Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Incidentally, you may want to view more 21 fret 4001s under 'The 21 Fret 4001 Basses Thread'.

I thought yours had a skunk stripe?

Man..These basses are beautiful.....Pauls' and Sergios'....and Kendall,that is a serious RED....that is striking.....are you going w/ nickel and chrome hardware,or black ?

The plastic is black, but the hardware is chrome.

A skunk stripe? Not in 1970.

Sorry I thought yours was a 71 like mine. I didn't even see the information above your picture.

Wow, Sergio, that is gorgeous! How does it sound?If only there were more basses from that period around in the UK (well maybe there are, but they never seem to go up for sale!)I will definitely check up on the 21 fret basses thread. Incidentally, I've read around here somewhere that there were 3 short scale 4001 basses produced; I nearly got to buy one of them a few years back (around '94), but the shop it was in didn't take credit cards (and I didn't have the cash). It was up for £895; I remember when I first inquired I thought it was just fairly similar to mine, but the shop owner said "oh, its a bit wierd, its a short scale. Never seen one before...."! Yet another of those might have been basses.....

Thanks, Shaun. Well, originally it sounded truly great, albeit a bit lacking in output. This prompted me to fit it with two of my own creations (which stick to the original specs though, namely as regards ohm ratings), and now it beats any Rick bass by a million miles as far as tone (!) and output are concerned. I'm neither boasting nor being immodest, really. It sounds better and hotter than any other of my Rick basses. It's a veritable killer.

Dr Silva
I need to speak to you about a dead transition hi gain rewind.

Sergio, I'm intrigued! I guess being new around here I've still got a lot to learn.....any clues as to how your "creations" differ, or is it a trade secret? I'd certainly love to hear that bass! BTW took my 72 4001 and my new 73 4000 to rehearsal last night (have previously only taken one or the other) and the 4000 is so LOUD!!! Admittedly the 72 still has the cap (it also sounds sweeter) but the 4000 is about twice the volume and so aggressive; is that common for a 4000? The only other one I've played was 20 or so years ago.

Hi, Kendall. Feel free to name your requirements. Actually, rewinding pickups is all I can do at the moment, since I've not yet been able to find #44 magnet wire for winding new pickups. I'm still hopeful regarding finding said wire.
Shaun: there's nothing special or novel about my creations. When I build a pickup, I simply try and make optimum use of the 'ingredients' available to me, meaning the wire, the polepieces, and the magnets. That's all. In case you're wondering what makes my 4001-style treble pickup, for instance, sound louder than a stock one (I never remove the .0047 cap), the answer is a stronger magnet and larger (in diameter, that is) polepieces. It's that simple.
The 4000 Model is louder than the 4001 Model because a) its wiring harness does not include the .0047 cap and b) its single high gain pickup uses the same large magnet as the 4001.

Sergio,
Is the offer still good to rewind my ded pu into one of your killers? If so send me a email with the address and I'll get it in the mail.
[email protected]

Sure. Bear in mind, however, that there is not much room for improvement if a dead pickup is rewound to exactly the same specs and using the same parts (bobbin/polepieces/magnet).

What other options are there?

Shaun, to answer your question concerning the loudness of a 4000, yes, they are loud. At least my '68 is, but it has a re-issue H/S in it. I take it to and use it at every gig. In fact, I have been using it more than the 4003..and I love my 4003.