Hey Joey! How is the responsiveness of the B string on that bad boy?
Dane. I have two 4004 Cii and natural and a trans red. There really isn’t any difference between the two and I most likely won’t do anything to make them different. I love the RIC string on these basses so I’ll probably always go with RIC strings.
The 4004Cii IMO is the best bass RIC produces today!
I have 9 5 string basses ... and I have owned like 10 others ... so one of the major factors in having a tight responsive B string is getting the right strings ... there are several string makers who make really good E A D G strings but their B string is not so good ... I was convinced that one of my basses just wouldn't make a good 5 string bass ... until I put a different brand of strings on ...
Dane, I had planned on having the two 4004Cii5 basses setup differently from each other. I think to start out, one will have flats, the other roundwounds. I have not had a bass strung with flatwound strings for over 22 years. One of them might even become seriously modded, like into a fretless, or possibly a 10 string if think I can arrange all the tuners on the head well enough.
Andy, your 4004 basses are gorgeous. The 4004Cii5 comes with a .115 B string. Ive never heard a B string that skinny sound so good. The B sring on this bass is much better than most of the 5 string basses out there with a 34" or 35" scale neck. Probably in a month or so I will put new strings on it with a .130 gauged B, it should sound even tighter. The mass of the neck with the neck thru design makes the B string a great one. I'd put the B string right up there with my StingRay5's and they are strung with .130 B strings.
I have used several sets of bass strings that had a low B of .130 ... they all were sub standard ... I find .125 is better ... when the b gets too fat it loses definition ... when the other strings get too skinny then they loose their low end ...
I had a 4003s5 previously and loved the tone and basic feel but the tight string spacing made it unusable for me so I sold it. I then tuned one of my 4003's BEAD (without filing the nut) and found it to be a much better solution for me. I played it like that for about a year and just recently filed the nut properly and it is even better. I would definitely recommend just stringing it first which will give you a good idea if you like it (action a little high at the first few frets but not a big deal). That way if it doesn't work out there is no harm done.