4004L

[coolhandjjl]

Look what just showed up at my door! A '04 4004L in Fireglo!

I knew it had that black cover under the fretboard when I got it. It's not a full pickup route, wondering if it was a factory mod to fix truss rods? Or where they issued that way before pups were moved? In real life, it's not distracting at all.

Definitely still has the recognizable Ric growl, but a whole different sound than my 4003. I really like it. (Hopefully I can get better pics when time allows.)

[blueflamerick]

Purchased from Ed Roman? I played that bass in his shop a few years ago. Very doubtful that was a factory fix.

[coolhandjjl]

Yeah, I saw it when someone posted that link to the 4001 husk last month. It was advertised as a Cheyenne, so I thought there was also a mod where someone put chrome hardware on. Seeing it is a Laredo, I'm going to call them and try to get the price re-evaluated as Laredo's seem to go for less than Cheyenne's. Don't really mind that it has no walnut, it sounds nice. The flame and maple looks much nicer in real life. From what I've seen of flame and grain, it is really tough to photograph, and I am always impressed more so seeing it in real life. (I photograph a lot of aircraft interiors and building products, and getting hi-end wood grain to look real requires massive retouching.)

[bassduke49]

Of course, the reason RIC "returned" the pickup positions to the original locations was because in the rare instance where a truss rod needed to be replaced, it was impossible to reach the acorn nuts at the body end of the rods. One of the first (?) to have this problem was returned to the factory where they ended up routing out narrow trenches and refinishing the instrument. Shortly afterward, RIC placed the pickups higher where the routing for the neck pickup allowed access to the nuts. This modified instrument has gone through several Forumites and has been modified a lot. It's now in my Forest having been converted to a five-string. Note the nicely smoothed out coves for truss-rod-nut access.

I suspect your Fireglo was another to undergo a truss-rod change and the cover covers up the routes.

[coolhandjjl]

Nice bass Paul.

Under that black cover on mine, there are two trenches cleanly routed out. I suppose anyone could have preformed it. Neck does look straight. Some folks say they prefer the tone with the pup in the 'away from neck' position.

[woodyng]

not sure how much tonal difference the positions make on the neck pickup,but on my cii,the bridge pickup is in the perfect spot for playing fingerstyle in obtaining a jazz bass-ish type tone......i really don't quite understand the logic of the moved pickup positions,if the truss rods have to be removed,wouldn't it be necessary to take the bridge pickup out completely in either case? and why not keep the bridge pickup where it provides the most tonal difference....? i am happy with my bass,so these are just idle ponderings.....oh,nice bass,btw!

[rickenbrother]

Very nice, John! Congrats and enjoy it!

[coolhandjjl]

Hey- thanks. I was a bit nervous dealing with an unknown dealer (to me). Still have to call them about advertising it as a Cheyenne. They could always say 'just send it back', but I'd like to see if they would negotiate.

Joey- at one time, I thought the 4004's needed a bit of 'dressing up', like your white pickguard on your black 4004, but after seeing this grain, I will not hide one bit of it!

[aceonbass]

Of course it also depends on what you paid for it. Ed was offering a pretty big discount on it. I believe he was selling it for about $1700.00, which is cheaper than either a Loredo or a Cii. I got my new Loredo for about $1750 shipped.

[cassius987]

I was offered a new Cii at that price ($1750) earlier this year when I was still somewhat curious about buying one. I would see if you can get the price adjusted, especially with the mod. They may have based the price on the misconception it was a Cii.

[coolhandjjl]

I talked to them, seems like it was an honest mistake. The few Laredos I've seen are either mapleglo, or solid blue or black. Not everyone would catch that Cheyenne's have gold hardware. So when a fireglo with nice flame comes along, pretty easy to think it is a Cheyenne. They asked what they could do to make it right, so I asked for a price adjustment, and received it. They were very pleasant to deal with, seemed like they were very willing to do whatever it took. I got a great bass at a great price!

Now onto some new strings. Not sure what's on there, probably the original Ric strings. E string seems pretty dead. I've got some Sadowsky Blue Nickles still laying around, and my DR Hi Beam steels just came.

I do have to boost my gain with the 4004 compared to my 4003. Anyone know if I do the VT mod if adding separate vol and tone for each pup may help in that regard?

[aceonbass]

A 4003 has 12K pickups, while a 4004 has 15K pickups. The Loredo should be louder I would think. I don't think any wiring change will make the bass sound louder. Try raising the pickups a little.

[johnallg]

My 4004C is quite a bit louder that my 4001/3 basses. A tad louder than my first V63.

[rickaddict]

That's funny. I was in Ed's shop when they first got that bass in. They pulled it out of the back room and showed it to me. They insisted it was a Cheyenne. "You're close," I told them, "the Cheyenne and the Laredo are both 4004's," and then I explained the differences. I also told them that I had a Cheyenne and a Laredo. The guy went in the back (and presumably discussed it with Ed) and then came back out, still insisting that it was a Cheyenne. Then he told me that they punched the serial number into the RIC website and the website told them it was a Cheyenne. I know that RIC's website is not set up to do that, and I didn't come to the guy's shop to argue about a bass, so I just smiled, nodded and eventually left.

Funny though...I think that was around two and a half years ago. Sounds like the guy really stuck to his guns!

[rickenbrother]

after seeing this grain, I will not hide one bit of it!

The beautiful figuring in the wood of a 4004 with a trans finish shouldn't be hidden! Not one bit of it!