4005 Dreams

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 6:59 pm

Has any thought been given to the idea of resurrecting the 4005 as a C or V instrument? I know, I know, probably not. Be gentle - it's my first time here!

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 7:48 pm

I believe their has been thought, however, not very serious. It would be very expensive to do and the price of the reissue bass would be more than most could afford. That's the simple answer. I'm sure their are those who can give you a more technical answer re; tooling etc... but that it the long and short of it. I hope that helps.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 8:47 pm

Rickenbacker has no problem selling instruments ... If you order a new Ric today you wait 9 months to get it ... They are doing fine without adding new instruments ... the 4005 is not a practical bass for todays bass player ... sort of like the hofner beatle bass ... it will do the job but the 4001/4003/4004 are much more practical basses because of pickup placement and the the semi-acoustic issue ... how many bass or guitar players play semi-acoustic instruments these days? especially bass players?

Now don't get me wrong ... I'd love to own a 4005 ... Heck I wish I still had my hofner ... why did I trade it in??? oh well I was 20 at the time ...

It would be major cool as a reissue bass ... but i don't think it will happen ...

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Fri Jan 03, 2003 9:26 pm

Talk about the "impossible"...

I'd love to see RIC produce a semi-hollow bass in an enlarged 330 body shape.

A semi-hollow 4001/4003 with a deeper body (2 toaster pickups mounted directly on the body-top like the 4005; Pickguard only for the control area; cat's eye soundhole,etc.) would be ultra-cool.

An acoustic bass in the Jazzbo shape would be nice too.

Ah, I know I'm only dreaming.

jal · Post by **jal** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 9:35 am

This same subject just came up over at he Dude Pit Bass forum & I think Mr. Hall said to retool for a
4005 reissue would cost far to much , something like a $5000 list which is even more then a vintage one goes for these days & if that's really the list I don't know if they could sell that many at that price, I have a nice '65 4005 but I couldn't see paying that much these days for one, however it would be great if Ric did
come out with some kind of updated short or long scale hollow or simi-hollow body bass improving on the 4005, but it just seems that Ric is doing just fine with the models they have out right now so I guess I shouldn't hold my breath!,
Cheers,,
Jaime

aceonbass · Post by **aceonbass** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 1:34 pm

I can't see why it would be so hard to bring back the 4005. The only new parts to make would be the bridge and tailpiece. The neck was essentially a 4001 neck and it was set into a slightly bigger version of a 360 guitar body. In fact using that body now on a new version would save on costs and might look look pretty cool without the longer upper horn. Seems that whenever their's a desire for a really cool product from a company,any company, they say it's too expensive to build when often times it's just a matter of doing a "cut and paste" with existing parts. How 'bout an eight string version with the headstock layed out like the 12-string Rics?

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Sat Jan 04, 2003 4:13 pm

It would require some new tooling and some retooling, and all that would make it too expensive for what RIC thinks the market would bear. And the market would be too limited to bring the price down. And in the end, you would have a feedback-prone bass.

chrispbass · Post by **chrispbass** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 1:05 am

'How many bassplayers play with a semi-acoustic bass'

I do..
The last years I see more and more bassplayers play a semi-acoustic bass. You see some bands like The Strokes with Epiphone Rivoli reissues, I saw some bands with a DeArmond Starfire reissue (Millionaire from Belgium and Edgar Summertime/Jones in the Paul Weller band) and also the Epiphone Jack Casady is quite popular. Yamaha also has a semi-acoustic bass (BEX or something) and Lakland is producing a modern version of an EB-2/Rivoli.
The bassplayer from Manic Street Preachers is playing with a semi-Acoustic Itali (Modena?) and soon he'll receive his hollowbody Italia signature.

eddier · Post by **eddier** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 4:55 am

I agree with Chrispbass, semi-acoustic basses are the trend with many new bands. Even McCartney has dug up his Hofner & the other bassist in his band is using a semi-acoustic (DeArmond?).

Part of this trend is looks, semi's do look cool, but also semi-acoustics add warmth & thump to digital recordings. That vintage thup is the "new" sound.

This reminds me of the fretless bass trend of the late 80's. Back then it seemed everyone on MTV was playing a one (at least in the video) & every 3rd bass in a music store had no frets. That punchy Jaco growl was the "new" sound.

Now how often do you see a fretless, both on TV & in a shop? Fretless basses just weren't practical for the majority of bassists for every gig.

I have nothing against fretless basses,in fact I bought mine in the late 80's.It is just that the current high profile of semi-acoustic's reminds me of that trend. Although semi's are a more practical for the average working bassist.

With that said it would be nice if Rickenbacker did bring back a semi-acoustic. Perhaps they could test market them with some of us here in the forum.

OK I know that's a stretch

chrispbass · Post by **chrispbass** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 5:03 am

Ofcourse there are always trends, like the jumbo-bodied semi-acoustic basses during the MTV Unplugged sessions. maybe this is also only a trend. But I know that also a lot of studio-bassists use Epiphone Jack Casady Signatures or the original Gibson Les Paul Signature Bass. Ocean Colour Scene bassist Damon Minchella uses Fender J's onstage and a Harmony semi for studiowork.
I've got a JCS and it's great. I also own a 1974 4005WB and I don't mind if they reissue them. If they can keep the price 'normal'.

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 5:27 am

It might be cool to see a solid bass but with a 300-ish body style (350 maybe?) and no F-hole. I'd imagine the technical issues would be a lot less complex than carving the insides of a new body type.

Now I'm really dreaming.

iamthebassman · Post by **iamthebassman** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 7:17 am

I'm in a wierd position. I love my Ric basses, but I also like short-scale hollowbody basses. There's a certain "thud" to the sound, and the tension of the strings is different. I also just like the look. I've got a Gibson EB2, Epiphone Rivoli, Hofner 500/1, Phantom Bill Wyman, Jerry Jones Longhorn, Jerry Jones Longhorn BassVI, and Epiphone Viola. I usually string them with flats, except the Joneses. The Gibson is a '66 and has more low-end than any bass I've ever heard.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 7:53 am

Wormdiet and I are sort of having the same dream.

My money is ready if RIC produced a bass in the 330 or 381 bodyshape combined with the 4001/4003 neck, R tailpiece with 2 Toasters, and double-sided binding (preferably "checkered").

Dane's idea of an 8 string semi-hollow version is rather cool! (Dane I like your "CUT AND PASTE" design philosophy.)

Edmond-"Part of this trend is looks, semi's do look cool, but also semi-acoustics add warmth & thump to digital recordings. That vintage thup is the "new" sound."............."it would be nice if Rickenbacker did bring back a semi-acoustic. Perhaps they could test market them with some of us here in the forum."

I can't agree more, Edmond.

In fact, I recently purchased a Michael Kelly QAB II Acoustic Bass which is equipped with piezo pickup under the bridge. Connected to an amp, its amplified sound is warm and woody accompanied by a tranparent sheen provided by the phosphor bronze strings. With flatwound strings, the classic string bass textures comes vividly out of the amp.

Basses with a sounding chamber, IMHO, besides their cool looks, can really provide sound characteristics unfetchable from solid-body basses. They are a gift to bassists who want to expand their sound palletes...especially in the studio where feedback phenomenon are largely reduced.

May our dreams come true.

P.S. A little info on the bass played by Mccartney's current guitarist/bassist: it's a Quild M85.

mortivan · Post by **mortivan** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 9:49 am

Here's the best idea (for us, anyway!): how 'bout a Ric Custom Shop?!

(I know; it won't happen.)

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 10:29 am

GOD PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN AND TAKE US TO RIC HEAVEN.