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Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 13th, 2020, 2:22 pm
by tim
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 13th, 2020, 5:41 pm
by tomdbass
Hmmm......nope.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 13th, 2020, 5:46 pm
by Matt R.
tomdbass wrote:Hmmm......nope.
Seconded.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 13th, 2020, 6:52 pm
by paulo
...And another nope!
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 15th, 2020, 7:30 am
by pjmuck
You could go the cheap Asian knockoff route for a lot cheaper:
http://dcustomguitar.com/custom-paul-mc ... xtEALw_wcB
Didn't Ronn from The Eggmen own one of these? I don't think he's been on our forum for years though.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 15th, 2020, 7:36 am
by Matt R.
Yeah he had it refinished though
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 15th, 2020, 8:54 pm
by thumbslam
All custom work was done by Famous Guitar Replicas who did an absolutely amazing job
just sit on that for a moment
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 15th, 2020, 10:28 pm
by Carmine
Help me understand, maybe it’s just me... what is the attraction... if anybody else took a Rick and F-ed up the finish like this, they’d be an idiot- but because McCartney did it, it’s cool? Did anyone actually think his looked good? I guess if you’re in a Beatles cover band... but somebody paid good money to have this done?

Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 2:11 am
by Upsidedown
I thought it was just me because I generally don't "get" much visual art. Design is something I'm very much into, and that "artwork" just sh!ts all over a classic and beautiful instrument design.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 4:00 am
by LHBASSIST
Before he was Sir Paul, he was a great bassist/composer/singer- in the World's pre-eminent rock/ pop band. Remember- he was given that Rickenbacker as I recall- and in that period, he and his mates were experimenting with psychedeic drugs. 'Nuff said.
I know he had that finish removed, I think it's a cream color now.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 5:03 am
by ch willie
LHBASSIST wrote:Before he was Sir Paul, he was a great bassist/composer/singer- in the World's pre-eminent rock/ pop band. Remember- he was given that Rickenbacker as I recall- and in that period, he and his mates were experimenting with psychedeic drugs. 'Nuff said.
I know he had that finish removed, I think it's a cream color now.
He sanded it down to the natural wood, and that's how it remained, unfinished. It changed the dimensions of the horns and body.
He hasn't used it live in years, though I know he was still using it for sound checks in the 90s.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 7:12 am
by Jeroen
ch willie wrote:LHBASSIST wrote:Before he was Sir Paul, he was a great bassist/composer/singer- in the World's pre-eminent rock/ pop band. Remember- he was given that Rickenbacker as I recall- and in that period, he and his mates were experimenting with psychedeic drugs. 'Nuff said.
I know he had that finish removed, I think it's a cream color now.
He sanded it down to the natural wood, and that's how it remained, unfinished. It changed the dimensions of the horns and body.
Yep! Rickenbacker sold a tribute version for a while, the 4001c64s.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 9:41 am
by pjmuck
ch willie wrote:LHBASSIST wrote:Before he was Sir Paul, he was a great bassist/composer/singer- in the World's pre-eminent rock/ pop band. Remember- he was given that Rickenbacker as I recall- and in that period, he and his mates were experimenting with psychedeic drugs. 'Nuff said.
I know he had that finish removed, I think it's a cream color now.
He sanded it down to the natural wood, and that's how it remained, unfinished. It changed the dimensions of the horns and body.
He hasn't used it live in years, though I know he was still using it for sound checks in the 90s.
Yep, and despite the major hatchet job he did on it, it remains the most valuable Rick in the world thanks to it being his.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 9:56 am
by Carmine
We all appreciate the historical value of
his actual original bass- but you have to go deep down the rabbit hole of fandom to invest a perfectly good Rick and a bunch of money on replicating something as hideous as that finish... even Macca himself sanded it off

Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 9:58 am
by tomdbass
Chris Squire did a similar “custom” refinishing to his Ric prior to Yes. He had it stripped off and refinished in an off white.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 10:13 am
by ch willie
pjmuck wrote:ch willie wrote:LHBASSIST wrote:Before he was Sir Paul, he was a great bassist/composer/singer- in the World's pre-eminent rock/ pop band. Remember- he was given that Rickenbacker as I recall- and in that period, he and his mates were experimenting with psychedeic drugs. 'Nuff said.
I know he had that finish removed, I think it's a cream color now.
He sanded it down to the natural wood, and that's how it remained, unfinished. It changed the dimensions of the horns and body.
He hasn't used it live in years, though I know he was still using it for sound checks in the 90s.
Yep, and despite the major hatchet job he did on it, it remains the most valuable Rick in the world thanks to it being his.
If my 4001 wasn't bound, I'd have it sanded down too. I was 8 years old in 1970 and was a huge Beatles fan. When I was 12 and started playing bass, I wanted a 4001s so bad. I had and still have a huge poster of McCartney playing it, a close up. For the next 5 years, I wanted one so much. finally got a job that allowed me to save and buy one in maple glo, my fave instrument still. In short, I love his sanding job on the Ric. Wish I had one of those special run Macca basses they made.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 1:30 pm
by Jeroen
tomdbass wrote:Chris Squire did a similar “custom” refinishing to his Ric prior to Yes. He had it stripped off and refinished in an off white.
Wasn't Squire's 4001 also shaved down a few mm to make the body thinner?
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 2:37 pm
by tomdbass
Jeroen wrote:tomdbass wrote:Chris Squire did a similar “custom” refinishing to his Ric prior to Yes. He had it stripped off and refinished in an off white.
Wasn't Squire's 4001 also shaved down a few mm to make the body thinner?
I think you may be right Jeroen. I remember reading something like that about it.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 16th, 2020, 2:56 pm
by ch willie
I believe you're right about Chris Squire's 4001s. It's an amazing bass too. I won't put flats on mine because I love the growl that Rics get, like his.
Re: Rickenbacker with Paul McCartney finish -- $2,800 Reverb
Posted: May 17th, 2020, 1:55 am
by Upsidedown
As a Brit, so many players I saw as a kid used the S models I had no idea until much later that they were not the standard design.