With its sweeping cutaways and unique body shape, this Rickenbacker 4000 electric bass looked revolutionary when it was introduced in 1961. Features such as a movable mute, which added percussive variety to the strings’ sound, reinforced this impression. The neck, which extended in one piece through the body of the bass, also stood up better to the high-energy music of the 1960s than many other basses of the time. Over the years the Rickenbacker 4000 has been popular with major bass musicians in rock music, including Paul McCartney of the Beatles, John Entwistle of the Who and Chris Squire of Yes.
This model has the shorter upper horn version with a 1 5/8th" body thickness. It has the original pickup and electronics with zero issues. Very loud and clear sounding with all of the classic thump and growl Rickenbacker is known for.
This example is in very good condition for its age with typical body wear. Playability is amazing with very comfortable action up the entire neck. Neck is nice and straight with no twists or warps. Frets are the low profile "fretless wonder" style and have typical wear, but no dead spots. For Ric collectors, this is a prime specimen of a rare model! Do not hesitate to ask us any questions and please inspect photos.
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Year: 1961
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Finish: Mapleglo
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Weight: 10 pounds 10 ounces
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Body wood: Maple
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Neck wood: Maples
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Fretboard wood: rosewood
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Fretboard radius: 7.25" but rounder closer to the nut
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Scale length: 33.25"
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Fret count: 20
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Fret size: "fretless wonder" low profile
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Nut width: 1.75"
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Neck thickness at 1st fret: .91"
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Neck thickness at 12th fret: .93"
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Neck shape/profile: D
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Pickup: original horseshoe
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Case type if any: non-original flight case
