RICKENBACKER MODEL 4002 BASS GUITAR Mapleglo Finish | Early 1982 | Near-Mint / Essentially Unplayed

From the Richard Davis Collection | International Guitar Museum | Durham, NC

THE RAREST RICKENBACKER EVER MADE — AND THIS MAY BE THE FINEST SURVIVING EXAMPLE

Fewer than 100 Rickenbacker Model 4002 basses were ever produced. Production ran from 1975 to 1984. A reissue is permanently impossible — the imported ebony required for the fingerboard is now on the endangered species list. What exists is all that will ever exist. This is one of them, and in this condition, it may be one of a kind.

This bass is offered by the International Guitar Museum on behalf of the Richard Davis Collection — one of the most respected private guitar archives in the world, with over 1,200 instruments documented through the International Musical Instrument Registry (IMIR) in Luxembourg. It comes with something no other 4002 on the market can offer: a personal letter from F.C. Hall — the founder of Rickenbacker — dated March 18, 1983, addressed to a previous owner of this specific instrument.

WHY THE 4002 IS IN A CLASS BY ITSELF

The 4002 was the most technically advanced and most expensive bass Rickenbacker ever produced — a deluxe evolution of the legendary 4001, built for professional studio and stage use at the highest level. It was never a limited edition by design. It simply did not sell in large numbers because of its premium price ($1,250 in 1977, roughly $6,500 today), and production ended when John Hall took over and discontinued slow-moving models. The result: a production run so small that F.C. Hall himself described it publicly as "as rare as hen's teeth."

No celebrity association is needed to justify the value of this instrument. The 4002 is the celebrity.

COMPLETE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

BODY

• Construction: Neck-through-body — the neck runs as a single piece through the full length of the instrument, the strongest and most resonant configuration possible
• Body wings: Select Birdseye and Curly Maple — the finest figured maple Rickenbacker sourced, visible in the Mapleglo natural finish
• Body binding: Checkered multi-ply block binding — a feature exclusive to the 4002, not found on any other Rickenbacker production bass
• Body finish: Mapleglo (natural) — one of only two finishes ever offered on the 4002 (Mapleglo and Walnut only; no Fireglo was ever produced, as confirmed by F.C. Hall)
• Body shape: Classic Rickenbacker cresting wave double cutaway

NECK

• Material: Solid Flamed Maple with contrasting Walnut center stripe running the full length of the through-neck
• Headstock: Cresting wave profile; black binding throughout; contrasting Walnut headstock wings — a visual signature unique to the 4002
• Headstock logo: Black plastic truss rod cover with Rickenbacker logo
• Truss rods: Dual independent truss rods, adjustable at the headstock end
• Nut width: Approximately 1⅝ inches (41mm) — the slim, fast Rickenbacker profile
• Neck profile: Thin C-shape, approximately 22mm depth at first fret — one of the fastest neck profiles on any production bass of the era
• Neck binding: Black binding on both fingerboard edges and headstock

FINGERBOARD

• Material: Imported Ebony — harder, faster, and more sustaining than rosewood; now on the endangered species list, making reproduction of this instrument impossible
• Inlays: Pearl-style dot markers (distinct from the triangle inlays used on the 4001 and 4003)
• Fret count: 21 frets
• Fingerboard radius: Approximately 7.25 inches — the vintage Rickenbacker radius, favored for its comfortable feel under the fretting hand
• Fingerboard binding: Black

SCALE AND DIMENSIONS

• Scale length: 33½ inches — the long-scale Rickenbacker specification (slightly longer than the 4003's 33¼ inches; identical to the 4001)
• Overall length: Approximately 44⅛ inches
• Approximate weight: 9 lbs — typical for the Rickenbacker cresting wave platform

PICKUPS

• Configuration: Two custom passive humbucking pickups (no active preamp — entirely passive electronics)
• Pickup design: Side-by-side dual coil — one coil handles the E and A strings; one handles the D and G strings; this configuration mirrors the Fender Precision Bass pickup design while delivering the Rickenbacker sonic character
• Pickup position: Both pickups repositioned significantly closer to the bridge than on any other Rickenbacker bass — specifically matched to the Fender Jazz Bass pickup locations, producing a brighter, more articulate fundamental than the 4001
• Neck pickup impedance: High impedance (~8k ohms), voiced for traditional amplifier use
• Bridge pickup: Dual-winding design — the most technically innovative feature of the entire instrument:
• • Primary winding: High-impedance (~8k ohms) for standard amplifier or Rick-O-Sound stereo output
  • Secondary low-impedance winding (~2.5–3k ohms): Feeds the XLR balanced output exclusively — the only production bass of its era with this capability

ELECTRONICS AND OUTPUT SYSTEM The 4002 is not just a bass. It is a complete signal routing system. Three independent output configurations can be used simultaneously:

1. Standard mono ¼-inch output — all pickups blended to a single amplifier in the traditional manner
2. Rick-O-Sound stereo ¼-inch output — splits the neck and bridge pickup signals to two separate ¼-inch jacks, allowing each pickup to feed a dedicated amplifier, effects chain, or recording channel independently
3. Low-impedance XLR balanced output — the bridge pickup's secondary low-impedance winding feeds a balanced XLR jack for direct connection to a studio mixing console or recording interface, with no DI box required

• Controls: Four individual controls — separate volume and tone for each pickup — plus one pickup selector/blend switch, all pickguard-mounted
• Wiring: Designed by Rickenbacker's internal electronics specialist; more sophisticated than any other production bass of the period
• Output jack plate: Chrome stereo input plate carrying all three outputs; the letters stamped on this plate indicate the year and month of production for dating purposes

HARDWARE

• Bridge: Chrome 4-saddle adjustable bass bridge with integrated string mute assembly — original Rickenbacker specification
• Pickguard: 4-ply laminated custom pickguard (black/white/black/white) — a hallmark of the 4002 that no other Rickenbacker model shared
• Tuners: Chrome Schaller M-4 sealed tuning machines — the professional-grade hardware that distinguished the 4002 from the 4001
• Knobs: Original Rickenbacker heptagonal (7-sided) black plastic knobs — included with this instrument; the first owner replaced them with an alternative style, which is installed on the bass; both sets are included in the sale
• Strap buttons: Original Rickenbacker specification

PRODUCTION DETAILS — THIS INSTRUMENT

• Year of manufacture: Early 1982 — among the final instruments produced before discontinuation
• Production period: 1975 (introduced) to 1984 (discontinued)
• Total production: Estimated well under 200 examples across all years; possibly fewer than 100 confirmed by F.C. Hall's public statement
• Available finishes: Mapleglo and Walnut only — F.C. Hall personally confirmed no Fireglo 4002 was ever produced
• Serial number: Encoded in the letters and digits on the chrome output jack plate

CONDITION

Near-mint to essentially unplayed. The instrument shows no meaningful wear to the finish, frets, or hardware. Most sellers would call this Mint or New Old Stock. We will let the photographs speak. For a 43-year-old bass of this rarity, this condition is simply extraordinary. We do not believe another 4002 in this condition exists in the current market — and we have looked.

One noted exception: The original Rickenbacker knobs were replaced by the first owner, who preferred a different look. The original Rickenbacker knobs are included with the instrument and will be delivered with it.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

✔ The bass guitar in the condition described ✔ Original hardshell Rickenbacker case with raised lettering — excellent condition ✔ Original owner's manual ✔ Original Rickenbacker heptagonal knobs (as replaced by first owner) ✔ Personal letter from F.C. Hall, founder of Rickenbacker, dated March 18, 1983, addressed to a previous owner of this specific instrument — describing the Model 4002 in detail ✔ Copies of supporting documentation establishing chain of ownership ✔ Certificate of Authenticity from the Richard Davis Collection ✔ Transferable IMIR title (International Musical Instrument Registry, Luxembourg)

IN F.C. HALL'S OWN WORDS

From the personal letter included with this instrument:

"The features of this instrument were very exclusive. Body made of Birdseye and Curly Maple finished in Mapleglo or Walnut. Deluxe block binding. Laminated custom pickguard. Laminated fully bound Maple neck and head. Imported Ebony fingerboard with pearl style inlays. 21 frets on a 33½-inch scale. Two super high gain humbucking pickups. Individual tone and volume controls for each pickup. Separate Rick-O-Sound stereo and mono output jack. Special low impedance output jack for direct connection with recording studio control board."

From a public forum Q&A, when asked whether a bass spotted on television was a 4002:

"Sure it was a 4002? We only produced those in Walnut and Maple finishes. The ebony fingerboard would be the most noticeable difference. These basses are as rare as hen's teeth, since so few were produced." — F.C. Hall

THE MARKET IN 2026: WHY THIS IS THE RIGHT MOMENT TO BUY

In March 2026, the Christie's auction of the Jim Irsay Collection realized $94.5 million — 136% above estimate — and set 28 world records for vintage instrument values. Jerry Garcia's guitar sold for $11.56 million. David Gilmour's Stratocaster sold for $14.55 million. The auction permanently repriced authenticated, documented vintage instruments as institutional-grade assets, and established a simple truth: in a market where supply is fixed and decreasing, and where documentation is the primary value driver, condition and provenance are everything.

This 4002 has both in extraordinary measure.

Current asking prices on Reverb for 4002 examples in played condition run approximately $20,000. Private sales of 1977–1978 examples in good-plus condition reached $9,500–$9,750 — and those transactions predated the Irsay repricing by several years and did not include provenance documentation of this quality. This 1982 example is in near-mint condition, carries an F.C. Hall letter, and comes from the Richard Davis Collection — one of the most recognized private collections in the vintage guitar market. Research consistently documents that instruments from established collections of this stature command premiums of 40% to 100%+ above comparable uninstructed pieces. Reverb

A reproduction 4002 will almost certainly never be produced. The fingerboard requires ebony, and many varieties of that wood are now on the endangered species list. Rickenbacker now uses only farm-sustainable woods in the manufacturing of its instruments. Vintage Guitar

This bass will increase in value. No more will ever be made. The pool of surviving examples only shrinks over time.

FOR THE PLAYER

The 4002 was not just a bass. It was a routing system. The Jazz Bass-positioned passive humbuckers deliver a tonal range unavailable on any other Rickenbacker. The Rick-O-Sound stereo system allows each pickup to run to a separate amplifier or effects chain. The XLR low-impedance output connects directly to a studio console or interface with no DI box required — a capability that was essentially unheard of on any production bass in 1982. A player could run a standard mono signal into a single amplifier, split the pickups to separate amps via the Rick-O-Sound stereo output, or send the low-impedance bridge winding directly to a mixing desk while simultaneously feeding the remaining pickups into a stage rig. The ebony fingerboard provides a speed and sustain that rosewood cannot match. This instrument plays as remarkably as it looks. Market.usMarket.us

ABOUT THE SELLER

This bass is offered by the International Guitar Museum in Durham, North Carolina, on behalf of the Richard Davis Collection — a 26-year curated archive of 1,200+ vintage guitars and amplifiers spanning 175 brands from 12 countries, authenticated through the International Musical Instrument Registry in Luxembourg. Every instrument offered carries full documentation, a Certificate of Authenticity, and a transferable IMIR title that cleanly establishes legal ownership for the buyer.