Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I appreciate what RIC is trying to do, but I know that I will pass on the C series 4001's.
They are just not my cup of tea and I have no desire to own one, as big a Beatles fan as I am.

Congratulations Bear. Thanks for the nice photos.

Yep, mighty purty bass thar, shore would like to have one myself! But I got them NoDough's disease.
I ain't got none.

Yeah, I got that disease myself, would like it a lot better if it had a normal headstock, what's it sound like Steve? I realize now what I don't like about the headstock, it's not the headstock itself being reversed, it's the TRC cover that's backwards that bothers me, it's kind of like out of synch with the rest of the bass.
I think if I ever buy one of those I'll get a normal TRC, it looks like it might fit and cover the screw hole.

Very nice Scott and Steve ( ee you still got the bear thing going Steve!) Congrats and good luck!

That’s the C series I’ll probably pickup some day. For some reason I’m OK with the reverse HS on the C64S. Bob, I agree with you on the TRC!

Love that satin finish. A natural Cii in satin would be cool!

cheers

Great looking Steve. Our basses could be brothers. Especially the color variations on the headstock. Congrats. Where did you get yours?? How long did you wait? I can't say enough about the sound and how comfortable the satin finish on the neck is to play. Just figured out the bass line to "Silly Love Songs". Sounds killer with Pyramid flats.

Sergio,
Thanks for looking, it is an amazing addition to the collection.

Gene,
Thanks, it shore is a purdy one to hold too. The back has a few swirls of flame to it as well so you are mondo correcto on the discount plywood need not apply assessment.

Peter,
Thank you as well, I'll get some better photos when the sun comes out tomorrow with a non digital Olympus.

G.L.,
Gracias Amigo. NoDough's disease has gnawed away at the old G.A.S. fund on this one for sure.

Bob,
I am still in the amazed infatuation stage so a detailed explaination of the sound will be coming after the weekend. Yes, I'm going take her out to play a gig and a studio session this weekend.
I will also include a side by side photo of the headstocks on the v63 and the C64 s. The major, and dramatic, difference is the weight of the lines in the fonts.

Andy,
I think that a photo or a motif of Ursa Majors would be in just about any background or foreground of any pix shot inside the house.
I'm more than okay with the headstock now that I have had it for a few days, although that was not a concern back when I ordered it.
That satin finish has an absolutely "to die for" feel on the back of that thin neck, the fretboard is pretty tasty feeling too.

Scott,
Fraternal twins maybe? 03 | 29128 (July, 2003)is the info on mine.
Ordered through the Rickenbacker Page from Mike Parks on 01.23.01, 11 days short of 22 months was the waiting period, and well worth it.
Yes that neck is a real dream to play, so fast and so effortless and receptive to finesse and subtle plucking changes. My V63 has the Pyramid flats on it so I can't compare in that respect as yet. Still have the factory RW's on it which are rather light for my taste but..... they do elicit a totally convincing (Clank, Chowmp, Gritch Pang, insert favorite Squire descriptive tone phrase here)

Going back to Bob's question I can say that this is an entirely different animal than most Ric's.
For one observation, as delivered, the action is very low, too low for a couple of other players in town as they immediately fretted out by playing too hard and hamfisted with their pick du 'jour. The odd thing is that you don't get the usual tonal palette of the traditional RIC sound in the customary fretting and plucking/picking manner. You do not need to play hard to make this baby roar. This bass also has the most responsive tone controls I have ever encountered on a 4001. What would usually offer extremely subtle or no change in tone adjustments on the V63 makes a big difference on this one, (damn no name for her yet either, and please no blonde jokes to prod the process along (o;} Can't tell if there is a cap in it or not but the bottom end difference between the pickups makes setting three different tones at the flick of the toggle switch a breeze, yes three usable and distinctly different sounds.
The amazingly fun part comes into play with the harmonics one can wring out of this neck.
Not sure about this but the Zero Fret seems to impart some additional zing to notes that are played hard as well. Through the Bass Pod Pro XT, on the Fish" setting stock sound, it sounds like it enhances/fakes/offers a model of the six string doubling of the Roundabout bass line, then again back off the tone and there is a hint of that bottom end from SPLHCB as well.
Well enough bandwidth for one evening.
Oh, BTW, the official model listing from the Warranty card on these is:

4001C64S MG

There, trivia duties over for the day as well.

Here is the headstock comparison photo I promised. Note the thicker lettering on the reversed TRC, it does not say Made in the U.S.A. on so you can put away the magnifying glasses and close photo shop or fireworks.




Oh by the way Bob, a normal style TRC will not fit on the C64S MG. The top nudges the the E string, note the different placement of the tuners, which needs to be as low as possible for the witness point break to keep the Zero Fret strong, and makes the bottom of the TRC point protroud for finger slicing and dicing. You would require further customizing of the TRC to get a nice fit. It would cover the end hole but the two at the nut are placed differently.

Bear,
if they are as nice as you say, I wouldn't let something like that stop me, that is one glowing review, I will certainly add one of those to my future (far) {because of NoDough Syndrome}) shopping list for Ric basses

Hey Bob, the bound version doesn't have the body horn modifications ...

Gotta admit, as much as I dislike the reversed headstock, Steve's looks quite nice.

I want one. Out of all basses Rickenbacker makes now, that's the one. But by the time I save the samolians, they'll probably be outta production. My love for money is unrequited.

Time for another update, discovery?, about the C64S MG.
But first....

Bob:
After spending more time with this one I can recommend adding one to your "Short List", as they say across the pond, you will not regret it for an instant.

John:
Not sure if the RH just grows on a person or what transpires but I don't even notice it anymore. Glad you think it's a "nice" looking one.

Jerry:
Me Too! I want another one so I can have the choice of flats or rounds set up on a C64S MG. Still takes me back to first time I played a 4001 Rick back in the mid 60's.

Okay here is a similar view, I was sitting on the end of the bed putting on socks of all the dumb things and looked up to think about the next CD to put in, when I discovered a Huge difference between my V63 and the C64S MG:




I then held them up, back to back, to look at the length of the heel carving areas. Not an easy photo to reproduce with only one person but I believe that this photo will reveal what I discovered:



Yes the next step was to find out how much of the heel was carved away, sorry that the next two photos are not the same scale view but you can see the ruler clear enough to measure the difference:





In close enough for Govenment work numbers it appears to be about 1 3/4 inches on the V63 and 1 1/4 inches on the C64S MG.

The difference in neck profile, thin from front to back, is astounding as well. Handling comparison almost makes the V63 feel like a rounded Hofner neck.

There was on old thread here at the Rickenbacker Forum asking "What Would You Do To A Rickenbacker". I can answer that question now by saying that the C64S MG is as close to the "Customized Fantasy Rick" of my dreams as one can get. It just flat out plays and sounds incredible and the Honeymoon is most assuredly Not Over (o;}

Well you've convinced me anyway, Bear.
What is the bound version John? I didn't know they came bound. What is it, bound like a 4003?

My mistake Bob. There are two versions; the C64 and the C64S. The C64 does not have the modified body or zero-fret, but neither have binding.