The 21 Fret 4001 Basses Thread

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 7:49 am

um 21 right?

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 8:00 am

I would date it to the year before "The Yes Album" came out, but there is also a picture of him playing what I think is the same bass in the Yes book called "Perpetual Change". You can see Peter Banks on the stage with him (he's playing that black 330 that is refinned white). I beleive it is at the Red Car Jazz Club, but I'll have to check in the book later in the day.
I love this thread! Keep those pics coming!

wints · Post by **wints** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 8:31 am

I just missed a M/G 21 fret bass in the U.K. about 18 months ago. It,s still there and I know the serial number...I,m waiting... All the 21 fret basses seem to come from the late 70/early 71 period, before Yes took off. This was a low point in production bass wise and It,s probable that they only made a small run (25??) as this was an experimental time/thing. How many ended up in the U.K. Probably a handful at most. I think Fragile came out in early 71, which means the pics were took in late 70 probably..anyone??? I don,t think they had toured the U.S. when those pics were taken, ( please correct me here..) so he probably bought the bass in the U.K. Does he still have it??...That,s the question. If he doesn,t then I think the chances of the one I missed stands a high % that it used to be his...

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 8:58 am

"The Yes Album" was recorded in the autumn of 1970 and released in 1971. So, late 1970 could be the time Squire acquired the 4001 MG 21F.

"Fragile" was released on April. 1st, 1972.

Yeah Owen, you can bet it's 21 frets.
Lets look at it again:
(Notice the 2 frets below the last inlay and the lack of white binding at the end of fingerboard.)

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 11:08 am

Paul,

I think he already had it by then, see my earlier post above....

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Tue Jan 06, 2004 11:19 am

Thanks, Gene.
Forgive my awkwardness with numbers, haha!

One more pic for ya. (It's the 20 fretted one.)

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Wed Jan 07, 2004 2:37 am

Hi.
I believe 'Fragile' was originally released in December 1971. Probably it's 'Close To The Edge' that was released in April 1972.

mikeyesfan · Post by **mikeyesfan** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 5:28 pm

Wow,Thanks Guys.
I've been away on a business trip, Can't believe all the Cool Chris Shots.
I Love this guy!!!
me and chris

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 9:03 am

Micheal,
How'd you manage to meet the retiring Mr. Squire anyway? I've met everyone in the band except Squire and Howe, but he seems to be the most reclusive of the bunch. Can't say I'd blame him really...
Sergio, I have a release date of Fragile for September 1971, which really has me confused. Because I clearly remember that my first intro to Yes was "The Yes Album", brought to our school by a little blond girl wearing a short miniskirt!
I was a freshman in High School at the time. She'd borrowed the album from her big brother, who apparently loved it, and we listened to it in the library of our high school, where they had a high tech table set up with headphones and you could take records to the librarian and get them played. Eager to impress this blond in the miniskirt, I hurried to the record store as soon as I got the $, determined to buy the album, which I loved on its own, miniskirt or no miniskirt! When I got to the Evolution Tapes and Records, and waded thru the pachuli scented incense burning within, the salesman told me they had a new album out, just that week, and he pulled out a copy of Fragile from behind the counter, as it was still not out on the floor.
Now my memory of this was that it was early in 1972, like January or February. I didn't know at that time that I couldn't make a bad choice, so I went with "The Yes Album", but I thought that it was very early in '72 when "Fragile" was released...

squirebass · Post by **squirebass** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 9:05 am

Sorry for the long post!

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 3:06 pm

Not at all.
Actually I first 'met' Yes via 'The Yes Album' as late as October 1972, a few weeks before my 16th birthday and some two months after seeing and playing (sort of) a real Rickenbacker 4001 bass owned by a friend's friend. About a month later, I borrowed a copy of 'Fragile' in order to tape it.
To make a long story short, even though every (British) vinyl copy of 'Fragile' I've seen stated 1971 as the date of publication, the record may in fact have been released very early 1972.

gregson1 · Post by **gregson1** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 4:13 pm

For what it's worth, Atlantic Records, catalog #7211, release date of 1/4/72. There had to be some promotional material available in late '71, and Rolling Stone did a review in late '71. Tough to tell. Great album, but didn't get on board with the band until '75. Still have that vinyl.

jps · Post by **jps** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 6:51 pm

I didn't find Chris to be reclusive at all when I first met him in November of '74. In fact he invited myself and a couple friends to his motel room and we chatted about all kinds of stuff for over an hour.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Sat Jan 10, 2004 9:00 pm

I bought my 1st Yes album, "Close to The Edge", in 1980 when I was 15. "Fragile", "Tales of Topographic Oceans" and "Time and A Word" followed in that same year. They are still all in excellent condition like all my other vinyls. As the above mentioned LP's were all Taiwan "pirated" versions that the pirates covered up the original release date, I can't find a release date on any of them. However, my remastered and reissued CD of Fragile (which contains America as a bonus track) states the original release date as April 1st, 1972. I suspect that the official release date of many albums are different in different countries...As a teenager, I was impressed by Chris Squire's talent and sounds but had no idea what a Rickenbacker was! I didn't see one in my country until 1989.

And I got Annie, my 1st Rickenbacker, in 2002...How late!!!
(But it's never too late to have a Rick bass, right?

)

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Mon Jan 12, 2004 10:34 am

Those photos bring up so many memories.
Me and my pal Eric thought we were miles ahead intellectually in high school 'cause we were into Yes. We had the Yes Album and then Fragile came out and just blew us away. In those days, I resembled Mr. Squire (same Haircut, face contours), so me with my Squire influenced 4001, I thought I was IT. My first band, heavily influenced by Yes would play clubs and everyone'd go, "huh"?
BTW, in response to an earlier question, I had read in those days Squire was using Fender Guitar amps for his tone.
BTW again, has anyone else seen the commercial for the new movie "Big Fish" where they use "Your Move" in the background?