Ricky 4001 Bass: Unboxing & Mock Build

Got a cool birthday present in the mail today - a spanking new RC-4 kit from Pitbull Guitars. I've been coveting one of these bad boys ever since the day Adam & co. announced they were stocking them, and I'm very happy to say that I'm finally in possession of one.

Unboxing the kit from Pitbull Guitars.

As usual, the kit itself arrived from Pitbull in great shape. The three piece body sports some nice grain, has no dents and while there's a couple of tiny glue marks on the front face, it's nothing a little Goof-off and some elbow grease won't fix. There's also a small knot up on the top horn, and while this won't be a hassle if I choose a solid colour, it may resist stain if I go that way.

Three piece basswood body has some killer grain happening.

The cavity and neck routes all look great, and the neck pocket fit is good and tight. The neck itself is nice and straight, and the grain on the rosewood fretboard looks amazing! All in all I'm very happy with the fit and finish from Pitbull.

The grain on the rosewood fretboard is also really awesome.

The mock build went together reasonably painlessly, with only the location of the bridge still giving me a few headaches. This time around the Stewmac fret position calculator was of minimal help because of the non-standard bridge type on this kit. I think in the end I'll take a guess at the position given the bridge's similarity to the standard Fender bass bridge.

Mock build without the bridge is just a neck.

Ever since I planned the Stone Roses Tribute build based on a Pitbull Guitars RC-1, what I *really* wanted to do was a bass. It was Manny's Rickenbacker 4005 that was the original inspiration for the tribute build, so yes - a 4001 Pollocked bass is something I've dreamt about for some time.

Mani's Pollocked Rickenbacker 4005.

Thing is, now that I see this kit and the amazing grain on the body, I'm very conflicted. Should I really cover all that lovely grain up with paint? I've always loved the 4001 Fireglo and blue burst models and would kill to own one, so the idea of doing a burst on this kit is very appealing to me.

A Blue-burst Rickenbacker 4001. A Beauty to Behold.

What a hard choice! It's something I will ponder in the days to come. I may well try the blue burst at first, with the Pollock as a good fallback option if I don't like the result. Hmm, choices...