I have always wanted one of these rare instruments. But then as a kid I also took a shoe box and cut odd holes in it and stuffed a string of blinking Xmas lights in it and grooved over that while playing guitar. Guitar Center also has one for sale for like 15k.


https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/msg/d/portland-rickenbacker-331ls-rare-light/7913236329.html

Whew!  Thank god it's Not the Bass version. One thing of note. I would imagine a fully functional unit is rare considering the fragility of the electronics. There was /is a guy making replicas so I'd go over that one with a fine tooth comb.  It's only 140 miles down the road but i do not want the guitar version.   Around that time (early 70's) I bought the Lite Box version from Radio Shack. I think the circuitry was similar.  One color pulsed with the treble frequencies, another color for midrange, and a third color for bass. Did the Ricks flash randomly or were they frequency-specific? 

Pretty cool

I'm 95% sure I saw a 4005LS (light show) bass version on an an exhibit wall (not for sale) in a music shop in Vancouver BC around 2001. There's only 5 made and 3 in known existence, so maybe I actually dreamed it.

Yea, the Lightshow was a very cool diversion off the great guitar highway.  Never seen one in the flesh.   I've recently been working on another equally strange and rare weirdo: the Bond Electraglide.

Bill, tgo

Never seen one, but have always thought they were just slicker than snot.
Though I have read that (pre-dating LEDs as they do) they get really hot!

Peter (who thinks, should he find one of them, he'd have to get a Nudie-style suit or Elvis jumpsuit made of asbestos.......)

I think they had C-7 incandescent bulbs inside (5watts each) so yes, they generated a bit of heat. I thought extended use caused the plexiglass cover to yellow and crack from the heat.

Kind of like Mike Gordon's bass

https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/mike-gordon-hooks-bass-lines-and-thinkers

Quote from: garyhead on February 15, 2026, 12:24:40 PM
Did the Ricks flash randomly or were they frequency-specific? 

According to Google, the Ricks were red for high, yellow or green for mids, and blue for lows.

Peter

I have played a Bond Electraglide and was not impressed with the sound or anything else.