r/rickenbacker

Just wanted to share this museum-quality piece that my father passed down to me.

It is a July 1975 Rickenbacker 4001 in the incredibly rare "Autumnglo" finish, 100% original featuring the factory Black Trim (BT) option. The jack plate is clearly stamped with "OG3864".

The dark chocolate brown burst over the gorgeous wood grain is stunning, and the contrast with the black pickguard and truss rod cover is perfect. It still retains the correct mid-70s chrome hardware. The back view is just as spectacular, showing a perfectly straight neck with the beautiful walnut stripe running down the center.

Over the last 50 years, the binding and shark tooth inlays have aged gracefully into a rich, creamy ivory color. My dad took immaculate care of it, and it still plays and sounds like an absolute beast.

This is a priceless family heirloom that I will cherish and play for the rest of my life! Would love to hear your thoughts on this mid-70s beauty.

From when I started playing as a teenager, I was fascinated by Rickenbacker. But they’ve been very rare in my circles and no one around me carries them. I finally rolled the dice on a 620, and couldn’t be happier. Won’t be my last.

I am so grateful to own this bass! I only paid $1,923 brand new out the door! Time to get in the shed

hey y’all,

two years ago, my 2013 4003 was stolen out of my truck in austin, texas after a gig. i got home crazy late from the gig, was exhausted, and figured i’d be safe for a night. i was very wrong. i filed a police report, but obviously nothing came of that. it was one of the most devastating moments of my life. i worked my ass off to buy that bass, my first professional grade instrument, and i must have played 100 gigs with it. i’m not really in a financial position to buy it back at the moment, but i am hoping to at least track it down so that, someday when the current owner wants to sell, i can put in an offer. between the color, the wear pattern, and my modifications, it’s pretty distinctive. i have the serial number and police report on file. i know it’s a long shot, but does anyone here happen to recognize this bass? thanks in advance.

notes:

-it’s got a significant number of small dings. the most unique is one on the bass side waist contour.

-i swapped the white plastics out for black, as seen in the photo

-it is a 2013 model. if someone has a possible hit i’m happy to supply the serial number in DMs. the output jack cover will have a 13 printed separately from the rest of the serial number

-it was in a rickenbacker hard case with a black leather strap, a few cables, and caster wheels from my cabinet. i do not expect that any of those items stayed with the instrument, but who knows

-it hasn’t popped up anywhere on the internet since (i regularly check guitar center, fb marketplace, reverb, google images, etc), so i expect it wound up in a sketchy pawn shop somewhere. police report was filed same day, but for some reason they refused to use my serial number. they said it was incomplete, which makes no sense to me.

Amp is Fender Custom ‘57 Champ

Hello, I have yet to post on here but had a few questions & wanted to see your guy’s input.
I bought this bass brand new back in 2020 & haven’t been able to get much use out of it. Love the vintage look/color & feel of the bass, just never a big fan of active basses. Also, since purchased, there seems to be noise coming from them when all knobs are at full volume.

All that being said I’ve come to 2 options

1. Put it up for grabs
2. Like I said, I love the look & feel of it, but I can’t use it as an every weekend gig bass. Due to the lack of power & the noise it creates.
3. Switch out pickups
4. I’ve been watching lots of passive to active swaps & there’s no easy plug & play option but emg offers many options. There’s even a device to use 2 9v batteries to power up the pickups (kinda like a direct box). Only issue is the pickups not fitting in the “Doritos shaped” slots on the bass. Maybe take it to a shop where they can modify the body to fit one?

What are your guys thoughts?
These don’t really move that easily (getting super low offers)
Or maybe just open it up & see if the wiring isn’t messed up.

Thank you guys!