The 4004L8 is finished!

[nattiep]

Wow! Amazing looking bass. Congrats. Now I want one.

[qwezirider]

Wow! That turned out spectacular.

[ram]

Thanks all but remember I just wanted an 8 sting bass (have since Hendrix's Experience)... Dane's way kool heatstock design and his luthier (Bruce)'s magic hands made it happen....- Paul, you luthier types simply amaze me. I'm just playing the hell out of the thing now!!! It's taking a little getting used to - i.e., what I can and can't do on it. Can't wait to get it to rehearsal this week!!!

Nate, maybe JH wil see it and be inspired to turn out a few. Like I said before - the thing is a tonal monster!

[johnallg]

Really nice looking, Tom! Great present for your 50th (happy belated, btw). How about a sound sample or two so we can all hear it? I noticed when it was sitting beside the 4008CS, it looked a tad smaller in body size - now I have to compare my 4004C to my 4003. Always knew it was lighter, never noticed if it was smaller.....

Kudos on a really nice project!

[pacealot]

Always a fan of a Ricky 8er. Excellent work!

[paologregorio]

Dane, you designed that headstock? Interesting. Tell me more-details.

[aceonbass]

Actually, the headstock is smaller. A couple of things came up on the 4008CS headstock that I wanted to change for subsequent versions. First, it was almost too long for the case so I took 1/2" out of the length between the nut and where the tuners start. Second, I have to pull the A strings out of their nut slots to remove the truss rod cover and third, the octave G string just kisses the fundamental G string tuner post. To remedy problems two and three, I made the space between top and bottom tuners 1/8" wider. I never pulled the trc to check problem two, but I can see that none of the strings touch any other tuner posts, so I'm happy with the outcome. The headstock ended up very tight and compact compared to the 4008CS, yet it complemented the more austere look of the 4004 body layout. I can't take complete credit for either design since both were heavily inspired by RIC's original 4005/8 headstock, but I did add the "shoulders" before the tuners which I think make it look more "Rickish" and not so alien to the rest of the body. Bruce did a bitchin' job and blended the new headstock paint into the top of the neck very well as he tried to re-create the RIC finish process. Now maybe Bruce can start on my next project.

[VRICKY63]

I have a Fernandes custom neck 8 string that I love . Welcome to the sound of HUGE ! That is too cool !

[ram]

John I will try to get some sound available … but it may take a while. I don’t have the tools and will need to rely on my guitarist to help out.

I don’t see any real difference in body size between my 4003s5 and the 4004L (other that thickness as noted). The overall length of the 4004L8 is just a tad more than the 4003s5 – maybe a quarter to three eights of an inch.

But kudos to Dane and Bruce … attention to detail and all. The headstock (in my opinion) looks very 4004ish and is a beautiful finish match. Plus another thing I was worried about was putting a lot of mass out there in the headstock. Didn’t want to get a case of ‘head dive’. The bass is very nicely balanced.

Dane, don’t be too modest here – it is a well thought out design. I have not tried removing the TRC but it looks like it should work. I think the layout works very well and has the ‘look’. A superb design! The word elegant comes to mind....

[sloop_john_b]

Now maybe Bruce can start on my next project.

Which is...?

If a cheapish 4003 comes my way, i'd strongly consider going with the potatohead conversion. An 8-string would work great in one of the bands i'm playing with where we've only got one (not very loud) guitarist.

[rikk]

Great looking bass. How does it SOUND?

While reading this thread I almost expected someone to say" "Why would you cut a perfectly good bass?" Fast forward 20 years and there will be threads on the super rare 4004 RIC bass, and someone had converted it to an 8.

[LeftyRickBass]

SWEET!!!!!!! I LOVE Rickenbacker 8-string basses. Nice job Dane/Bruce!!!!!


LeftyRickBass















The White Zone Is For The Loading And Unloading Of Passengers Only!!!!

[ram]

Rikk, I’m still getting used to it but as I see it now – hope this helps a little:

As said before – the 4004L is a tonal monster. With the humbucks on it there is the different sound from the 4001 and 4003. To me almost a Gibson Ripper sound pumped up by Ric steroids. Now there is another dimension. The octave just fills it up. Depending on how you have the tone set there is a different hue with the note. Real treble there is almost a guitar like sound with an octave box on it - kind of sound both notes ringing. The more bass the setting, the more it sounds like a single note.

I have the octave over the fundamental and play with a pick. So you can get different sounds depending on which way the pick hits the pair – top down vs. bottom up. Chords are massive….. And can be played lower on the neck as you have the higher octave built in….. This is fun!

Playing above the 14th fret can be a little challenging as the strings are starting to diverge a little more than my fingers like… but you can get some wild sounds.

Taking a little finger muscle development – two strings and a littler more area to cover…

Forgot - I thought about the cutting a perfectly good bass angle - I really started to like the 4004L as a 4 string. But I have always wanted an 8 string and I think it looks great and I am not disappointed by the 8 sound at all. So if someone in the future really has a problem with it they can geat a luthier to change it back. But I think most folks would like it for what it is....

[henry5]

Nice bass Tom, that looks great! I'm amazed to see that the headstock conversion looks so straightforward.

I had an 8 string conversion lined up as a project before my 73 4001 "vintage appointments" conversion jumped up and changed my mind, but it may be next on the agenda (although that will be a way off yet). Dane very kindly sent me a copy of his potatohead design for reference. Unfortunately I'm now torn between designs, one of which being a slightly extended 4003 headstock (which may or may not work, but I love the way Simon Mole's looks and his is standard sized and works fine according to Simon), and another being this:

40058head.jpg (10.91 KiB) Viewed 3110 times

I think this is possibly my favourite though.

[aceonbass]

As I recall, Simon's 4-2-8 conversion had the tuner pigs all shifting sideways on the headstock and several pegged holes showing. What's to love?