4005/8 and 4003/8 ?'s

john · Post by **john** » Wed Aug 07, 2002 2:46 am

I have been trying to do research on the 4000/8, especially the 4005/8wb I saw in a Japanese collection. Were these basses one off's, or were there more then 10 or so actually made?
Has one been up for sale in the last few years? Has anyone here actually seen or played one?

Also, on a standard issue Ric 8, is the neck the same width as the 4 string? Or is it made wider to accomodate the extra strings? Are these basses as neck heavy as they appear to be?

thanks, I'm new here, this is a great site.
john

dminer · Post by **dminer** » Wed Aug 07, 2002 10:00 am

John, I have a 76 4001 and an 87 4003S8 the necks appear to be the same width at the nut and at the body (approx 1 1/8" at the nut and 1 1/4" at the body.) They also appear to be the same width (thickness) from the back of the neck to the fretboard. However because of the extra keys and length on the headstock the 4003S8 is slightly top heavy and a little off balance, similar to my Gibson Thunderbird. You should be able to locate the exact neck measurements somewhere on the Rickenbacker website. Good Luck

rick12dr · Post by **rick12dr** » Wed Aug 07, 2002 9:26 pm

David; I think you misread your ruler[or mis typed], but a 4001 neck is typically 1 5/8" at the nut and 2 1/4" at the body[or is it 2 1/8"?]

banta · Post by **banta** » Thu Aug 08, 2002 4:16 pm

I had a '93 4003S/8, and the neck was the same width as the standard 4003 4 string, that is, 1/8" wider than the 4001. The headstock was the only place the dimensions were increased on the 8 string, and being as large as it was made it fairly top heavy, along with the 8 full-size Schaller tuners. (No minis as is the norm for other 8 strings.)

dminer · Post by **dminer** » Fri Aug 09, 2002 4:59 am

Don, You're right! Duh, What I meant to say was 1 5/8" and 2 1/4". The point being that it was the same for the 4001 and the 4003S8. Now, my Hofner is a different story with 1 1/2" and 1 7/8", that's a skinny neck!!

banta · Post by **banta** » Sat Aug 10, 2002 7:00 am

No, the 4003S/8 is the same as the 4003. The 4001 is 1/8" narrower.

dminer · Post by **dminer** » Tue Aug 13, 2002 9:03 pm

Brad, I re-measured with a more precise ruler and my 4001 is 1 11/16" not 1/8" narrower at 1 9/16". I don't know if ric produced 2 neck sizes for the 4001 but mine is certainly a 76 4001 ric and the exact same width as my 87 4008s.

banta · Post by **banta** » Wed Aug 14, 2002 5:31 am

Sorry David, I got mixed up with the 4003S/5 which is 1/8" wider @1 13/16". doh!