Question for Jeff Rath (5-String related)

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 7:21 am

Jeff, from how you have described the size of your hands and what necks feel comfortable in your hands, a 4004Cii5 might feel too wide for a you at first.
I have medium sized hands and I find the 4004Cii5 neck to be very comfortable. I guess I was used to playing the StingRay5s and Ibanez BTB QM405 before my Cii5's arrived.
I think most players should be able to adjust and adapt their playing to almost any bass guitar. Although I feel that if the string spacing on the S/5 was a little wider it would be more comfortable, but I've adapted to playing mine fingerstyle. It took quite a bit of persistent practicing. I hope to install the saddles I got from Jeff this weekend. Maybe I can even start tonight.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:03 am

the way I look at it the 4 string 4001/4003 basses are 2 1/16" ... that is 1/2" per string ... then why have a Rickenbacker 5 string that is 3/4" per string or a 2 3/4" spacing ... it kinda goes against logic ... to me a 2 1/2" spacing on a 5 string bass would be more in keeping with Rickenbacker styling and conventions ...

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:31 am

It's quite a change from the S/5 to the Cii5, but I'm very comfortable with the string spacing on the Cii5. You can adjust the string spacing to suit your needs with the ABM bridge on the Cii5.

pma · Post by **pma** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 12:27 pm

Joey,

How much do you play the Cii5 given the pickup issue and now that you have your Jetglo?

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 3:53 pm

Paul, I play the trans red Cii5 alot. It has become my main gigging bass. Since the 4004Cii Jetglo is a 4 string, it will just eventually take away a little playing time from the trans red Cii5 once I decide on it's tuning and what songs I can use it on. When I gig, I take 4 basses with me: The trans red Cii5, 4001 fretless, Carlo Robelli 12 string and Ibanez BTB 5 string that I use for one very detuned song. Sometimes I take the S/5 blue beast to a gig for a change instead of the Cii5

bazzanderson · Post by **bazzanderson** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:29 am

Jeff,
Hey...Barry here...the guy that's been asking you many questions regarding the 4-2-5 conversion. Hey...do you think the Schaller roller 5 string bridge would work on a 4003 4-2-5 conversion if the pickups were changed with...say Bartolinis? Appreciate your response.
-Barry-

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:21 am

I'm not Jeff but... Schaller owner here. Those bridges are AWESOME in terms of adjustment for string spacing... but a pain in the a** when changing strings (the rollers take on a mind of their own.) My '77 came with the Schaller so I can't give you a before and after tone-wise, but I have my string spacing set just the way I want it and use flats... I won't be messing with it again for quite some time!

highway_star · Post by **highway_star** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:29 am

I like the looks of your Cii5, Joey. I just sold my Cii rather than have it converted and I'm selling my 4003s5. I tried Jeff's saddles and it's still too narrow for me.

I've noticed that I don't mind wider spacing on 5-string basses. I'm currently using a Warwick Streamer Stage 1, Stingray 5 and a Lakland Skyline Joe Osborn 5. I'm gaining interest in the revamped Cii5 when production resumes.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:50 am

Barry: the answer is maybe ... I love pretty much any Rickenbacker pickup made ... but they all are guitar width ... they max out at 2" to 2 1/4" ... this works fine for 4 string basses and 6 string guitars ... it is problematic for 5 string basses ... I use the schaller 5 string bridge on several of my non ric basses ... but if you put a schaller bridge and bart pickups on a 4003 you are losing the essence of that 4003 ... a jazz bass pickup may sound better that the bart pickup ... also the width of the neck where it meets the body may not allow the use of a schaller bridge on a 4003 ...

if you want a spacing of 2 1/2" to 2 3/4" on a 5 string bass the 4003 is probably not your bass of choice ... the 4004 neck can better accommodate the 2 1/2" spacing but the pickups won't ...

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:54 am

Thanks Ron, you would love the Cii5. Have you sold your Jetglo S5 yet?

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 5:54 am

my jetglo 4003 4-2-5 is my one of my best gigging basses ... I pick, finger, and slap it ... but it would not work for every body ...

highway_star · Post by **highway_star** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 6:11 am

Joey,

I had a potential buyer and I backed out in order to try Jeff's saddles on it. I decided to sell it anyway and the buyer hasn't responded back to me. I'm working on something else now.

I'm in the process of thinning out a few basses that sounded like good ideas at the time and I haven't done much with them. My '04 4003, 4003s8 and 4004Cii are sold. I'm selling my 4003s5 and may part with my 4001C64S. And I'll still have a half-dozen Ric basses after all of those are gone!

A fiver works well with the material in my current band and so I've picked up a few different ones. The Warwick was a shopworn one that the local GC was blowing out (like $1k under the normal retail). I'm going to keep an eye on the Cii5 developments.

bazzanderson · Post by **bazzanderson** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 7:15 am

Jeff
"also the width of the neck where it meets the body may not allow the use of a schaller bridge on a 4003 ... "

Yeah...that's what I was worried about. I think I could work around spacing a tad bit smaller than 2.5".

After looking at your site I've "almost" convinced myself that I can do this 4-2-5 mod myself (but I'd have to replace the ric tail piece and bridge totally rather mod the existing one). I'm pretty handy with my basses and have built Warmoths in the past. Just trying to figure out what is the absolute max string spacing the neck (not the pickups) will allow. I can get a 2.25" 5 string bridge or a 2.5" 5 string bridge. I've not found the 2 3/8" bridge that you use on the 4004 yet.

Barry

bazzanderson · Post by **bazzanderson** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 7:23 am

Ron,
So you're getting rid of your S/5? Interested in trades? 2004 MIA Jazz Bass Deluxe V (Amber alder with Maple FB). What finish is yours?
Barry-

highway_star · Post by **highway_star** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 7:43 am

Barry,

My s5 is Jetglo. I'm not really interested in trading at the moment since I just bought a Warwick and I'm also using a Lakland Joe Osborn 5. Feel free to e-mail me if you to inquire further.