NRR3 (New Rics Report Number 3)

[cassius987]

Here comes the third installment of me proclaiming "Hey guys, there some cool basses at Wildwood Guitars!!", basically. Why do I even write these? It's primarily to educate new people on rarer Ric basses, because for several years I would wonder what all kinds of different Rics were like before I finally got to play one. When I go learn about it firsthand I am happy to share. Secondly I am really grateful to RIC for making the instruments, and to Wildwood Guitars for being a great dealer that keeps them in stock, so I figure I am in some small way supporting both businesses by putting this honest ground-level information out there so people know where to look if they are in the market for a new instrument.

This time around I played three basses, basically to blow off some steam after I finished my last preliminary exam. I drove to Louisville in record time and asked to try out all the Ric basses they had (don't worry, I called on my way up to make sure this would be alright), which included a 4004 Cii TransBlue, a 4004 Cii TransRed, and a 4001C64S Matte Jetglo.

First the 4004 Cii TransBlue. This bass was really exciting to see hanging on the wall for two reasons, one being its two-piece neck (although it is a 2008 serial number), and secondly because IT WAS PURPLE. Did anyone else know about this? At the headstock the finish is deep blue, but as you progress to the tailpiece shades of lavender and violet appear until it is pure purple at the butt end. I took some pics on my phone and will try to upload them later. As for playability, the two-piece neck was 1/16'' (my estimate) narrower and a noticeably shallower than the one-piece of the other 4004 I played (reviewed below), so this bass was a bit easier wank around on if necessary but not drastically so. Unfortunately the tone was not really doing it for me--the string balance was good but the tone seemed flat and uninteresting across the board. I honestly think it was the strings because the basic character of the tone was no different from the other 4004, and yet this one just lacked a certain amount of luster (there's probably a word for that). It wasn't bad, it just wasn't grinning ear-to-ear good like I expected after play testing three other 4004s. Also, the action was high, about 5-6 mm off of the end of the fingerboard to the string (whereas I'm used to no more than 3 mm distance). I believe it was the RIC factory setup; there was room for the strings to drop quite a bit.

Secondly, the 4004 Cii TransRed. This one truly was red, not like Fireglo with its smokey border. It was a one-piece neck, and the neck felt much more like a 4004 to me than the two-piece TransBlue bass had--the right width and the right thickness, which was relatively thick. Also, I confirmed what others have said: the fingerboards on these do indeed spread out wider than on a 4003 contrary to the specs listed, but honestly, you do not "feel" this whatsoever. You have to look hard to even notice it. This bass felt a quarter of a pound heavier than the TransBlue (more mass in the neck portion I'm sure) but it was difficult to really know. As for the tone, it was superb. Zingy and crunchy, with a real clarity coming from the neck pickup especially. Ironically I preferred playing with the neck pickup rather than the bridge pickup when I plucked the strings closest to the bridge--the bridge pickup sounded good but it had more mid-range growl compared to the neck pickup's wide-open tone. The action was nearly identical to the TransBlue 4004 but I feel as though the strings were in better shape because the tone was so much nicer with this bass. I mentioned it to the salesman who was helping me.

Finally, the 4001C64S in Matte Jetglo. I didn't know what to expect really, because with a price tag like these have I have never really even given them a serious look. However this was truly a fine bass, and I was especially impressed with the way the matte finish seemed not to show any marks or hand oils as well as the fact that it was a very smooth finish with absolutely no "grab" (although I should note that I didn't notice any grab on the glossy 4004s either). Also, the zero fret was great--the action at the nut was very low and everything played nicely. The neck was a two-piece (based on this being a NAMM 2010 bass) and was very thin, perhaps the thinnest I've felt besides my 4001FL. The tone of this bass was clearer and more open than the 4004s were, especially as far as the 1/2''-spaced Toaster went. I found myself coming back to the Toaster over and over because I found it a lot more useable than the RI Horseshoe. The Horseshoe was nice, don't get me wrong, but it's tone was very mid-rangey and aggressive. I really had to work on taming it more than I wanted to. My favorite tone from the 4001C64S ultimately resulted by turning the Horseshoe down quite a bit more than I'm used to attenuating any pickup, and then letting the Toaster do the majority of the talking. Still, I can see why people like the Horseshoe, as it's certainly got a tone of its own--I'm glad I got to hear one, but I won't be buying any to retrofit. But what was even more fun for me was hearing the slight boost of openness and punch the Toaster picked up at the 1/2'' spacing. In my case the difference isn't so great that it would be worth routing the neck pickup cavity to accommodate it, but I can still see the appeal of it--it's an open and solid tone that's clean and has a splendid attack-release profile. I can see why they say Chris Squire favored this pickup. If I had to have a Ric bass with only one pickup, I would probably go for something like the 1/2'' spaced Toaster, because it's just so darned "useable". Finally, this bass had the same action of the 4004s with 6 mm of clearance at the end of the fingerboard, but there was a lot of room to come down. The stock bridge was not doing any amount of tail lift whatsoever--I was sure to check because I'd heard these models are notorious for it, but this one was fine.

That wraps it up... I will try to post pics of the purple TransBlue finish later on. Thanks for reading, and if you're interested in purchasing one of these basses and have questions you can PM me.

[rickenbrother]

Joshua, thank you for your report.

Now quit stalling with the pictures!

[cjj]

Thanks for the report! That Purple 4004Cii sounds cool, they've got 2 up on their website, but they both have 1 piece necks, so apparently the one you played isn't up yet. Looking forward to seeing your pics!

[harley]

That is a great store and they are customer friendly as well. My wife got me a 350 (JetGlo, of course) from there and they were incredible. I live on the wrong side of Denver to get up there too often but I do check their web site on occasion. Great store and typically with Rics in stock!

[cassius987]

I live on the wrong side of Denver to get up there too often but I do check their web site on occasion.

I have to plan for it well in advance... it's just a 30 minute drive if I-70, 36, and I-25 behave themselves. The drive to it from the east side of Denver was 35 minutes, the drive home to the west side of Denver (closer) was nearly one and a half hours... at 3 p.m.!! I stay away from highways.

[cjj]

Aw heck, it'd take me half a day to get there... 12 hours!


But I did buy a bass from them. Great guys, great service!

Now, where are those pictures?

[cassius987]

Here you go, a couple of photos a la iPhone.

Imagine me making a confused face:


This is in the practice/amp room, you can see the blue-to-violet transition.


How do you know I didn't screw with the colors in Photoshop? (I know you're all very suspicious.) There is a small snippet of the Fiesta Red of a Fender Jazz in the first photo and I think you can see that it's pretty true to the Fiesta Red finish... also a decent sunburst visible, another Fender.

Aw heck, it'd take me half a day to get there... 12 hours!

I really shouldn't complain, but since I've moved to Denver I've come to despise getting in the car if it means a highway later... Now that it's warm the bike is back out. I'm lucky enough to live within three to four miles of most of the things I find interesting in town.

[cjj]

Now that is a cool color!

Man, I love the flamey maple they're using in a lot of those 2 piece necks! I'm almost hoping my 4004Cii develops an unrepairable neck issue so I can send it back to RIC and have 'em replace it with one of those necks!

[T.A.R.]

Thanks Joshua, I've been curious about the two piece necks. Great pics!Really making the RAS hard to overcome

[VRICKY63]

Thanks for the photos and report. RickenLust !

[FretlessOnly]

Having been a fan of Deep Purple since 1973, I love me some purple, and that looks great. Too bad the tone didn't do it for you.

[cassius987]

Having been a fan of Deep Purple since 1973, I love me some purple, and that looks great. Too bad the tone didn't do it for you.

I know! I was so excited to play my first two-piece neck Ric as well--my stable is populated by one- and three-piecers. But I really think it could have just been the strings, because they even looked funny (kind of gunky or dull)--maybe installed, removed, and reinstalled when the bass got its overhaul (it had to be a one-piece originally being a 2008, and Wildwood seems to have been through several 4004s like that).

On the other hand the tone of that red 4004 was just great (of course we know that red basses just sound better), and so was the 4001C64S, especially as I said before the 1/2'' spaced Toaster. I can eliminate set up as a factor as all of these basses were set up almost exactly the same.

[guitfiddle]

But I really think it could have just been the strings, because they even looked funny (kind of gunky or dull)--maybe installed, removed, and reinstalled when the bass got its overhaul (it had to be a one-piece originally being a 2008, and Wildwood seems to have been through several 4004s like that).

That's a pretty valid theory. My experience is that 4004's generally like fresh vibrant strings or they sound a little dull, whereas on 4001/4003's you could dip 10 year old flatwound strings in barbecue sauce and the sound could still be bright if you adjusted it that way.

[woodyng]

that purple is the bomb! beautiful flamey wood in that neck as well. i am interested now in finding a laredo to check out-i bet the varnished fretboards on those makes at least a little difference in the brightness of the tone.....

[cassius987]

Believe it or not I've never played a Laredo. I've always been more interested in the Cii.