Model of the Week Ten: The 4001V63

[rickenbrother]

Mine does now!

Forced it on your 4001V63?!
That's sort of like giving an appendix to someone who didn't have one!

[woodyng]

is it possible that v63's with the longer headstock may have the keys in a slightly different area from their smaller headstock brothers? the playing scale would be the same,but perhaps the length to the pegs is different? i do know that the v63 i had for a while played very differently (more "firm") from my 4000 and my cii, but it had standard gauge rotosounds on it,and i had lighter gauge sunbeams on my other 2 at the time.

[jps]

Mine does now!

Forced it on your 4001V63?!
That's sort of like giving an appendix to someone who didn't have one!

Trust me, it was a willing partner.

[jps]

That's what she led me to believe, anyway.

[ig55]

Is there anyone who suffers from v63's high tension strings? I realized it is not related with the string type or the set up of the bass. There is obviously big different between 4001 and couple of 4003's I have and my v63. Am I the only one who experience it or is this normal? I really wonder it.

Just to inform you guys about what happened afterwards...

I'm the new (and proud) owner of the mentioned Jetglo v63. When I got the bass, it was strung with Rotosound roundwounds and the strings were really stiff when compared to my previous 4003. Also the action wouldn't go as low as the 4003 even with the neck set up dead flat and the bridge all the way down. Then I noticed that the tailpiece was a bit lifted at the end (the classic problem). I tried to tighten the screws fixing the bridge to the body and noticed that the screw holes had become loose. I took off the bridge completely, filled the holes with wood and reinstalled the screws, tightening them well. Now the strings are way softer compared to how they were, and the action is a bit lower. It is still not as low as my previous 4003 though, but I don't use it lower than what it is now, anyway. Maybe I can have the nut and the bridge saddles filed sometime in the future, as I don't like to use the bridge lowered all the way down.

Other than this issue, the bass is certainly yummy I installed a .0047UF cap to the bridge pickup and I found the sound more to my liking. It was too boomy with both pickups at full-range output. With the low-end cut off from the bridge pickup, it sounds way more balanced now. I may (or may not bother to) add a push/pull pot to be able to use the horseshoe full-range in the future...

cheers...

[gbarchus]

"The 4001V63 does not have the .0047 cap. The 4001V64 and V64S do."

Thanks for the information! Now I don't have to plan bypass surgery.

Wait a minute: Does the cap play any role in getting a Paul McCartney sound?

Gale

[jps]

"The 4001V63 does not have the .0047 cap. The 4001V64 and V64S do."

Thanks for the information! Now I don't have to plan bypass surgery.

Wait a minute: Does the cap play any role in getting a Paul McCartney sound?

Gale

Now you have to plan for cap grafting surgery!

[johnallg]

The 4001V63 does not have the .0047 cap. The 4001V64 and V64S do.

Mine does now!

Welcome, Gale!

So's mine.

Welcome Gale!

[johnallg]

I installed a .0047UF cap to the bridge pickup and I found the sound more to my liking. It was too boomy with both pickups at full-range output. With the low-end cut off from the bridge pickup, it sounds way more balanced now.

cheers...

Yup, that is why I added the cap to my V63 also.

[gbarchus]

Hmmmm?

Is there anyone who plays mostly on the bridge pickup?

Gale

[teeder]

Hmmmm?

Is there anyone who plays mostly on the bridge pickup?

Gale

I do with my V63. It has a great aggressive tone for the modern rock that my current band plays. The bridge pu is either on full combined with the toaster on 7, or soloed.
I never cared for the tone of the "hot" toaster, so I recently replaced it with an older one which sounds a lot better, IMO. A new scatter-wound toaster sounded equally well.

Now on my '71 4001, I like the toaster on full combined with the capped hi-gain. Sweetness!