Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

cassius987 wrote:

coolhandjjl wrote: Please buy it so I can stop thinking about it.

Please.

I wish I could. I'd love to get another Cii, preferably in Fireglo.

cassius987 wrote:
Please buy it so I can stop thinking about it.

Please.

Got to sell that extra ric amp first. It's either going to be that '73 4001 that guy from the UK has or a 40004cii in MG. Anyone know if the neck redesign is the same on the 4004's? (The change that resulted in the re-design to a two piece unit and made a bit thinner in April of '09)

coolhandjjl wrote:It's either going to be that '73 4001 that guy from the UK has or a 40004cii in MG.

Keep in mind the necks on those two will feel very different.

jps wrote: Keep in mind the necks on those two will feel very different.

Please elaborate if you can. I'm a newbie here

The '73 4001 will have a much thinner and narrower neck, with narrower string spacing, too. The 4004 will be more like a Precision bass in feel, as the strings are basically, the same as to spacing. Of course, this is all academic, depending on what you like in a bass neck.

coolhandjjl wrote:Anyone know if the neck redesign is the same on the 4004's? (The change that resulted in the re-design to a two piece unit and made a bit thinner in April of '09)

There are a handful of new 4004s that were at NAMM that have this feature. The Cii at Wildwood is an '08--therefore not one of them. You'd be looking for a late 2009/early 2010 serial number for a two-piece neck 4004.

Jeff is right that the difference in the necks is noticeable between the two models you're describing. I get along with both equally well, if my 1976 4001FL is any judge (and a 1972 4001 I played as well). The cool thing about the 4004--to me--is that it seems to fill the hand very comfortably the way the neck is profiled. I think analogizing the difference in overall size to a P Bass vs. a J Bass might a decent way for you to get an idea of the difference if you can't try them before buying, although the difference is not actually that stark in practice.

I don't know what a P bass or J bass even feels like. All I have is my '09 4003.

cassius987 wrote:John, Wildwood had boatloads of 4004s for the last several months. They are now down to the last Mohican, one that I played myself and love (a Cii MG). Check out the pics... gorgeous. Great price too.

That is one lovely beast - just what I would go for. No prices on the website that I could find...of course, I just picked up a Glissentar, so now I need a Tonebone PZ-PRE and a viable acoustic amp, so maybe I should go hide in a cave.

I think RIC makes 4004 basses in batches. In the last few years, it was many many months (maybe over a year) between batches if you can go by the "recently shipped" feature on the RIC website. There may be some '09 4004s out there, but my feeling is that they were early in '09 and I don't know of any '10 production. I'd love to stand corrected, though.

bassduke49 wrote:I think RIC makes 4004 basses in batches. In the last few years, it was many many months (maybe over a year) between batches if you can go by the "recently shipped" feature on the RIC website. There may be some '09 4004s out there, but my feeling is that they were early in '09 and I don't know of any '10 production. I'd love to stand corrected, though.

Go to the Pick of the Rics website and look at the 4004L FG and 4004Cii TG specifically. They made a few for NAMM, and those had two-piece necks. They were late (week 52) '09 IIRC.

Also, you can't go by "Recently Shipped" because RIC has sometimes held on to basses for months before shipping them out--I have observed this with Wildwood and PotR on a couple of occasions, specifically with 4004s. I guess it has to do with what a dealer has ordered versus what they are ready to pay for; if not that I don't know what. But I've seen "Recently Shipped" and followed up on the item and it would have been made over a year earlier in some cases.

Not the greatest of pics, but I do believe that these are still available, and they are all from 2009:
http://www.classicaxe.com/search.php?ca ... ckenbacker

My 2 pence worth....

My experience with 4004's - both Laredo and Cheyenne, found them both to have more bottom end than any 4003 I've owned.

To me, the necks - all the 'older' one-piece - were too chunky for my tastes, and I far prefered my 4003's. I think I missed the 4003 shape as well, the 4004 is more contoured, and I would suspect easier to play, especially to those from other bass backgrounds.

I'd love to try a 2-piece neck 4004 - they do sound great, and with a smaller neck, would be a nice change.

However, there's no chance of that! They are such a rarity in the UK, and when they do appear, the prices are silly. Nearly £2000 for a used Cii.

bosco64 wrote:Not the greatest of pics, but I do believe that these are still available, and they are all from 2009:
http://www.classicaxe.com/search.php?ca ... ckenbacker

They had a beautiful looking 4005 refinished. Hollow body, correct? Any connosuers of those out here?

spongebob wrote:My experience with 4004's - both Laredo and Cheyenne, found them both to have more bottom end than any 4003 I've owned.

Having played three 4004Ciis and something like 5-6 4003s in my time, I just don't hear this at all and don't get where the claim is coming from. If anything I think it's because the HB-1s bleed off treble a little more than Hi-Gains, which focuses the mind on the low-end.

the music zoo always has some on their site.

http://www.themusiczoo.com/category/RIC ... er-Basses/

These are all from '08 with one Jetglo from '09.