Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Mid-70's 4001's

Kingbreaker wrote:This is a bit OT but I am curious. . .

How do the necks on the current production 4003s compare to those made, say eight years ago?

The last time I tried a Rick bass was probably about 2004. . . are the newer ones wider or narrower? Deeper or more shallow?

They are flatter now without question.

My 1974 Rickenbacker 4000 bass has the best neck, IMO.

My Sept 1977 4001 Jetglo.... Is the best by far. Even the quitar itelf is like feather lite to me anyways. I just love it!!!
Nice low action and narrow too... I might be biased though....lololol

I'd have to go with my July '08 4003FL over my Dec '72 4001 and my April '73 4001FL. Why? I like a neck that fights back a bit and I also like a wider board to allow pull-offs on the G string to not "time out" as they cross past the binding and into the land of bzzzzt. Yep, I play that hard with both hands. Just tonight I replaced the G string saddle on my Dec '72 4001 with one that is notched closer to center so I have an extra 1-2 mm of board between the G string and the edge of the fingerboard. It makes all the difference in the world, even if I have to accept slightly uneven string spacing as a result.

Them '72-'73 necks feel nice back to front, but they are a bit narrow for my tastes.

I'd rate my '74 4001 as having the fastest and most comfortable neck (vs '72/3 4001 "Frankenrick", '74 4000 and '00 V63).

I'm currently using my Hofner as my main gigging bass, so the fretboard width of the Rickenbackers seems enormous to me at the moment.

I'm really loving this '61 neck at the moment, probably because it's just been refinished, but I really do like the early ones. Not a wide fretboard and a smallish D radius IMO. Great little basses. A little heavy to some, but this thing SUSTAINS!!!

sloop_john_b wrote:

Kingbreaker wrote:This is a bit OT but I am curious. . .

How do the necks on the current production 4003s compare to those made, say eight years ago?

The last time I tried a Rick bass was probably about 2004. . . are the newer ones wider or narrower? Deeper or more shallow?

They are flatter now without question.

Flatter meaning the fingerboard radius itself or the profile of the back side of the neck?


To be honest, the necks on the 04/05 -ish 4003's seemed really, really chunky to me. I'm curious if they have the same feel or if they've dieted a bit. [To put this in perspective, my bass for years was a MexiJazz. . . so that obviously colors my judgment a bit.]

My '74 MG Shallow D feels great. The neck feels like silk. Graham that Bass is just beautiful.

My ´03 4003 has a near perfect neck. The best one I have ever come across. Not too thin, nice even round shape and it´s not too wide either. As an opposite my ´10 4003 and another ´10 4003 I once played had both the most unconfortable necks ever. Would be nice to try some of the older Ricks, like ´74 4001 for example, but they are hard to find here.

Graham,seeing that 4000 nearly made my swallow my coffee wrong....that is STUNNING! It looks like a complete refinish,including chrome parts? Or is it just that pristine? New pg? Please elaborate.....

The Maurice Gibb RM DH163....I used to bend the neck for vibrato!
So thin and straight low action just the best.
Make more of these!
Graham,
Love that 4000.
Maybe Rickenbacker should re-introduce the old bridge?

woodyng wrote:Graham,seeing that 4000 nearly made my swallow my coffee wrong....that is STUNNING! It looks like a complete refinish,including chrome parts? Or is it just that pristine? New pg? Please elaborate.....

Yep - a complete refin & refret. I have the original pickguard, but it looked a little shabby against the refin, so I had a new one made. It also had a BADASS bridge fitted when I bought it, so I had to go with a new tailpiece and 4 saddle bridge. Apart from that, it's all original, oh apart from a replacement TRC as well. I think that's it

pag wrote:The Maurice Gibb RM DH163....I used to bend the neck for vibrato!
So thin and straight low action just the best.
Make more of these!

I'll have to agree with this. The Gibb bass takes the cake.

late 60's early 70's