Model of the Week three: 4001S and RM1999

[pacealot]

Hey vintage smarties, what's the fretboard radius on the '63-'64 RM1999s?

Variable!
Eden.

+1! Just from my visual observations, I'd say that they were extremely variable. Ted has said that they were radiused by hand on a belt sander during that period. If you compare Roger Waters' bass to Chris Squire's, to take two famous RM examples, you can see that Roger's RM appears almost completely flat, no radius at all, whereas Chris' has a pronounced radius even prior to its shaving/"creaming."

Personally, I'm going to be making a "game-time" decision on my V63 when it comes time to choose the radius. It will depend on how the neck feels when I reshape the back profile, and how much or little wood loss it can stand. Leaving as much fingerboard wood as possible is probably preferable for me, especially since I envision thinning the neck as far as I can go and still have it be able to handle a Swing Bass set.

Good luck in your similar quest Wes....

[1965]

My bass is pretty flat now, I'm planning on going with a smaller radius. The back of the neck is perfect for me as is, so we'll see was the pro says about taking some off the fretboard.

[86kubicki]

Another faux 4001S. Feb 1969

1 001.jpg

Kevin - I'm curious why you refer to your old 4001S as "faux". Did RIC use 4000 series basses to create 4001S basses for occasional "RM 1999" orders in the US market? My curiosity has been piqued since finding a 1970 4001S - it also has "4000" written in the control cavity. Also, when did the export RM 1999 cease production?

[jps]

I IRC, this was originally a 4000S that Kevin turned into a 4001S.

[johnallg]

True, I wired the new controls on a new pickguard for Kevin. It was a 4000 when he bought it.

Steve asks a good question - were all 4001S basses from this period made from 4000 basses, thus the 4000 written in the control cavity?

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

that's what my DK-581 has in the control cavity. not knowing much about rose morris or 4001s basses at the time of purchase, i often wondered if mine was a 4000, 4001s or rm1999 as it was butched when i got it. it does have an original neck cavity. wish i could locate the previous canadian owner for questions as i have his/her canadian social insurance number engraved on the jackplate ! hmmmmmmm.

[gellkeller]

Here's my RM1999. It has some really nice figuring as you can see from the pictures. It did lose a bit of clarity with the image resizing.

[jps]

What year is that, Brett?

[86kubicki]

Thats a beauty Brett!
As I posted earlier, do we know in what years the RM1999 was produced?

[teeder]

I IRC, this was originally a 4000S that Kevin turned into a 4001S.

+1. It was a 4000 with a factory neck pu route. I added the toaster, guard and wiring.

[86kubicki]

I IRC, this was originally a 4000S that Kevin turned into a 4001S.

+1. It was a 4000 with a factory neck pu route. I added the toaster, guard and wiring.

That sounds like my 1970 "4001S" as well. It has "4000" written in the control cavity, but has a factory neck pickup route. Perhaps mine was originally a 4000 that was converted into a 4001S at a later point. That gets back to my main question regarding the 4001S - do we know if it was ever an official model offering by RIC during the late 60's/early 70's? Was it possible that the factory would convert a 4000 into a 4001S if a custom order came in?

[leftybass]

Here's my RM1999.

Man, that is a sweet example. Thanks for posting the pics.

[teeder]

Was it possible that the factory would convert a 4000 into a 4001S if a custom order came in?

That's my guess.
Is your toaster a short pole version? That's all that would fit in mine.

[86kubicki]

Was it possible that the factory would convert a 4000 into a 4001S if a custom order came in?

That's my guess.
Is your toaster a short pole version? That's all that would fit in mine.

It looks like I have the long pole toaster and there was a bit of extra routing to accommodate it.

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

you know...you think whom ever did the drill pressed front pickup wire channel could have done it easily with one quick pass of a router !!!! but the drill press version looks cooler ! (also the japanese never copied it as they did with everything else on the 4001 ! )