An issue of incompatibility. Input requested.

[Ivan3000]

Wait for the 2013 Squier VM Erik.

Squier is making a bass VI??!?!

[ricmic]

Mathew, though I am taller than you [6'1"] I have small hands and short, stubby fingers. I firmly believe that with just a little settling in, you to will find a Ric bass to fall in love with. They grow on you Bro. Trust me, even though you can get the neck shaved down, and there are incredible people right here on this forum that you can contact for this, in the end I don't think you will need to have it done. You just need to spend a little more time with one. Try it. Mark

[SquireFan91]

Thanks guys. Perhaps it is just a matter of adjustment. I currently play a Schecter 004. The neck on it is truly tiny, like between a Jazz Bass and an Ibanez SDGR. Perhaps I'd just need the opportunity to play a Ric long enough to get used to the neck. And depending on what can be worked out, "Snow White" there looks like the winner for me. PM sent. Thank you all so much, you've been very helpful.

[coolingitdown]

Wait for the 2013 Squier VM Erik.

Squier is making a bass VI??!?!

If true, tempting.

[aceonbass]

Mathew, If you're playing style is to grab the neck with your thumb around the top, then you might try placing it in the middle of the back of the neck. How high or low you wear the bass makes a big difference too, as wearing it higher up will make playing in the previously mentioned style easier, while wearing it lower will make it harder. That aside, I'm pretty sure that a 4000 series bass neck could be narrowed about 3/32" on each side to make it on par with a Fender Jazz neck. I wouldn't do that with a bass with the old truss rod system though. I think the best candidate for this would be a current 4004 as there is no neck binding or inlays to be replaced.

[teeder]

Mathew, I played a '65 J-bass for 20 years before I got my 4001V63. This V63's neck is on the large side as far as Ricks go and I thought I made a big mistake buying it. Long story short, I stuck with it and now it's much more comfortable than the Jazz neck. As a matter of fact my fingers would cramp if I played the JB for any length of time and couldn't get through a gig now.
I would look for a 4001 from about '74 or a 4003 from about '86 to '92 to try out. The '60's necks can be tiny, but there's a nice price that goes with them.

[Ivan3000]

This is obviously a last-attempt suggestion, but what if you buy a Rick 3000, and then have someone make a custom body for you, or find an old beat up 480 and retrofit it, reshape the headstock and there you go! A shortscale 4001. Thats what I plan to do in the (far) future.

[aceonbass]

The last 3000 bass I saw on Ebay went for over $900.00! That's a lot to pay for an instrument to have to replace the body. Rick has actually made a few medium scale 4003's before. I think they were 32" scale. Essentially this would require a new fretboard, filing and rerouting of the bridge pickup cavity, filling and rerouting of the bridge/mute routes, and moving the tailpiece forward.

[Ivan3000]

The last 3000 bass I saw on Ebay went for over $900.00! That's a lot to pay for an instrument to have to replace the body. Rick has actually made a few medium scale 4003's before. I think they were 32" scale. Essentially this would require a new fretboard, filing and rerouting of the bridge pickup cavity, filling and rerouting of the bridge/mute routes, and moving the tailpiece forward.

I know it sounds stupid from a guy who doesn't even have a Rick, nor can afford one at the moment, but it is totally worth it in my opinion. Shortscales rock!

[aceonbass]

The bass neck on my custom Rick double neck was actually a 3001 neck that had it's fretboard replaced with a 24 fret short scale (30") fretboard. I also sanded the neck a bit narrower. The thing plays like butter. I can only imagine that this is what Chris Squire's Rick feels like in his giant hands.

[ajish4]

Mathew, I played a '65 J-bass for 20 years before I got my 4001V63. This V63's neck is on the large side as far as Ricks go and I thought I made a big mistake buying it. Long story short, I stuck with it and now it's much more comfortable than the Jazz neck. As a matter of fact my fingers would cramp if I played the JB for any length of time and couldn't get through a gig now.
I would look for a 4001 from about '74 or a 4003 from about '86 to '92 to try out. The '60's necks can be tiny, but there's a nice price that goes with them.

A big +1 Kevin. Kevin covers the RIC era basses perfectly. My 1988 V63 had the thinnest neck of any V63 on the "Measure your girth" thread. My 1974 4001's were consistently thin, as is my 1978 4001.

One thing I changed was I opened up my left hand position a bit. Helps, but not as much as a nice thin neck.

BUT, if you truly want to try a THIN NECK, so thin your hand may cramp, is a USA Peavey Dyna bass. 1.3" at the nut. Makes a Jazz bass seem chunky. I too have small hands and chubby fingers, and this thing is T H I N!!! Very, very fast neck. BUT, after about 1.5 hours of playing, my left hand starts to cramp. Just a tad TOO thin!

[jps]

..As a matter of fact my fingers would cramp if I played the JB for any length of time and couldn't get through a gig now.

+1, there was a long thread on TalkBass a while ago about just this thing.

[johnallg]

There are some older threads about neck measurements:

viewtopic.php?f=31&t=399814
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=399923
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=280979

I don't know what has happened to the spreadsheet that is referred to in these threads.

It might be worth your while to try to attend a Confluence where you would be able to play a variety of models and years to get a first-hand feel (literally!) for any particular bass.

http://files.rickresource.com/Rick_400x ... ements.xls

[SquireFan91]

Wow, wasn't even thinking about my hand. I'm sure that's part of the issue. My thumb's about in the middle, but a little in front of my hand (towards the headstock) rather than right behind it as it ought to be. The "proper" position has always made my hand hurt. I wear my bass pretty high as it is, upper horn about at my solar plexus. Maybe I should bring the Ric up higher still? And the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that I just need to adjust to the width. I often find the Ibanez SDGR line uncomfortably thin, so I'm sure I have room to "grow into it" so to speak (not that I really have much real growth ahead of me at 22, but you get what I'm saying .) Looked a bit a Snow White and from what Sepp told me, it seems to be just what the doctor ordered. Shaved down to RM specs, and oozing vintage Squire/Ox/Waters vibe. Again, thank you all so much, you've saved a dream I thought might die.