4005 Model Bass History

[sloop_john_b]

The one sitting in the Museum of Making Music had a build date of 1996.

[simer4001]

...why they were discontinued (beyond that they weren't selling well enough to keep in the catalog
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I don't think their is a more compelling reason to discontinue a model than slow sales.

[leftybass]

The 4005/8 that was in the museum in Carlesbad is from the 90s as JB said, and belongs to John Hall IIRC....it has a longer sound-hole than most you see; The oldest 4005 I know of is the one John Williams has in a Blue-Boy finish; it is a '65.

[rickinroma]

Paul, no problem...I'll try to provide you with a decent translation
by the way, if I remember correctly, Peter Levett and I have the only mapleglo 4005s in the rickresource forum, so let me/us know if you need some pictures for your book
Let me also know if you are going to link or to pick up parts of the article. I this case I'll ask http://www.megabass.it administrator permission

1984 was an important year for rickenbacker... they discontinued the 4005 and some other things changed

[86kubicki]

I posed the purpleburst 4005 question to John Hall a while ago via e-mail and here are his responses (with his permission):


Q: I thought I'd ask if you could clear up a question I posted over at the Rickresource forum concerning an alleged purpleburst 4005 owned by Mark Hudson. Does such an instrument exist?

A: Yes, I did make this for him, along with some other purple-burst instruments. It's a signature color for him and I did it because he's a good friend.

Q: Also, was the 4005 a refinish of an existing bass or was it built from scratch?

A: It was new production. We've made a few in the modern era, including some 8-stringers.

[sloop_john_b]

Thanks for that Steve. Now has anyone ever seen a picture of the darned thing?

I figure that these few modern 4005's were made from old parts that were still in the factory, and that JH and company decided to put to good use.

[86kubicki]

That's what I've always wondered about John. Were these built using NOS necks and bodies, or were they built from scratch? Does RIC have the ability to build a 4005 anymore?

[sloop_john_b]

People over at the corporate forum start a new thread about a 4005 reissue just about once a week, so we've heard these answers before: the original tooling no longer exists, and the costs of the new tooling and all would put the price of a new 4005 in the $4k range.

[johnhall]

These few instruments were completely hand built. We don't have the tooling for these anymore nor the machinery that the tooling worked with.

The world has changed since then and now we build from digital models and "tooling" really refers only to the clamping systems to hold components while they are being machined.

Obviously there is no 4005 digital model in existence.

[86kubicki]

Thanks for that information John. I had a feeling that these 4005's were probably handbuilt.

[jimk]

Thanks to everyone. This has been a most enlightening thread.

JimK

[shamustwin]

I would add that the Hofner sound comparison is not entirely fair, as I get a growl and fidelity out of mine (with flats even!) that a Hofner could never approach. There's also more than a bit of the "macho" (for lack of a better...) bite that the 4001,4003's possess. Many sounds out of this guitar depending on playing style. I can't think of a more enjoyable bass, and to top it off it has a neck to die for!

[johnallg]

Having played Jerry's 4005 (unplugged), I can vouch for the neck. It *almost* feels fragile it is so thin and slim. A joy to play.

[gray]

The 4005, still my dream bass. I saw one in a magazine before I knew anything about Rickenbackers.
This has indeed been an interesting thread.

[35012]

I remember reading somewhere that one of the first 4005 like basses (if not the first) was a 4005/8 MG made for Chris Hillman to match Roger McGuinn's 370/12 back in '65 or so.