77 VS 08

[jamespaul71]

No way- the caps alone are not fancy circuits. In audiophile applications, including studios, its the circuit not the part that makes the sound. Why do people still use neve preamps with original 40 year old +-10% or +-15% parts in them?

Now, on the whole, it can make a difference: Old Rickenbackers used different wood, not farmed like today. It was fairly random as to how your tree grew. The construction wasn't cnc, it was fairly random... guided but not 100% identical. The pickups were all over the place, but most of the difference there was that they weren't wound as hot so the dynamics are better and less distorted. The combination of all of these random but guided parts with variation ended up equalizing out and creating a great circuit... kind of like those neve and other vintage preamps that still kick ***. Todays bass can be just as good, but when you use lower tolerance parts the circuit better be damn good or else the parts are a waste... see?

I find the biggest difference between the old and new ricks is in the wood and the way the neck bends. I can shake and bend my old rick neck to create a vibrato effect while my newer 4003 doesn't' budge one bit. Whatever happened in the way the neck was constructed, or in the wood material, it reduced the flexibility and the way the neck resonates with the string. I think thats the biggest difference.

And let me end by saying that these differences are neither good nor bad- each bass has character and each generation of this "circuit" has its own strengths. I love both my 4001 and 4003, they do different things equally well.

[jingle_jangle]

Pretty darned well said, Jimmy.

Accepting the basic premise, though...the random combinations should also produce a number of dogs when negative attributes were by chance assembled into one instrument. But Rickendogs are in the vast minority. Conclusion: Design integrity allowing for a huge fudge factor.