1977 Model 4001 Rickenbacker

This is my first real bass guitar. I bought this bass new in 1977 after a long search for the right guitar. I had been looking at Fender basses and almost bought a Fender P-bass but decided against it and kept looking.

I found this Rickenbacker by accident really. A friend of mine was looking for a couple mic stands and asked me if I wanted to check out a new music store that has recently opened in the area.

After about two hours of driving we found the place. The store was in a very rural part of the county and behind the owners house. There was a small sign in the front yard of the home but we missed it twice while driving around. I also didn't even go in this hole in the wall.

Boy was I surprised when we walked in. The show room was small but it was packed with guitars, amps and other gear. Hanging on the rear wall was an array of acoustic and electric guitars from Fender, Gibson, CF Martin, Ovation and Rickenbacker. There was my future 4001 hanging between two six-string electric Rickenbacker guitars. After playing the bass for almost an hour in the store, I was hooked. I had to have this guitar. Two days later with cash in hand I returned and the Ric came home with me.

For those who have never played or even held a Rickenbacker bass the first thing you notice that this is a heavy guitar and a lot of the weight is toward the neck so it feels a bit unbalanced. This feeling soon disappears. I can't say anything negative about this guitar. It just fits me and it produces the sound I was always looking for. This bass is another guitar that will always be in my collection. We've logged a lot of miles together and made many good memories.

Here's a short run down of the 4001 Model specs.

Model	Rickenbacker 4001	Rickenbacker 4001S / 1999
Available	1961-1986	1964-86
Pickups	2 single coil/horseshoe
Scale	34"
Body	Bound maple	Unbound maple
Neck	Maple and walnut through neck with rosewood (occasionally ebony) fingerboard. Twin truss rods. Bound, with triangle inlays. Fretless models were listed in the catalogue from 1984, but had been available by special order from the 1960s	As the 4001, however unbound neck with dot inlays
Hardware	Two pickups, two volume and two tone controls, selector switch. Stereo Rick-O-Sound wiring first listed from 1971, although available by special order earlier. Nickel or Chrome hardware
Finishes	Sunburst, Cherry, Black, Walnut, Natural, White