Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I smell a 4001V68 limited run coming on!

Make mine with character maple, please!

I think the 4004 has a tonal character that a lot of people are not quite expecting so not everyone gives it the chance it deserves. It neither sounds like a vintage Ric nor is it a Fender clone, so a lot of people are probably not sure what to think on first blush. I was really impressed by the first one I played. It is ballsier than any other passive bass I can think of, with the stock series wiring of the HB-1s. Also, like others, I have played multiple kinds of neck profiles on this model with mixed results in playability (and tone for that matter). I'm pleased to hear they are switching to the new 4003 neck design. Generally the tone is quite good with the simple control harness preventing the nasty tone-suck you'd get if you just mixed these hot humbuckers with the 4003 harness. [If you wire the HB-1s parallel or single coil they play nice with the 4003 harness.]

For me, a 4004 with binding and a slab body instead of the carved design would be very tempting. There's something really classy looking about the sharp bound edges. (I've never experienced the pain people report from them, due to technique differences I guess.) Otherwise I dig the relatively modern appointments like the bridge, surface-mounted controls and minibucker-sized pickups.

Major 4004 GAS here.

aceonbass wrote:Ben Hall has said that the CNC programming has already been done to add the extra route for checkerboard binding on 4003's , but the scarcity of it makes it out of the question to be done on every 4003.

IF this happens, I will endure the 24(or whatever it is now) month wait and place my order. The perfect bass will have been created imho

cassius987 wrote:I think the 4004 has a tonal character that a lot of people are not quite expecting so not everyone gives it the chance it deserves. It neither sounds like a vintage Ric nor is it a Fender clone, so a lot of people are probably not sure what to think on first blush. I was really impressed by the first one I played. It is ballsier than any other passive bass I can think of, with the stock series wiring of the HB-1s. Also, like others, I have played multiple kinds of neck profiles on this model with mixed results in playability (and tone for that matter). I'm pleased to hear they are switching to the new 4003 neck design. Generally the tone is quite good with the simple control harness preventing the nasty tone-suck you'd get if you just mixed these hot humbuckers with the 4003 harness. [If you wire the HB-1s parallel or single coil they play nice with the 4003 harness.]

For me, a 4004 with binding and a slab body instead of the carved design would be very tempting. There's something really classy looking about the sharp bound edges. (I've never experienced the pain people report from them, due to technique differences I guess.) Otherwise I dig the relatively modern appointments like the bridge, surface-mounted controls and minibucker-sized pickups.

I had a 330 for a while and comfort wasn't an enormous issue. . . but I definitely feel the 360 is more cozy to play. For that matter, it's also significantly more comfortable than a 660. Maybe playing an MIM jazz for decades got me used to rounded contours .. . .

Aesthetically, I prefer the look of the 4003 EXCEPT for the pickguard. . . inlays and binding look great. But a simple 3xx pickguard or 4005 pickguard just looks soooo much more elegant than that puzzle-piece looking thing. [ducks]

teeder wrote:I smell a 4001V68 limited run coming on!

Make mine with character maple, please!

You know it!

aceonbass wrote:Ben Hall has said that the CNC programming has already been done to add the extra route for checkerboard binding on 4003's , but the scarcity of it makes it out of the question to be done on every 4003.

Thanks for that.

Every 4003 would probably a waste. But a "limited v68 edition" would be cool!

beatlefan wrote:
IF this happens, I will endure the 24(or whatever it is now) month wait and place my order. The perfect bass will have been created imho

Naaaah, they already achieved that with the 1972!

I plan to buy a 4004 once my financial situation/medical bill situation is more stable. Saw a beautiful one in Fireglo at Wildwood but just not the right time. Hopefully they will be around for a while.

Does the 4004 have a wider neck? That would be what I'm looking for, along with the humbuckers; put some flatwound strings on and that would be perfect.

It seems that the earlier 4004 basses had wider necks, but now the central body/neck section is manufactured same as the 4003 machines, and they are narrower.

Of course, you could get a nice late 90's 4003, that has a slightly wider neck, and bung in a couple of HB1 pickups, and a double coil-tapped V V T T wiring loom, (courtesy of Dane) and you'd have just a bit more flexibility than the 4004 basses, where the most you could achieve would be V V T! By shear good fortune, I have a very nice new (new to me anyhow) 4003 that I've just built up with the humbucker in the bridge position!

But then again, the 4004 basses look damned fine, and it is only a matter of time before I get one!!!!! I just need to sell my '78 4001 first!

Guy

artisan4 wrote:I plan to buy a 4004 once my financial situation/medical bill situation is more stable. Saw a beautiful one in Fireglo at Wildwood but just not the right time. Hopefully they will be around for a while.

How recently? I've been checking their websites regularly addictively for the past few moths and they seem to have only 4003s.

artisan4 wrote:Does the 4004 have a wider neck? That would be what I'm looking for, along with the humbuckers; put some flatwound strings on and that would be perfect.

Morgan,you've just described my 2004 Cii!
I also have a 2004 Laredo,"slightly" thicker feeling neck strung with roundwounds. Both excellent basses! I played a new 4004 and new 4003 back to back recently,and the necks felt identical. (Slimmer,and more rounded,compared to my 4004's)

vulcan_creedler wrote:Of course, you could get a nice late 90's 4003, that has a slightly wider neck, and bung in a couple of HB1 pickups, and a double coil-tapped V V T T wiring loom, (courtesy of Dane) and you'd have just a bit more flexibility than the 4004 basses, where the most you could achieve would be V V T!

Huh. I've got a 4004 with V V T T and it still has the pickup switch: All it takes is stacked pots and the appropriate knobs.

Now, if you want to add coil taps to both of the pickups on a 4004 with stacked pots, well, you've got to be a bit more creative since with stacked pots, you can't also have push-pull. I figured switching from single coil to hum-bucking wouldn't be something I'd do "on the fly" and so, having the switch a bit harder to reach wouldn't be a huge imposition. So, I did it this way: Of course, this has a bit more flexibility, with switches for coil taps, vintage (in-line cap)/new tone, and a switch to give mono/Rick-O-Sound as well: And of course, it's all completely reversible too. Well, until I do the next mod...

I'm liking that, CJ!