4004 basses

[Wickedbacker]

So I've had 4004's in the head for the past few days. I really don't know much about them. I know they have different models; the 4004L and 4004cii, ect. Can anyone enlighten me on these basses? How much different do they sound from 4001/3 models? I guess I never really paid attention to them much, but I had to eventually!

[dricard]

All I can say from experience, is that the pickups are SUPER nice. Really powerful but articulate. I have a few in my project basses, non RIC bodies. I would have to assume that in a neck thru RIC body these only work better!

[jnbass]

Oh man, ya gonna love them 4004's.

To ME, the build-the wood used and the gold bling make for an outstanding looking piece. The tone and vibe is different than a 4003, but still uniquely "RIC"

Still looking...

(sighs)

[rickenbrother]

I do not not have much experience with the Laredo model, but plenty of experience with the Cheyenne II. These are powerful, massive sounding basses. Since the Cheyenne II has maple/walnut/ample sort of sandwich into the body wings and the Laredo is all maple, the Laredo will give a brighter toner and the Cheyenne II a warmer toner, when A/B'ed into the same amp at the same eq.

The 4004Cii basses have become my very favorite basses. I spend most of my playing time on a Cii. Even my bandmates love them best. I get a range of usable tones from them that I have never been able to get from any other bass guitar. If anyone tells you that you can't get a Cheyenne II to sound similar to a 4003, they just haven't figured it out yet or just ain't tryin' hard enough!

I'm sure that owners of the original version of the Cheyenne will add their views on their basses to the thread.

[Wickedbacker]

All of this sounds sweet. Are they still making them? I thought they were only cranking out 4003s.

[cjj]

Yep, they still make 'em. Wildwood has a couple of MidBlue ones, Pick of the Ricks has a couple of Laredos, Fireglo & Mapleglo...

I think they are great, a bit different than a 4001/4003, but still very Rick. I'm not sure how to describe the sound other that what others have said, bigger, darker, fuller. Mine's been modified a bit to have individual vol & tone controls for each pickup and switches to select either single coil or dual/humbucking on the pickups.

[woodyng]

i also really like the pickups in the 4004 series-if you crank the treble settings on your amps they can come pretty close to sounding like the 4003,i have even thought about putting an hb1 in my 74 4000 to see what it sounds like-the old higain sounds great but picks up electrical noise/hum like crazy,in the same settings,the hb1's are dead quiet. the body of the cii is the lightest,thinnest,and sexiest bass rickenbacker has ever made. the necks ARE wider,but they are great feeling necks to me,and my 4000 has one of rickenbackers skinnier neck profiles for comparison. i bought mine used,but it is like a brand new bass,and they do come up on ebay occasionally.

[woodyng]

one of our own forum members has recently posted a blue coy laredo for sale at a great price....its in the rickenbackers for sale section...the laredos should sound a bit more like the 4003,compared to the cii because of the all-maple wing construction.....

[rickenbrother]

The Blueburst 4004 Laredo that Woody mentions is here.
NIce finish. At a nice price too!

[johnallg]

the body of the cii is the lightest,thinnest,and sexiest bass rickenbacker has ever made.

I believe the 4004C with it's extra sculpting and angled upper back bout is the lightest and thinnest bass RIC has ever made. Sexiest is in the eye of the beholder.

[cassius987]

I really like all of the 4004s I've played. Not enough to replace a 4003 in my stable, but I liked them, each one. The HB-1s really do have a surprising amount of clarity for pickups wound so hot.

[cheyenne]

The 4004 series are great basses. I had a CII and a Laredo, but preferred the "brighter" timbre of the Laredo. Rickenbrother is correct, you can get a really mean 4003 tone out of the 4004, it takes a little work, I modded mine Vol / Vol / tone and rolled off the neck pup a bit to acheive my tonal favorite.

In my opinion,the most noticable difference between the 4003 and 4004 is the feel of the basses. 4004's just have an overall chunkier feel to them over the 4003.

To put this into perspective, think of the 4003 having a Jazz bass feel, and the 4004 have the Precision feel.

*Disclaimer"

Im in no way shape or form comparing Rickenbacker to Fender here, just borrowing from my personal experience of playing many different basses through the years and trying to make a comparison everyone can understand.

[ram]

The 4004L is an awsome instrument... the bass is very light but has a huge sound! Its slightly wider neck makes it destin for more strings - which is one reason I picked it for a conversion to an 8 string. As has been said before, the 4004 series may be one of the best kept secrets in all of Rick-dom. To me the L version sounds like a Ripper on Rickenbacker steroids. No mistaking the Ric sound with it thou. I would like to have two more some day one to keep as a 4 string and another to make fretless.

[woodyng]

ah,john,i should have said "in my experience"-i have not yet had the pleasure to check out one of those early walnut bodied basses-maybe one will turn up at the bay area meet next week. but the 4004 body to me is much sleeker than 4001/3,except for the wider neck,the overall feel of the bass is LESS chunky than the bound body models-and the lack of binding on the neck makes up the difference for me as well (just my preference on all basses-i like unbound dot necks on jazz basses too)

[spongebob]

I have experience of both a Laredo and a Cheyenne cii.

They are nice basses, but TBH, I couldn't get them over a 4003.

The contoured feel is different, and I suppose a little more mainsteam compared to the chunky, different feel of a 4003.

Sound-wise, they are massive. I prefered the cii - it really is a monster!

I eventually sold them both....do I regret it? Well, whereas 4003's sell very easily in the UK, 4004's were a lot harder. I do miss my cii a little.....

What I didn't like too much was the looks. I'm aware many will disagree here, bit I find the 4004's look a little too non-discript.... Maybe I just can't get over the lack of a pickguard to break up the colours....which I find also a little garish!

I also prefer the thinner neck profile of certain 4003's as well, which didn't help!

But don't get me too wrong - nice basses, just not for a 4003 traditionalist like me.