Rare 1969 LEFTY Rickenbacker 4001 Bass Original Mapleglo w/ Checkerboard Binding Restoration Project

What you're looking at is an incredibly rare LEFTY 1969 Rickenbacker 4001 bass. Original Mapleglo finish with checkerboard binding. Serial Number "II 535" dates this bass to September of '69 according to Rickenbacker's website

This bass is going to require the touch of an experienced luthier to be made playable again, and is being sold AS-IS for restoration/repair. Here's a breakdown of its condition.

The Good:

The original lefty plexiglass truss rod cover is in very good condition.

Comes with the original knobs

The wiring harness appears to have some original components

The original frets, fingerboard, and crushed pearl inlays are intact and in good shape.

Original Rickenbacker lefty bass case. Latches are rusted and one is slightly bent, but they still function.

The bad:

The bass has a very poor attempt at a diy neck break repair with nails (see photos). The fingerboard seems to all be in one piece.

The body was routed for P/J pickups, also very poorly done.

There is a shim glued/screwed into one of the pickup cavities

There are extra screw holes from the installation of a Fender style bridge.

The previous owner installed a custom pickguard that left more extra screw holes in the body.

There is a small hole in the back of the body from one of the pickup screws being put too far in.

The original pickups, pickguard, tuners, and bridge have been lost to time.

How Rare is this bass?

The short answer? Very. In my research, I could only find one record of another lefty, Maplelgo, Checkerboard 4001 ever listed for sale online. It was listed around a decade ago by Norman's Guitars with an asking price of $9,000. Here's the copy from their listing recovered from an old Talkbass thread:

"NORMAN'S RARE GUITARS Up for sale today is an extremely rare 1971 Rickenbacker 4001 Bass in Mapleglo with checkerboard binding. This is one of 2 checkerboard bound lefty 4001's ever made in mapleglo. According to the Rickenbacker ledger. The bass is in very nice overall condition, I would conservatively rate it an 8.75 out of 10. The bass has been refretted, and a second strap button was added and removed from the back of the body. Other than those two changes, the bass is all original. The bass will ship in it's original black lefty Rickenbacker hardshell case with blue interior. This is a rare chance for all of you McCartney fans to get the real thing, don't let this chance slip away. "

I have been unable to verify their claim regarding only 2 ever being made, but given Rickenbacker's production capacity and the overall lack of factory made left handed instruments during that time period, a number that low likely isn't too far off.

I know the price may seem high given its condition, but I've tried to factor in the rarity and value of the parts that are there (truss rod cover, serial plate, etc.). Open to any reasonable offers.

Once more, this bass will require a significant deal of work to be made playable. I have no doubt that once fully restored this will be an absolute beast of an instrument. 

This is a chance to get a ultra-rare Lefty 1960s Ric bass without having to sell a kidney. Even with the repair costs, you'll still be save thousands compared to what one in good shape would sell for in the current market if one came available. Don't let this one slip away!

*Shipping cost covers full insurance. I work in a guitar store that's done 100s of online sales so it will be packed securely to ensure no further damage.