Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

what do you guys think of the headstock without the walnut wings?

Yes, I'm liking mine. Switching between the 4004 and the Shadow (an '86) is quite a change, as the Shadow is very slim, a lot more so than the last 4003 I had. The 4004 is closer to the newer 4003s, especially at the nut, with a pretty stocky profile.

If they ever get around to the 5 string, I would think about one of those, but the neck might be too wide.

I think I like the walnut wings more, but I don't dislike the all maple look.

Andy, congrats on that bass. Its a beauty. I like it with or with out the walnut wings on the headstock. Enjoy !!!

Headstock looks great Andy, Mine has all gold screws, with a black tip on the switch like Jeff's, an unfinished fingerboard. The neck on mine is very comfortable for me, but I like a wider profile.

My unfinished fingerboard.

Scott, am I correct that your bass has the same sandwich profile as Andy's?

My fretboard is also unfinished.

Andy, I would prefer the walnut wings. However, I do like the all natural headstock on your bass. It seems to "fit". Again, congratulations and I hope this brings you many years of pleasure. I'm certain it will...

Yep. I think its one of the coolest features. If you go to the "Pictures of your Rickenbacker Bass" topic and click on "archive through July 25th 2003" You'll find my pics. How's it settin up Andy ? It took a few months for my neck to settle down. Now it never goes out of tune and has the best action of any bass I own.

Andy,

From your photos it doesn't look like there is much "character" to the Maple on your bass. From other examples I've seen in photos, the 4004Cii usually has incredible figuring. Does yours have nice figuring and it just doesn't show up in your photos or what? I was hoping mine will look incredible but now I am not sure what to expect when mine finally gets here.

Scott. the neck is setting up nicely. It pretty wide for me though. It's seems like it would make a nice 5 string neck. I'm getting use to it just can't play it after my V. They put silver screws on my TRC - need to change that!

Jeffrey, The figuring is pretty subtle - it doesn't realy show up in the pics. In certain light looking straight at it you could hardly see it. That's fine with me. It's actually what I prefer.

Hope you get what you're looking for, Jeffrey! I'm not 100% just yet, but I'm getting there. Really need to adjust to the neck.

How long have you been waiting?

cheers!

Bottom Line Andy, are you happy with it ? I'm just very suprised to see all the changes made to the model, all without any notification to you. Dont get me wrong buddy, I think she's beautiful, absolutey gorgeous, but I just think that if a person shells out this kinda money for an instrument, they should get what they order. Kinda makes you wonder what the Lemmy's are gonna come out looking like.

It hasn't been that long compared to you, only since the end of May. Perhaps since you have yours that may indicate that RIC is making 4004s now, so who knows? I have the feeling that RIC may build instruments in batches since they obviously do not have the production capacity to build all models simultaneously, just my guess. Perhaps John Hall can enlighten us as to this possibility. If we all really knew hows things were done over there we could understand things better and maybe the pressure would be off them.

My '67 4005 WB has a thinner neck front to back than my '73 4001, 11/16" compared to 13/16" although the nuts are the same width, 1 5/8". Even with the slight difference the 4005 WB feels a lot thinner, so I guess small differences make a big difference in the feel of the neck.

I could go either way as to the Walnut headstock wings, but since I do not have a choice I will love it nontheless.

I assume you find the ABM bridge much easier to set up than the standard RIC bridge on the 4000/1/2/3 series basses. Too bad RIC has not come up with a similar replacement for those bridges, as Hipshot seems to have dropped the ball on the one they were going to make.

Andy's situation is one reason why I am extremely reluctant to order a new guitar from Ric. I'm pretty picky when it comes to the look of wood, and the Cii I got is what I wanted and expected, with a fully figured top, and the walnut wings. I paid more than market value for it on ebay, but I'm glad I have it now. I like to know what I'm buying, especially when dealing with natural finishes.

Of course, even the last Jetglo I got new wasn't what I was expecting...

Congrats, Andy. I hope that it was worth the wait. I've been waiting for mine since April 2002, so since you got yours, I'm pretty optimistic that mine isn't that far off. Mine's gonna be in translucent green, so if the top is highly quilted or not as much, it will still look awesome! I'm kinda surprised that they've started to finish the fingerboards now, maybe it was a one-time thing. Finished or not, I just want to get mine!

BTW - are they lining the cases in black now? Way cool!

Hey Jeff, can you post some pics ? I was about to ask if anyone had a natural one with walnut wings.