i have noticed that the 4001 basses built in the seventies have a narrow walnut colored stripe running the length of the bass, most noticeable on fireglo and mapleglo basses. it seems that 60's basses as well as 90's bass dont have this, but rather a much, much wider piece of wood running thru the center of the bass. what years did rickenbacker use the narrow walnut stripe, and why did they abandon it? it may just be my opinion, but i think the basses with the stripe of walnut sound better than the other type.
anyone else know anything about this? care to comment, mark ?
Walnut strip running thru 4001 basses . . .
Moderator: jingle_jangle
The stripe ,to my ears , has little to do with it .
The pickups and the rod reinforcement however do.
The more solid the neck , the less dead spots .
opinion or fact .......FACT ! proven by nearly all companies over the years.
The thin stripe was generally Shedua , not walnut .
The maple has always been eastern hardrock maple .
The pickups ........there is lots of variations .
I would say , if you could find a dealer with every variation of 4000 series basses made since 1984 and listened to them , you would hear the pickup variations.
But the 1950' ...the 1960's ... the 1970's , have little in common other than the general shape .
This is comparable to Fender and the P Bass in many ways .
The pickups and the rod reinforcement however do.
The more solid the neck , the less dead spots .
opinion or fact .......FACT ! proven by nearly all companies over the years.
The thin stripe was generally Shedua , not walnut .
The maple has always been eastern hardrock maple .
The pickups ........there is lots of variations .
I would say , if you could find a dealer with every variation of 4000 series basses made since 1984 and listened to them , you would hear the pickup variations.
But the 1950' ...the 1960's ... the 1970's , have little in common other than the general shape .
This is comparable to Fender and the P Bass in many ways .
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!
-
rickbass
No , in fact I believe the new instruments to be way better ...the color may not be the classic Fireglo , but the guitar as a whole is superior in almost every aspect .
The old Toaster/Hoseshoe bass set up was great , but unreliable in longevity.
The old fret board radius varied from guitar to guitar .
The tuners......yuck
The bass bridges on pre 1971 basses ...have you ever seen one!?!?!?!? looks like high school metal shop!
The old bridges on the guitars were really inconsistant in tooling and workmanship .
The rods ....I'll bet you have not dealt with them first hand!
All of these inconsistancies are gone .They are all wonderful to deal with .
No they do not have the snobby vintage thing .
But as a guitar goes ....the post 1984 Ricks are great .
I have worked on EVERY Era of Ricks .....these are the easiest , most reliable , user friendly guitar they have ever made .Period.
The old Toaster/Hoseshoe bass set up was great , but unreliable in longevity.
The old fret board radius varied from guitar to guitar .
The tuners......yuck
The bass bridges on pre 1971 basses ...have you ever seen one!?!?!?!? looks like high school metal shop!
The old bridges on the guitars were really inconsistant in tooling and workmanship .
The rods ....I'll bet you have not dealt with them first hand!
All of these inconsistancies are gone .They are all wonderful to deal with .
No they do not have the snobby vintage thing .
But as a guitar goes ....the post 1984 Ricks are great .
I have worked on EVERY Era of Ricks .....these are the easiest , most reliable , user friendly guitar they have ever made .Period.
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!
-
rickbass