Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Just the ticket for that vintage sound Chris.

Very cool Chris.

For those with the 4001C64S, does the sanded horn make it any more comfortable to play than the traditional 4001? One wonders what prompted the sanding to begin with.

It plays the same to me Peter. I think it was probably an aesthetic thing that Paul liked.

I always thought it was just a result of aggressive measures taken when removing the psychedelic paint job, and not necessarily done with any intent to reshape the horns.

Brian, check out this photo with the MMT paint job stripped away, but with the unshaven horns.

Guess my brain was not fully engaged when you posted that picture earlier, I completely missed the point. Thanks Brian, very interesting, first time I've seen Paul's bass with the paint stripped but horns still cresting.

No worries Brian. I don't remember posting the picture earlier. I need a vacation. It looks good huh?

Sure does. Now it gets back to Peter's question, I wonder what got into him to sand it more and smooth out those horns. Any ideas on how long it was in that intermediate state (sanded w/ cresting horns)? It was bare wood at the time, correct? That would tend to collect dirt/sweat/whatever, maybe the sanding that took down the horns was just a general cleaning attempt.

Bk: I think your hypothesis is a reasonable one. I can only speak to the feel of a 4003, but the upper horn has never bothered me. So I cannot see any playing advantage to shaving it down. Brian seems to agree that there is no appreciable difference, from the comfort point of view between a 4001 and a the 4001C64S.

So outside of the coolness factor, what else could have motivated Paul to sand the upper horn? Did he simply take it too far when trying to remove the fireglo finish? Is this the work of someone else? With all the interviews that have been conducted I have always found it unbelievable that more questions have not been asked about McCartney's basses?

Hey Chris! Are you going to leave the 4001C64S the way it is or are you going to sand it down?

I can't believe you suggested that Peter! Don't touch it! If you want one with sanded horns, buy another one.

Sand it!

Jeffrey, you're not helping young man.

Brian,
I think Peter was merely joking about sanding the horns, as noted by his bug-eyed, open-mouthed icon at the end.