So, everyone knows I'm a big Rickenbacker nut. I've wanted some of the rarer Rics ever since I started playing...a Ric 4001 from my birth year, a fretless, an 8 string, etc. Well, one evening I was browsing around on the net trying to find music stores in the area we've never been to...a tough job, as we've been to most. I happened to stumble across this music store (Northern Lights Music) in the White Mountains in NH, about 2 hours from I live. And on their website, what do I see?
Why that's a Fretless Ric! So I called them first thing the next morning, as we were already on our way. Turns out the Ric was a consignment sale that had been in the shop for a couple of years (!!!). The owner said that it played beautifully.
Well, when I arrived and had a look myself I was in for a treat. It was labeled as a 1986, but a serial-number search turned up that it was actually a 1981. If you look closely, you'll notice that it has no body binding. That, along with the set neck, makes it a Burgundy 4001SFL. It was a one-owner instrument, and does not look like it spent much time being played. Short of a nick in the side of the neck, in a spot that is of no bother when you're playing, it's in almost perfect condition. Not even any typical headstock dings! There are a couple of cracks in the finish on the fretboard, but they aren't something you can feel. I plugged her in, and she was exactly what I was hoping for...a perfect fretless Ric sound. That gorgeous brightness without the fret clank. The price was crazy low, so home with me she went.
She's definitely got a few quirks. There are side markers at every fret position on the fretboard. It seems like a good idea, in theory, but they're all the same except for the marker at the 12th fret. It's easy to get lost. I use that neck ding to tell me where "A" is on the E-string. Helps me navigate a bit easier. The tuners are the old-school reverse tuners, which take a little getting used to.
If you're a Ric fan, I highly recommend Paul Boyer's all-encompassing book on the history of Ric basses, called "Rickenbacker Electric Bass: 50 Years as Rock's Bottom". He's widely considered the expert, and according to his book, back in the day you could order anything you wanted from Ric, but things like the fretless version of a 4001S weren't in Ric's price book or order sheet. You had to know it was possible to order. He knows of one 4001SFL, which is pictured in his book. Mine makes that known number 2.
It came strung with Pyramid flats, which folks in the Ric club on TalkBass suggested I change out, as they are fairly high tension flats. I put on a set of the new Labella Deep Talking White Tapewounds in order to reduce the stress on that set neck. (The strings are fantastic, btw!). I also didn't love the sound I was getting out of the bridge pup. The 4001s have a .047 capacitor, often called the tone-sucker, that removes bass and mids from the signal on the bridge pup. To me, it sounded nasally. I soldered in a wire to bypass the cap, and it now sounds very, very similar to my 4003.
So that's the story of how I came to be the owner of a little odd-ball piece of bass history. I promised the Rick club a sound clip, so once I've got that done, I'll post it here for you guys to hear, too.
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