4004Cii

[ricaddic]

Well all I can say is who cares who plays one, from my experence now of owning one, if you dont have one, then get one, you'll absolutely love her, as Joey said, this bass is one of the best kept secrets to the bass playing world, but seriously, you have to play to realize it, im a beliver now, as I said go out now and order one, get one and you will be hooked too.

[johnallg]

Dan, one thing you didn't take into account is it is the Dealers who order RICs - if they don't get customer requests or don't want to speculate on a 4004, they RIC has no order to process and build. Otherwise, the Catch-22 holds up.

[johnallg]

Dan, RIC has been fighting a 450+ WORK day backlog. At around 248 work days in a year, that's at least 2 years right there. Great strides have been made lately in shortening manufacturing times (more CNC machines, the new inlay process, moving over to UV clearcoat, etc.) that will allow RIC to get the huge backlog down to a typical, reasonable delay. At that time, I think it will be a very exciting time to be a Rick affectionado. I'm thinking John, Ben, and Eric have a lot of ideas they need the "room" to play with.

[nukebass]

Dan, RIC has been fighting a 450+ WORK day backlog. At around 248 work days in a year, that's at least 2 years right there.

I understand the argument of the backlog, and, from some of the descriptions, great strides have been made to increase production. However, a 2+ year backlog doesn't really explain why the factory doesn't schedule runs of these instruments more often. A two year backlog would kind of imply that guitars ordered in 2005 would be made sometime in 2007, not middle of 2008. 4004 is a rare bass that seem to get the back burner treatment by the factory probably due to the relatively low demand (compared to 4003) and the increased difficulty of production (I'd imagine the maple-walnut-maple isn't the easiest thing to do). The catch 22 is in full effect, and, until more visibility is given to them, will probably always exist.

[rickenbrother]

Well, Lemmy does play his 4004LK, but, yeah, no other notables seem to have caught on.

Just my opinion, but I don't feel that the limited edition 4004LK with the checkered binding on the exquisitely hand carved top of 4003 body wings truly represents the 4004 line of basses.

[ajish4]

I guess what I was digging at was, VINTAGE vs NEW, FAMOUS players vs non.....that was the input I was lookig for....

BUT, since the thread went off in a different direction, I apologize if I wasn't clear on my original thread.....

Seems like the large majority (I'm guilty myself) wants that early era, thin neck, FWMOP inlay, checkered binding beauty with options from the past...you know, that V68 thing.

I mean, the 4004's were at the Namm show. Dealers were able (I assume) to get their hands on one, see if they liked it and could order it. The old Field of Dreams thing, "If you build it...they will come". Well, RIC built 'em for the Namm show. I blame the dealers for not ordering them to get them in the stores.

I'm not pointing fingers at RIC at all here. They SHOULD be commended, they have to walk a fine line. Why increase the backlog even more on ORDERED models to build basses that the dealers aren't ordering in mass yet? To me, that is the Catch22.

BUT, the dealers were there, all sorts of guitar & bass folks were there, but if they don't order it, why would RIC want to build it while all the other guitars WITH ORDERS are already impacted by the backlog?

I'm almost positive if EACH DEALER ordered 3 or 4, that they would move the 4004 up the demand list. But if they don't, why should they impact THOUSANDS of waiting customers for a dozen orders? Seems like common sence to me, supply & demand.

I'd love to see a CHRIS SQUIRE or some young famous players pickup a 4004 and light that FIRE of RIC DESIRE in a new generation. I personally am glad RIC is moving ahead and trying new models. I have my vintage RICS, I'm looking forward to new ones now. Hence my order of the 4004Cii.

People like us (fourm folk) have to support RIC when they come out with something delightful & new. WE can help spread the word. TELL your dealers what a great bass they are, and IF they had a few on the wall, they'd sell 'em! Hey, why not try to help get those orders up, the one you help may be yourself! The reward being a shorter backlog!

THAT is just what Joey, Brian, Jeff, Dane, and all the other proud 4004 owners did here....IF they didn't give it such great reviews, I never would have ordered one.

[scotty]

Paul Weller`s basss player on jools holland is using one right now on the BBC. Nice

[rickenbrother]

Tony, I can see you RASing for another 4004 after you get your Cii Blueburst.

[ajish4]

Tony, I can see you RASing for another 4004 after you get your Cii Blueburst.

LOL, your probably right!

We'll see Joey, I'd order a FRETLESS one right now if I could!

[ricaddic]

I just played mine again alittle while ago and I am in more awe now than I was yesterday, this baby rocks, this bass is a must have in any ones arsenal,Thanks again , Chris Clayton and Joey Vasco for your insight on this bass, had I not talked to about this bass I would not own it now and would have missed my opertunity enjoy this awsume bass guitar, opps also thanks again to all at the Rickenbacker International Corperation.

[rickenbrother]

Tony and Ange, you guys are making me RAS for another!!

[ajish4]

Tony and Ange, you guys are making me RAS for another!!

Hey Joey,

You met your quota! Leave some for us!

[rickenbrother]

I wasn't aware of a quota!

[ram]

Angelo, congrats and I know what you mean. The 4004s are one of the beest kept secrets at Ric. Their sound is huge and playing is easy. I have a 4004L and the neck is about as thin as that of my '74 4001. I was starting to love playing mine some much, I almost didn't do the conversion to an 8 string. I'm glad I did now. But I like the 4004 so much that I will be looking for one when kids get thru college. Tony maybe you will be the first famous 4004 player...???

[rickenbrother]

Dan, I must totally disagree with what your friend said about the RIC booth at the NAMM show. Only the instruments at the far end of the booth can't be handled. I'm assuming that's because they are blocked from view from the large RIC sign at the center of the booth. People are allowed to try out most of the guitars through small Vox amps and headphones at the NAMM show.

Here is a pic of Paul W and I at the RIC booth trying out a couple of Rick guitars at the NAMM show.

Rickenbrother (L) & jingle_jangle (R)