Unable to find 4004/5 Cheyenne II

pma · Post by **pma** » Mon May 26, 2003 12:33 pm

I am interested in moving from my current vintage 4001 to one of the newer 5 string basses. I checked the Rickenbacker website and saw the 4004/5 Cheyenne II which looks great. Problem is that I can't find one anywhere to try or for that matter, purchase. Does anyone know where I might find one of these? I am hoping I don't have to order one and wait....

Thanks,

Paul

bassman · Post by **bassman** » Mon May 26, 2003 1:01 pm

Other than the green prototype pictured on the RIC website, they haven't seen the production schedule yet last I heard.
You can order one, but it will most likely take quite awhile to get, unfortunately.

jeff_ulmer · Post by **jeff_ulmer** » Mon May 26, 2003 4:59 pm

I wouldn't expect production models before the end of the year, if then. All of the Cheyennes seem like an order and wait proposition, not the kind of thing you'll find kicking around your local music store.

pma · Post by **pma** » Mon May 26, 2003 5:36 pm

Thanks for the replies. Seems odd that Rickenbacker would show this on their site if it's not available. The older 5 string model shows discontinued.

I'm going to have my local music retailer check this out tomorrow.

Regards,

Paul

aceonbass · Post by **aceonbass** » Mon May 26, 2003 5:53 pm

If you prefer the wider neck of the 4004/5 Cheyenne's then you must wait. Then again, many here find the standard width necks to be easier to play. In the later case, you can convert 4004 basses to 5 strings with a different bridge, nut and additional tuner. Someone else here did that recently with great results from what I can see.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon May 26, 2003 6:14 pm

Yep ... Ric has only made one 4004Cii5 ... I only play 5 string basses ... so I own 2 4003s5 basses and I converted a 4004L to a 5 string ...

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

It would be very easy for Ric to make these ... it would use all of the same parts as the 4004L except for the nut and the bridge ... also they would have to drill one extra hole in the headstock and put in an extra tuner ...

They really need to get a five string model on the market ... it is embarassing that a major bass manufacturer has no 5 string model on the market ... the 4003s5 was an excellent bass ... the only thing is that some players don't like the tight string spacing ... basically players with lumberjack hands will like wide spacing ... players like me with smaller hands like a slender neck with tight spacing ... I have built several basses that are basically 4 to 5 string conversion models ... I have done this with a 4004 Ric, jazz basses, and P basses ... I love the slender neck and tight spacing ... heck people play guitars with 6 strings in the space of what a bass puts 4 strings ... they manage just fine ... Check out the spacing on 6 and 7 string basses ... when I converted the 4004L to a 5 string I took a 6 string bass nut and trimed off the notch for the high C ...

The 4004L that I made has a wider spacing but still gets covered by the pickups and it fits well on the neck ... The Ric humbuckers that come on the 4004 model sound pretty good ... a little different than the single coil 4003/4001 pickups ... there are certain laws of physics that apply to single coil and humbuckers ... these can't be changed but the pickups can be voiced by the strength of the magnet, the number of coils, thickness of wire, type of wrapping, etc ....

My favorite bass is still my 1990 4003s5 ... but I like my 4004L5 a lot as well

pma · Post by **pma** » Tue May 27, 2003 4:53 am

Dane,

I'm not sure I would like the wider neck if that is what comes with the Cheyenne. I have small hands and find my 4001 to be very manageable.

Jeff,

I saw your modified bass and it looks great. You should contact Rickenbacker to show them your work and get them interested in this approach.

Regards,

Paul

jeff_ulmer · Post by **jeff_ulmer** » Tue May 27, 2003 5:15 am

The CII/5 was designed in direct response to the criticism about the strings being too close together, but I agree with Jeff that the 4003/S5 is fine as is. I could see it being a bit wider, but not by much. If anything, it is the scale length that could use lengthening for a better low B.

As for advertising guitars on the site that aren't available, all those who ordered and don't yet have their Lemmy signature basses raise your hands. Things take time down at Ric.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Tue May 27, 2003 5:47 am

Don't worry, I've learned my lesson well. I will NEVER, EVER in the future show anything or even discuss the existence of a new product on the 'Net until the item is actually in stock.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue May 27, 2003 5:57 am

the stock neck on the 4004 4 string is slightly wider than the 4003/4001 4 string neck neck ... it starts about the same at the nut but widens a little more as it approaches the body ... because of this I was able to use a bridge that is about 2 3/8" total spacing for my conversion ... this is almost 1/2" per string ... most players feel very comfortable with a 1/2" string spacing at the bridge ... some manufacturers make basses with a 3/4" spacing of strings at the bridge .... this is a whopping 3" then they put in a nut of about 2" and suddenly you have a neck that you can park a minivan on ...

I had a jass V that was like this ... it was too much work to play ... I felt like a little kid playing my dad's bass ....

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue May 27, 2003 6:00 am

Gee can you imagine if Ric had a few hundred 5 string rics that they could dump on the market ... boy would that be cool ...

pma · Post by **pma** » Tue May 27, 2003 9:44 am

Hi all,

I heard back directly from Rickenbacker as follows:

Dear Paul,

You have not found one in stock, because we have not produced this instrument yet. You can put in on order through any authorized dealer, but I unfortunately do not have a time table available.

Thank you,

Tommy T.
Customer Service
Rickenbacker International Corporation

---end----

Seems odd that they'd discontinue their other 5 string model without having this one available. Also odd that they themselves can't determing timing. I suspect this is due to inventory management and waiting for orders to be placed before scheduling a production run.

Regards,

Paul

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Tue May 27, 2003 7:01 pm

The only thing it's due to is a very large demand versus the production capacity we have. It's just a LITTLE bit more complicated than you make out when orders come in significantly faster than items are produced.

If there was a mistake made, it was to offer a new five stringer at this time. We sold about 500 four stringers for every five stringer in the past. I expect that to be somewhat better this time around but we can't begin to deliver enough fours as it is.

robj · Post by **robj** » Tue May 27, 2003 7:18 pm

Well whenever the 5 string 4004 becomes available, I will be ready and waiting with cash in hand.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue May 27, 2003 7:36 pm

5 string basses are the wave of the future ... look at the videos for new music ... just about every modern rock band has a bassist with 5 strings ... the old classic rockers and the country guys and the beginners still use a lot of 4 string basses ...

That is a whole genre of popular music where the 5 string bass is the standard ... Also thumb slappers love 5 and 6 string basses ...