"Three of these things belong together"

[weemac]

I don't want to be a spoil-sport, but I don't think that the 4008 is technically an "S". It looks like one, but there isn't an S in the name and it has binding on the neck (despite the dot markers & lack of binding on the body) and it has both mono and stereo outputs.

The 1986 and 1991 catalogs disagree with you:

http://www.rickenbacker.com/catalog_pos ... ter_p6.jpg

http://www.rickenbacker.com/catalog_pos ... ter_p5.jpg

Still, the neck binding on that is an anomaly.

John, the very few (I think I have seen pictures of about three of them) 4008 basses that I have seen have had neck binding and stereo.
I don't know what the normal spec for these ones were, but this one (I think is an 81 model) also has the early 4003 truss rods (adjusted from the pickup cavity) and has always been strung with the octave string first. It seems to be the defining differences between a 4008 and a 4003s/8
Is there any other documentation floating around for the 4008 basses?

Eden.

[bassduke49]

I don't want to be a spoil-sport, but I don't think that the 4008 is technically an "S". It looks like one, but there isn't an S in the name and it has binding on the neck (despite the dot markers & lack of binding on the body) and it has both mono and stereo outputs.

The 1986 and 1991 catalogs disagree with you:

http://www.rickenbacker.com/catalog_pos ... ter_p6.jpg

http://www.rickenbacker.com/catalog_pos ... ter_p5.jpg

Still, the neck binding on that is an anomaly.

John, you're giving us good info on the 4003S/8, while the earlier 4008 in the topic was a bit different. I believe one of the identifying features of the 4008 is a bound neck, while the 4003S/8 had an unbound neck. I think a lot of posters are equating the "S" designation with the unbound body (and neck) and dot position markers, and while that designator might be convenient, it really isn't accurate. The 4001V63 and C64 series have these features, but no "S" in the official designation. Same goes for the 4004 series (except for the LK). The topic is all speculative anyway.