21 Fret 4001 Owners, Make Yourselves Known

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Thu Feb 13, 2003 8:12 am

Sorry to be so persistent on the 21 fret 4001 subject. Just out of curiosity, who else in the Forum owns a 21 fret 4001?

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Thu Feb 13, 2003 3:18 pm

I own one, manufactured in Feb '71; Fireglo....
Has Walnut Headstock wings and the usual appointments, with plexiglass thumbrest.
What else would you like to know?

wints · Post by **wints** » Thu Feb 13, 2003 4:40 pm

Well, for a start Gene...an asking price!!!

banta · Post by **banta** » Thu Feb 13, 2003 5:51 pm

Is there a reason why Rickenbacker hasn't made all the 4000 series basses with 21 frets? A lot of players will not even consider purchasing a 20 fret bass.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Fri Feb 14, 2003 3:04 am

Gene: yes, I already knew you had a 21 fret 4001. Out of curiosity, what is the treble pickup baseplate made of, plastic or metal? On my 4001 it is made of metal (probably aluminum) and it has the word 'Harvey' followed by five stars rubber-stamped on one side. Back in early '87 John Hall told me in a letter that this part was not original. His words: "Every part sounds original, except possibly the pickup mount plate with the words 'Harvey'; perhaps someone made a plate out of metal with that designation."
In addition, the toggle switch cap on my 4001 is a 7/8" tall and 3/8" wide matte black plastic cylinder with a through hole. Could it be a replacement part?
Thanks for reading.

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Fri Feb 14, 2003 7:28 pm

Brad, If I'm not mistaken that would exclude all of the more famous Fender basses, wouldn't it?
What players do you know that wouldn't own a 20 fret bass? Jaco turned out some pretty nice music, and he used a bass that had no frets!

Sergio,
I was going to go get my bass and answer you right now, but I just realized my son is sleeping in the bed that it is under right now, so I'll have to check on that tomorrow! What year and finish is your bass?

Andrew,
Sorry, not for sale right now... I looked too long for a 4001 with all the delicious features(wide inlays, headstock wings, checkerboard binding, wide+thin neck) to turn around and sell it! At the time I bought it, I didn't know or think that much about the fact that it was a 21 fret model....

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Sat Feb 15, 2003 12:48 am

Gene: it's a November 1970 Fireglo in near mint condition. I picked it up in December 1986. It came with a period-incorrect, non-original pickguard, which I've replaced with one I've made myself. Recently I've been wishing to ascertain whether the treble p.u. baseplate is original or not - I for one think it is. As to the switch cap, I'm not sure it is original.

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Sat Feb 15, 2003 4:16 am

Sergio,
Does it have walnut headstock wings??? I think most from that period did, but I have heard of(but not seen) basses that didn't have this feature as early as 1970. Have you seen any like this? Also, does yours have plexi thumbrest?
As soon as my sleepy son wakes up, I will get that bass out of his room, and tonight I will start measuring some of the dimensions for you. I'll look under the bridge pickup and let you know what is there. I know that the TOP of the bridge pickup is a kindof greenish plastic looking, sorta like the material that they use to make circuit boards. It has adjustable screw-type polepieces, and flathead screws, not Philips-head. I don't think that I have binding over the end of the neck closest to the bass pickup, but I will have to look at it again....

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Sat Feb 15, 2003 4:48 am

Yes, it has walnut headstock wings and a plexi finger rest.
Yes, the treble pickup bobbin on my 4001 has slotted round, not flat, head screws for polepieces and it was left unsprayed, which allows you to see the original green color of the PC board-like material it's made of. (The final version of the high-gain pickup, introduced shortly after, was made of the very same stuff, only it would be sprayed black.) The magnet underneath it is not the well-known large type, but one similar to the current 4001 neck pickup magnet, only longer.
I believe your 21 fret 4001 and mine are almost identical, Gene. I remember seeing yours on Ebay. I wish I had a digital camera to post a shot of mine here.
Thanks for your time.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Sat Feb 15, 2003 5:05 am

Check Peter's May 31, 2002 post in the thread "1973 The Transition Year". That's your 21 fret 4001, Gene. Mine looks exactly the same.
I forgot to mention that mine has the first version of the closed-back Grover tuners. My 1974 4001, for instance, has new style closed-back Grovers.

banta · Post by **banta** » Sat Feb 15, 2003 5:52 am

Gene said, "Brad, If I'm not mistaken that would exclude all of the more famous Fender basses, wouldn't it?
What players do you know that wouldn't own a 20 fret bass? Jaco turned out some pretty nice music, and he used a bass that had no frets!"

Yeah, Fenders typically have the same limitation.

I have talked to lots of bassists that say they like Rics, but are not happy about them only having 20 frets. Whenever I see a poll of desireable options on a new bass, there always seems to be a majority that want 24 frets. Many I've talked to say they wouldn't consider a bass with 20 frets.

All that said, I personally don't have a problem with 20 frets, although 21 would be so much better, especially considering the fact that it wouldn't take much to make all new Rics with 21 frets. This (20 fret necks) is just something that makes no sense to me. I have a couple of 24 fret Zons, and it is nice to have the upper position available.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Sun Feb 16, 2003 7:16 pm

Gene said:

Brad, If I'm not mistaken that would exclude all of the more famous Fender basses, wouldn't it?
What players do you know that wouldn't own a 20 fret bass? Jaco turned out some pretty nice music, and he used a bass that had no frets!

Gene, Brad and I frequent another bass forum where there are some players that are always groaning about basses with only 20 frets (mostly the younger players).
I have no problem with a 20 fret bass, but like Brad, I have some basses with 22 and 24 frets and it is nice to have those upper frets available especially if you are playing a cover where the bassist in the song reaches that high.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Mon Feb 17, 2003 11:47 am

About a year ago a guy named James Grove told us about his unusual and heavily modified 1972 21 fret 4001. That adds up to three 21 fret 4001 owners in here so far. No one else owns a 21 fret 4001? How very disappointing.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Wed Feb 19, 2003 2:25 am

Gene, does the treble p.u. on your 21 fret 4001 look like this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2509567989&category=7266

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Wed Feb 19, 2003 3:27 am

Pretty close -- except the black part just beneath the flathead screws, that part is sortof a yellowish green on mine. And the metal plate underneath looks very similar too. I will have to take a look at mine after work tonight, and give you some more details.
Joey -- what covers can you name "where the bassist in the song reaches that high" I don't have any problem with 24 fret basses, but your friends that wouldn't own a 20 fret bass are probably pretty new to music and inexperienced.