Some areas I used Bix stripper. Using the templates, I cut the missing pieces from a chunk of Maple leaving them slightly over sized. I would need to trim of more of the body at the top because I needed a clean straight surface to bond to. I glued and clamped the pieces in place and let them dry. The next step was to shape the new piece on the upper tail. I did this by block sanding by hand, being careful not to take off too much, until I arrived at the proper shape.
Next I removed the old binding. This was easy for the most part. There were a few areas that were stubborn. I carefully picked away until it was all removed being careful not to disturb the wood around the binding. I did not want to re-router the entire body, just blend in the new piece. I set up the hand router to the exact depth and proceeded carefully.
I used white plastic binding and corresponding router bit from Stewart-MacDonald that matched the original thickness. I would trim and sand flush with the body later. I used one of my wife’s high powered hairdryers to warm them up and worked them into the proper shape by hand. I then started gluing and taping them in place about 6” at a time starting at the neck working my way back. Next I sanded them flush with the body.
I then laid down a few coats of automotive primer to seal the grain and level any slight imperfections.
The neck was straight but was in dire need of refret. The inlays and neck binding were extremely yellow compared to the new binding. I hired the services of a professional for this. Mike Koontz from Koontz Guitar repair located in Ferndale Michigan. I met him at his shop and explained what I was doing. He is very knowledgeable about Rickenbackers and dual truss rods and has as over 30 years of experience. Also, judging by the caliber of some of the instruments in his shop it was obvious that a lot of people with some rare axes trust him. Mike did a fantastic job. I was very happy with the fret board and fret work. The set up was exactly as I wanted. He left the fret board bare as instructed, I would clear coat this at the same time I top coated the rest with 2 part Polyurethane clear.
After some more priming and sanding I was ready for the color coat. I chose the Plum Crazy Purple after seeing it sprayed on a new Dodge Challenger.
I wanted the bass to have a unique look while remaining, for the most part, original in appearance. The original Maple-Glo was no longer an option because of the grain miss-match of the new wood.
Spraying Polyurethane was a new experience. It is actually easy to work with. I shot it in my driveway…no paint booth
I had to chose still days with little wind and before the Cotton wood fuzz started to fly.
Scraping the binding was an interesting experience. I developed a technique using a single edged razor and a tongue depressor that worked great. I masked the sides with striping tape and scraped the top.
The next step was to spray the clear coat. This went well. I masked the tops of the frets. I practiced on scrap plastic sheets to get the spray right. I moved it in the garage after shooting to minimize anything landing in the fresh paint.
After letting the clear Poly cure I started the Wet sanding process. 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000, 2500, 3000.
I rubbed it out with a small wheel using extra fine compound followed by a mirror glaze polish then re-assembled.
I seem to be a project person. I am always involved in something. This project took several months to complete. Spare time is hard to come by with a job and a family so I would put in an hour here and a half hour there. Many thanks to my wife and kids for being so understanding.
Whats next !!!
Project start...Dismantle and take inventory
I have nothing to lose
Filling in the holes, Bonding, Binding, Basic Hand tools
A new experence.
Refret, Primer surfacing, Color coat, Binding scraping
I started to get a little nervous about this point
Plum Crazy Purple !!!
...with some Chrome, White and a touch of Wood
The Devil is in the Details
I wish I looked this good up close.
The hardware was in pretty good shape considering what the bass had been through
The truss cover was in great shape
Pickguardian Pickguard
It matched the color and translucency of the original and fit the holes perfectly
I know the bridge is controversial but reversible, the playability is outstanding
Too bad about the Jackplate...I can't fix that
No belt rash anymore
This metallic paint has a lot of flop
These Grovers look like new
Thank God because I can't afford a set from Ebay
You have done a really good job on the bass, I like the colour of the finish.
ReplyDeleteFantastic job, I am impressed by the attention to detail.
ReplyDeleteCongrats!
Beautiful Job! Love the paint color too! what is it i'd love to paint my daughter's guitar that color
ReplyDeleteThank You. The color is called Plum Crazy Purple. I saw it sprayed on a new Dodge Challenger. It is car paint...Polyurethane with clear coat.
ReplyDeleteMy word, please tell me you could do this for my 4001? Would you be willing to do this again? The only two things mine needs are new frets, binding and the same jetglo finished reapplied. No crazy woodworking/reconstruction stuff.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment ! I am not a luthier by any stretch of the imagination. I did this as more or less a challenge to myself. There are a lot better guys out there that do this professionally. Take a look at the http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum. There is a guy with the screen name of jingle_jangle. His work is amazing.
ReplyDeleteStunning. I too stopped playing for around 25 years (wife / kids / work etc.) When I started playing again, I took my '74 4001 out of her case and she was almost perfectly in tune! Well, good enough for gigging at least. Looking at a relic on eBay that looks good for restoration - just asking too much I feel.
ReplyDelete