A full review will be posted! I think Jeff has done a lot of tweaking to that one, I played it on Thursday when I was having Jeff re-do the nut on my Thunderbird, and it is a nice one. Since then it got a toaster put in, so it can only get better! Just hope it gets Strap-locks put on it too!
"They make great f***'n basses". - Lemmy, NAMM 2009
here's some pics of the 79 cleaned up ... it has about the flattest ric neck that I have ever seen ... the bridge has to be raised up a lot and then the action is really low ... notice how the strings are alost to the top of the mute ... If I played 4 string basses I'd be tempted to keep this one ... and it does have strap locks now ...
ok .. I got the bass ... made in Jan 1998 ... this baby is pretty clean ... it is like New Old Stock ... I think it even had the original strings on it ... this baby has no signs of wear or dings ... I put new strings on it and tuned it up and lowered the action ... very pretty wood ...
but what was rickenbacker thinking when they wired it toggle, volume, tone ... that wiring precludes the subtle blending of Volume, Volume, Tone ... it is like telling a painter that he must use colors right out of the tube and not blend them ... bad move Rickenbacker ... the one flaw on a cool bass ... also the fretboard seems to be unfinished ... or it has a very thin finish on it ...
ok ... my new 98 4004CI has a history ... it has a sticker inside the control cavity that has the model number, the date it was finished, and it says NAMM ... so I conclude that this bass was on display at the 1998 NAMM show ... maybe someone from Ric can confirm or deny my conclusion ...
Jeff, I'm not surprised that you are that impressed with the '79. Of all my Rick basses, my '79 4001 is my favorite for it's tone and playability...I just wish it was a 5 string.
most 70's rics are a joy to play ... this one has a slightly slimmer neck than my 4003 basses ... it looks nice and feels nice and plays nice ... and yes it is a shame it has no low B ... I'm not as brave as Dane ... I'm not ready to convert a 70's ric to a 5 string bass ...
Steve cooper made a joke about how 4 string basses get nervous in my house ... they are afraid they will get a hole drilled in their headstock ...
right now I have 3 nervous 4 string basses in my house ... a 2002 4003 mg bt, a 1998 4004CI, and a 1979 4001 JG ... I will probably sell the 1979 and I haven't decided what to do with the other 2 ...