4004L5 one of a kind

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Wed May 14, 2003 8:15 am

OK ... here it is ... The very first ... one of a kind 4004L5

http://www.3dentourage.com/4004L5.htm

I took a 1993 4004L rewired it Vol, vol, tone. I put another schaller M4 tuner in the head stock, I put in a new nut, I got a 5 string bridge from allparts that has a 2 1/4" spacing. And I swapped out the bridge pickup with a 4003 high gain. The ploe pieces didn't line up right so I removed them and put in 7 pole pieces to get a wide coverage ... I used pan head phillips screws ...

It looks cool sounds pretty good ... the neck works fine ... I am still experimenting with various Ric pickups ... the high gain, humbucker and toasters are all interchangeable ...

It still doesn't sound as good as my 4003s5, and the neck action is not as good ... I will have to tweak the truss rods ... It plays nice ... the bridge string spacing is 3/16" larger than the 4003s5 ... which makes it finger friendly.

The voicing or tone is more midrange right now ... the highs and lows are better on my 4003s5 ...

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed May 14, 2003 9:06 am

Jeff: This was such a striking series of photos and represented such good work that I had to include the headstock here. I hope that is ok.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Wed May 14, 2003 9:19 am

hey no problem ... did I mention that is a fun bass to play ... even with the single coil pickup added it sounds a little different ... similar to a 4001/4003 but a little different ... good for thumb slapping and for picking ... and finger plucking ...

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Wed May 14, 2003 11:08 am

Jeff,
Beautiful work! The additional tuner looks as good as a RIC factory job.
Do you have to be more careful than usual when turning the tuners of the 3 higher strings since they're quite close to each other?

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Wed May 14, 2003 11:14 am

Nice mod, Jeff. Expertly done. The 7-pole treble pickup is an interesting concept, too.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Wed May 14, 2003 11:16 am

They just miss each other ... sort of like the 4003s8 models ...

It was kinda scary drilling a hole in the headstock of a $900 bass ...

luvmy4001 · Post by **luvmy4001** » Wed May 14, 2003 11:37 am

You could slant the A and G string tuners out a little, so they won't touch, nice looking bass, looks like the string spacing is the same or better than the 4003s/5. Record a mp3 sample of it and post it somewhere, so we can hear how it sounds...

dano · Post by **dano** » Wed May 14, 2003 11:38 am

Nice Job Jeff!

Keep us informed on the progress. I'm curious as to which pickups sound best on this bass.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Wed May 14, 2003 12:45 pm

I'm scratching my head as to why 7 polepieces instead of 6? If you staggered them so that each string nestled between a pole, then it could only get louder as the string traverses in it's helical path. That would mean four in-between spaces and one at each side for a total of 6.

Also, the carbon in the steel of off-the-shelf cad plate screws isn't helping you. A cast iron slug would be the best pole for you but off the top of my head I can't think of something you could easily use for this. But screws retrieved from an old humbucker might be a possibility, as usually those are purpose made.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Wed May 14, 2003 4:48 pm

Why 7??? there were 4 holes in there already I added 3 more to cover the string location ... 6 would work ... I could put a 6 string high gain in there and it should work fine ... Carvin makes guitar pickups that have 22 poles ... 2 sets of 11 ... You are right on the screws ... I noticed a difference in the magnetic properties of the new screws ... but it was all I had ... my workshop is not as extensive as yours ...

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Wed May 14, 2003 4:52 pm

This is an experimental bass for me ... I can put in any combination of toasters, high gain and Ric humbuckers .... I may even experiment with reversing one pickup for a jazz bass type humbucking effect ...

robj · Post by **robj** » Thu May 15, 2003 6:27 am

Great work Jeff. I know I wouldn't have the guts to drill into the headstock to add the new machine. How does the B string sound and what size is it?

banta · Post by **banta** » Thu May 15, 2003 6:57 am

Tighter spacing than the 4003S/5...

I think I would have just restrung it BEAD.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Thu May 15, 2003 7:20 am

No actually it is wider than the 4003s5 ... 3/16" at the bridge ... I did string it B E A D for a while ... I like it better this way ... my main bass is a 4003s5 ... when I play 4 strings the spacing is soo wide that it slows me down ... I can pick, slap, pluck, hammer, and any other technique on this bass ..

I use .125 .105 .80 .65 .45 or similar strings ... usually nickle round wounds ... the B string sounds fine ...

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Thu May 15, 2003 8:09 am

You know what ... I just realized that for about $50 in parts I could convert any 4004 into a 5 string .... add a tuner, change the nut, and change the bridge ...

I took mine a few steps further and experimented with electronics ...

If I can do it that easy and cheap I bet Ric could make 4004L5's as well with 90% the same parts as a 4 stringer ...

It would be easier than when they made the 4003s5 ... fewer changes from the stock model ...

Or maybe I should expand my basement workshop ...