4004 Laredo jet info

[brelade]

Hello everyone, new member here and my first post so please reply. I used to own a 4003 jetglo and sold it to fund a project a few years back and now I'm looking at getting another Ric. I dont know much about the history of the 4004 Laredo but i like the stripped down look and humbucker pickups. Can you tell me what to look for as i understand the necks have changed a bit and also the pickup placement on some older models can be an issue. Any info will be much appreciated. If anyone has any good audio/video clips i'd love to chem the out. I'd be interested in putting flatwounds on it as im a fan of the macca tone too, good idea or not?

[cheyenne]

I've had both the Cheyenne II and the Laredo. If my experience is worth anything I found the Cheyenne II "darker sounding" tone wise with the Laredo being a bit "brighter" I think this was do to the walnut core on the Cheyenne II vs. the all maple construction with the Laredo. I preferred the brighter tone of the Laredo, but it all depends on what your looking for as far as tone. I'm a Chris Squire / Geddy Lee kind of guy when it comes to Rickenbacker tone,, but if your into flatwound strings you might want someone else to give you advice. Jeff Scott plays a Snowglo 4004L with flatwounds,, maybe he could chime in. ?

4004CII

cheyenne concentric knobs.jpg[/attachme4004L 4004L [attachment=1]cheyenne concentric knobs.jpg

[cheyenne]

I also installed Hipshot Style "A" bridges on both of my 4004's and never looked back.

[aceonbass]

One of the reasons Hipshot A bridges were necessary on 4004's was the negative neck angle that these basses often developed. Earlier basses had wide necks whose fretboards were quite a bit higher off the body than the currently narrower necks, which are shared with the 4003. The current two piece necks are also stronger than the pre 2010 necks too. The tone would be quite a bit brighter if not for the single coil electronics they come with. The 12:1 Schaller tuners were adapted from Schaller guitar tuners, and aren't particularly precise. Hipshot Ultralights or Gotoh GB7's are much better. I'd skip the Laredo and go straight for the Cheyanne with its figured maple.

[brelade]

Thanks all for your replies. I see there are some fundamental issues with earlier 4004 Laredo models. I guess my main question would be from what year of manufacture were the majority of these ironed out? I really hate sloppy tuners so swapping out the originals wouldn't bother me. I like a more vintage bass tone so another Ric should easily fit the bill there as I play classic rock covers in a five piece (2 guitars, bass, drums, vocs) ranging from Led Zep, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker up to Metallica, Alter Bridge and the Foo Fighters. I currently play a USA Fender P bass which i do like and will still use but Its string spacing is a bit wide for my liking. The Laredo in jetglo looks, to me, like a rock bass which is important for the overall band look. Of the ones I've seen, I'm not so keen on the Cheyenne's looks but i see there is a "Dark vs Light" issue here too. Perhaps a Jetglo Cheyenne would also suit my tastes if they made them?

[lordblackmore]

I've owned a couple of older 4004L basses, from before they changed the neck. One of them I had toasters on and the other, the stock HB-1 humbuckers. They both sounded great. I'd still have them if it wasn't for the super wide (for me) neck.

[jps]

Buy a new Laredo in the color of your choice, put Chromes or Jazz Flats on it and call it a day. I agree that the Schaller M4 keys leave a bit to be desired but you can put the tuning keys of your choice on it with a tiny bit of work. The current necks are as slim and narrow as current 4003 models.

[lordblackmore]

I have to say that if I had known they changed the necks on the 4004L, I'd have been seriously considering getting one of those instead of the 4003s.

[woodyng]

Hello and welcome to RRF,Michael.
I came to this forum 8 years ago,seeking the same info as you. You are in the right place!
I now own 3 older 4004 variants,and really love these models. I do agree that one of the new models would probably be best IF your main criteria is a somewhat traditional thinner feeling neck. I've played several recent models,the necks feel to me like a P-bass with slimmer dimensions. (Rounded kind of deep C feel). Plus the Schaller bridges now being used are a great design.
I personally prefer the wider across the board,but shallower neck profile of my older basses,but that's just me. (I own an '04 Cii,'04 Laredo,and a '98 Cheyenne I.)
For a few years,the pickup positions were "dropped",and that presented a challenge only if there were major issues with the truss rods. My Laredo had such an issue,but has been fixed and modified.
The "darker" tone alluded to had much more to do with the standard wiring electronics than the wood construction. I have had all 3 of my basses' electronics upgraded to 500k volume pots,and the capacitor/value changed,and the difference is notable,and much brighter top end no matter what woods the bass is made of.
Also,i have tried quite a variety of strings on these 3 basses. My Cheyenne has a set of low tension flatwounds on it and sounds amazing. (More than Partly due to the '60's Maxima strings on it,but i think a FW set of GHS,Optima,or even TI strings would get you close to the same effect.)

Good luck in your search,keep us posted!

[aceonbass]

Ya, I wouldn't bother paying the extra money for a Cheyanne if you're just gonna have it painted black, unless you really want gold hardware. John and Ben Hall have stated that walnut and maple are approximately the same density, so there should be no difference in tone between the two, all other things considered equal. My first two 4004Cii's had stock electronics when I got them. One had Pyramid flats, the other some kind of roundwound strings. They both sounded really dead when I got them. The reason RIC moved the pickup back up against the neck was so that in case of a truss rod problem, they could be easily removed for repair or replacement. One of my Cii's, a trans red bass, had the lowered pickup positions with the neck pickup further from the neck, and had a truss rod problem (the lock nut at the body end had come off in the channel). This undisclosed issue (the bass was purchased from a fellow RRF member) rendered the treble side truss rod unadjustable, in need of being dug out with a Dremmel. My creative solution to the problem resulted in the customized 4004 appearing on page 137 of Paul Boyer's Rickenbacker bass book.

[jps]

To clarify my comment on the Schaller Tuning Key (I was running out of time so I kept it really short for that post): The keys themselves are just fine, it is the low turning ratio (12:1 IIRC) and a bit of slop in the meshing of the gears (which creates some inaccuracy in fine tuning of the strings). I could live with the ratio if only Schaller would makes the gears mesh tighter to prevent the sloppy "dead spots" when trying to focus in on the correct pitch.

[brelade]

Thanks again, these replies are really useful and there is nothing better than talking to people who know their subject.
I'm coming to the decision that I think I need as new a 4004 as my budget will allow as the neck will be the same or very similar to my old 4003. I also think it will be a Laredo in Jetglo. The Cheyenne II with its "darker" tone sounds interesting but I've never been a fan of gold hardware and as i want this new bass to be a working bass the gold will no doubt start to look worn out quite quickly. Now it comes to tracking one down in the UK. Thanks guys.

[jps]

Do you recall what year your 4003 was? The necks has varied quite a bit over its production.

[brelade]

Hi Jeffrey,

I got it new from GAK in Brighton, 2004.

[jps]

I had a 2004 Cii that I bought new; it has a neck that is larger in all dimensions (not sure about the nut width, though) than the current necks on 4004 models. The current ones are much more to my hand's liking, not quite as small as the '73 4001 I have, nor like that on the 4005WB I used to have (which was thinner front to back but a bit wider). The current ones are real comfortable (to me).