Model of the Week 25: 4004Cii "Cheyenne II"

[bassduke49]

If the Cheyenne was a "revolution," as RIC's 1993 ad for the original 4004C states, then the "Cheyenne II" was an evolution. In fact there's an interesting progression from the largely walnut bodied, maple neck/fretboard Cheyenne to the current model. I hope someone has a decent shot of the beautiful quilted maple 4004C that was used on stage at the RIC 75th Anniversary events - I neglected to document it - as this could be one of the first experiments that led to the birth of the Cii. In addition to the gorgeous quilted front, this instrument had a maple fretboard like the original Cheyenne and Laredo models. The back of the instrument looked like any other early Cheyenne with the walnut body and head wings. This means that the quilted front was a laminate over the walnut body. The body and neck of this probably "one off" had a semigloss finish. Just marvelous!

Next in the evolution was what I figure to be the initial batch of Cii production models made with the quilted laminate front, walnut body and head wings, but now with a bubinga fretboard and pickups positioned a bit farther toward the bridge - I also need good shots of one of these! (The bubinga board and repositioned pickups were also incorporated into the Laredo at this time - about 1999-2000.) But this construction didn't last long, perhaps because of the expense or availability of the quilted maple.

Next came the new maple/walnut/maple body "sandwich" as seen today. I'm not really sure why the pickups were relocated - some say it was done to make the 4004 models easier to slap, some say they sit on some harmonic node - whatever. But when it was discovered that it was nearly impossible to remove truss rods (in the rare event of a failure), the factory returned the pickups to the original positions (Laredo, too). The cavity for the neck pickup against the base of the neck provides room for the truss extraction. Also note that most Cii's have "unfinished" fretboards as opposed to the high-gloss-finished boards on Laredos and 4003 basses.

The 4004Cii (ii meaning "bis," which is Italian and French for "twice" or "again") also brought new colors: Transparent Red, Blue, and Green. While these colors are exclusive to the Cii, Cii's can also be found in any stock RIC color including the "Color of the Year" hues. I've seen Cii's in Montezuma Brown, Blueburst, and Amber Fireglo, but I'd love to see them in Sea Green, Burgundy, BlueBoy, and Desert Gold. Anyone? Late in 2008, a slightly different gold-plated bridge has added.

I'll kick it off with my newest arrival, my Blueburst 4004Cii. So let's post photos and discuss the Cheyenne II.

[qwezirider]

My '06 4004Cii Monte. Formerly CharlyG's. Before and after a 4-2-5 mod. Also added concentric pots and heavier switch from Dane as well as two new guitar bridge high gain pickups.

Before

After

[sloop_john_b]

I quite liked this one. With the original pickup spacing:

[cheyenne]

I had to get into my picture "archives", but here's my old CII, the one that was used in all of the Rickenbacker liturature. It was a great looking bass, but I never got along with the tone.

Complete with concentric knob mod.

[fretless]

omg,omg,omg Stunning basses



'08 4004cii BBR

[cjj]

A couple of pics of my '08 MG in it's original condition...

I say "original condition" because it now has stacked knobs to get V/T V/T controls and stereo output, but I haven't gotten around to getting any pictures of it yet.

Interestingly, this bass has a "serial number" written inside it which doesn't match the serial number on the jack plate. Even more interesting, another forum member has the bass with the jackplate that has the same number as what's written in mine. It's a 4004Cii MG too. And still more interesting, his has my jackplate number written inside the control cavity. Apparently, they were switched at "birth"...

[rickenbrother]

Once again, I must say that these are the best kept secret in the world of bass guitars! These are sweet, sweet basses!
Here is my '04 Jetglo Cii. Jetglo is rare on a Cii, especially with the pickups mounted away from the neck.


My '05 Blueburst:

[rickfan60]

This one belongs to a friend. Nice quilt on the maple. I wonder how many 4004Ciis there are in LH?

[cassius987]

If I could find one with the more treble-y pickup positions I'd probably spring for it.

[woodyng]

my '04 mg pretty much looks like the one jon posted,it actually has some tiger striping in the front of the middle neck/body peice. my only mods so far are old style black knobs and i had the trc repainted with a metallic gold with raised black lettering. i love this bass. i think at some point i might want to have the fretboard finished like a laredo,just to highlight the grain,but i love the way this one plays and sounds. i especially like the sound of the bridge pickup soloed. did i mention i love this bass? (now i'm starting to sound like a certain poster from the l.a.area.... ) love the neck,love the weight...ok,i'm gonna stop now....http://gallery.me.com/everedy/100112

[heinpete]

Next in the evolution was what I figure to be the initial batch of Cii production models made with the quilted laminate front, walnut body and head wings, but now with a bubinga fretboard and pickups positioned a bit farther toward the bridge - I also need good shots of one of these! (The bubinga board and repositioned pickups were also incorporated into the Laredo at this time - about 1999-2000.) But this construction didn't last long, perhaps because of the expense or availability of the quilted maple...

So let's post photos and discuss the Cheyenne II.

Hi Paul,
so here is one of the 1999 4004Cii breed, which is owned by a friend nearby.

[bassduke49]

THANK YOU, PETER! Excellent shots. Yeah, that's just what I was looking for.

[johnallg]

Ain't that one a beaut! Sigh....

[frtlsbss]

I was curious if anyone knew why they switched to the schaller bridge with the spacer plate as opposed to the original, which is the same bridge you can get on Pedullas?

Frtlsbss

[rickenbrother]

Because the owner of ABM passed away and the company was non operational. ABM is back now, but I'm not sure who owns and operates the company.