The 4004L8 is finished!

[incubus2432]

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).

Simon's didn't have any extension to the headstock.....the stock tuner holes were plugged and they were all re-drilled to fit 8 on a stock headstock. He had said it worked fine and wasn't wasn't concerned about the looks.

I'd prefer to do it the s8 way. Nothing wrong with the Potato(e)head but I find the stretched standard headstock to be much more aesthetically pleasing.

[aceonbass]

The only thing I didn't like about the stock S8 headstock was that the sides were nearly parallel to each other making it look very rectangular. More of a curvature would look better, but would take some work to make sure strings aren't running into string posts. The extra length and 8 bass tuners tend to make the stock instrument neck heavy.

[ram]

Each to their own but I'm just lovin this...

even the off beat symetry - two close pairs on the left and one pair in the right (with opposing singels on the right). And no head dive to boot!

[henry5]

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).

Simon's didn't have any extension to the headstock.....the stock tuner holes were plugged and they were all re-drilled to fit 8 on a stock headstock. He had said it worked fine and wasn't wasn't concerned about the looks.

I'd prefer to do it the s8 way. Nothing wrong with the Potato(e)head but I find the stretched standard headstock to be much more aesthetically pleasing.

Oh I realise Simon's wasn't extended, but I thought (assuming I could get a design to work, which I haven't tried yet) a slight extension may help the function of the headstock, although as Simon has said his works fine maybe it wouldn't be necessary. I actually really like the potatohead (maybe it's a nostalgia thing, but the end result is the same), but I completely agree with Dane about the 4003s8 which is why I wouldn't be going for that as an ideal, much as I love the basses. I did occasionally wonder if walnut wings (on a burst or maple finish) may lessen the "rectangular' effect but I'm not convinced.

I think ultimately my favourite is the one I've posted, although I have no idea how well it would function. I love both Tom's and Dane's basses though! Heck, I just love 8 string Rics! There's something about the 8 tuners that is just, well, sexy......

[ram]

.."Sexy".... I like it!

[aceonbass]

Here's the 4008CS again. This headstock is not the only one that works of course, but there are certain peramiters that need to be met. That other 4005/8 headstock design is certainly interesting too. Chris Squire's Rainey 8 string(which was kind of a knock off of his 4008 prototype anyway) had yet another design with a version of the potatohead that tapered in towards the end.

[atomic_punk]

All right, now who is gonna step up and make a 12-string Rickenbacker bass?

[aceonbass]

I think the extra width in the 4004 neck would accomodate one easily. A 12 string potatohead would be a challenge to design though due to the paired octave tuners.

[rikk]

I wonder if you replaced the bridge with one that has the tuners on that end?

[jnbass]

VERY slick!

[rickenbrother]

Very cool, congrats and enjoy it, Tom!
I love to hear it A/B'ed with a 4003S/8. Someday we'll have to post sound clips to compare.

[johnallg]

J O E Y ! ! ! Welcome back!

[jingle_jangle]

All I can say is,

Better L8 than never!!!

[johnallg]

All I can say is,

Better L8 than never!!!

indeed.



Actually that was a good one.

[ram]

Thought I'd cross reference this -

Rickenbacker Recordings By RickResource Forum Members

viewtopic.php?f=48&t=382004

I finally put up a little snippet of the 4004L8...