this is why i should stay outta GC

[BeenDown139]

went in looking for a stand.  got distracted.  it's cute.  it's stereo.  it's my year ('76 - don't ask)
 helluva lot cheeper than that dragon wing.  must. keep.  eyes. on. prize.

[lbpesq]

LOVE the T-shirt!

Bill, tgo

[gearhed289]

Lovely choice! Much nicer than just a stand.

[BeenDown139]

LOVE the T-shirt!

well it was sunday and i'd skipped out on church (dyed in the wool catholic, i am, dontcha know, laddie) 'cause i got special dispensation on account of the auditions we were holding that afternoon.  haven't worn that one to the pancake breakfast.  yet.

pretty good day.  got to play a pretty bass and listen to a pretty young thing do her best with brown eyed girl and gimme 3 steps.  guess i did ok.

[gtrguy]

10% off right now.

[BeenDown139]

10% off right now.

stop.   just. stop.  please.

[BeenDown139]

well i hadda go to the dentist this morning and GC is just up the road so i stopped in for a friendly GC showroom floor lookout-i'm-a-bass-boy-wonder workout.  talked with the dude and came away with this:

$3499 USD.
no case.
no negotiation (it's vintage, dontcha know, laddie!)

nice bass.  pretty good shape for a '76, not much belt-buckle rash, coupla dings no big deal.  i guess it's gotta be on the showroom floor 90 days before they'll entertain offers.  obtw, there's 3 of her sisters hanging on the wall, 2 blonds and a fire-engine red one.  i'm not a ric maven, but i think one had whatcha call toaster pickups.  they all came from a 27-piece collection.

coulda pulled the trigger but i walked.  it's about half the weight of the MKdeluxe.  gonna be giggin soon, definitely something to think about.  but i think with those terms, maybe GC pounds sand for a while and i dream of a dragonwing.  again.  and again.

[hieronymous]

It looks like it's in really good shape for a '76 - I have a '76 and love it, but it's also a temperamental beast that has required a fair amount of maintenance over the years. $3500 sounds high to me.

[Songdog]

I think they'll get that price for it eventually, if they don't mind having it hanging there for a good while. Collectors gonna collect.

By '76, RIC had phased out some desirable features on the 4001: no more checker binding, no more full-width crushed pearl inlays, no toaster pickup or older "transitional" bridge pickup, neck pickup moved closer to the bridge, tailpiece was prone to bending up under string tension. Of course, they still had the "skunk stripe" neck (three piece with a center schedua strip) which was incredibly stable.

If that's really what a '76 is going for, I wonder what I could get for my '72... that plus my "music" savings account might add up to the short scale Series I I'm dreaming of... but nah, I have too much history with that bass, ain't letting it go. Then again, I'd probably play the Series I a lot more than the Rick is getting out these days.

Dang you, see what you got me doing?

[StephenR]

coulda pulled the trigger but i walked.  it's about half the weight of the MKdeluxe.  gonna be giggin soon, definitely something to think about.  but i think with those terms, maybe GC pounds sand for a while and i dream of a dragonwing.  again.  and again.

Half the weight and none of the Alembic tone you love... think you need to stay out of GC, especially if baked. Better off practicing and putting time into finding a singer so your newest project doesn't implode... my rather worthless 2 cents.

[BeenDown139]

It looks like it's in really good shape for a '76 - I have a '76 and love it, but it's also a temperamental beast that has required a fair amount of maintenance over the years. $3500 sounds high to me.

yeah i dunno ric pricing which is another reason i backed out. 

i gigged a mid-70's ric in the mid 80's and it was the most tempramental instrument i've ever owned. much more than my hygrometer option essence fretless 5. 
it was a sweet bass.  kinda like running into an old friend after decades apart,  i'll say that.

Better off practicing and putting time into finding a singer so your newest project doesn't implode... my rather worthless 2 cents.

don't sell yerself short.  that's kinda the mantra i've been chanting but there's all these distractions lately.

dunno if it's old age or these modern times but getting a band put together these days is a star-spangled....botheration.  don't remember it being this tuff in the old days.  got the core together.  another round of singer auditions this weekend.

kinda interesting the looks i get when the prospects stumble into into the basement dungeon and there's this old gargoyle holding a drop-dead knockout georgous bass.  not sure i'd get the same response with a ric.  besides, no neck LEDs.  that's what killed the last deal.

[cozmik_cowboy]

A Ric without checkerboard?  Why would that be a temptation?

Leave it with the Evil Empire.

Peter ( who does, yeah. does lean toward classic details.  Unless they're, like, maple 'boards & TR nuts at the heel & non-adjustable TRs & such)

[gtrguy]

My less than perfect 2.5 cents worth:

Checkerboard went away in 74. Some 74's built in the summer had red neck side dots (rare) as the company ran out of black plastic ones. Sometime in early 75 the neck pickup moved back a bit, making for slightly less lows but a more solid neck. Always look for the notorious bridge lift on those old Ricks. Make sure you get the original case. 74 and older are more expensive, and they seem to go up more by each year as they get older than 75. I (and others) think 74 and older ones sound better. These old 4001s have a 3rd tone cap in the bridge pickup circuit that cuts out some low end. I don't like it, but if you have a really nice condition bass and care about how original it is, you might leave it in.  The newer 4003s have a push/pull tone pot that tries to replicate the sound of the older ones (I don't think that they do). And yes, I think $3500 is high for that bass.

[gtrguy]

Oh, and some of those old Ricks had Grover tuners, which look way cool but seem to be less reliable. (pics from my workbench a couple years back)

[BeenDown139]

used  hte S2 last night for an hour or so while i worked on my new ball and chain set list.  there's some days that thing just freaking howls when i gets frisky with it.  last night was one of them.  kinda gave me a little perspective as to what i have and made me snap out of it as in wtf was i thinking?

think you need to stay out of GC, especially if baked.

that's my rule for grocery shopping, actually.  i save a lotta $ that way.