Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

4005WBPW

Now THERE's a Custom-Shop if I ever saw one! But Paul's gotta want to do it, and he has an entire 16 hours a day worth of work already!!

That is a pretty big distraction for an artist, having to reproduce a multi-employee factory scenario. Better that John licenses it to ME and I hire away the best luthiers out of Paul Reed Smith's shop here in the Annapolis area

After all, I already have the warehouse, shop floor, and most of the tooling. I can name it Annapolis Guitars

It's my understanding Paul is finishing acoustics already started at Ric. I never made guitars but, how would he make all the parts? The tailpiece? The bridge?

Yeah, you could use others but, then would it be a 4005 repro? Isn't that what everyone wants?

I don't personally care to spend that kind of ching on a 4005 but other than 40K for the tailpiece mold, and getting a digital model made of the body, couldn't you just use a 4000 series neck and a bunch of off the shelf parts? Using the 4000 series neck would cut costs and, unlike the original, it could be fitted all the way through the body, negating the possibility that the neck might need to ever be reset again. Fitted to a CNC'd upper body then capped like the original and bound. It would look like the original but utilize more precise modern production standards like all of RIC's current products. Doing something like this AFTER the V68 goes into production(if it ever does) would give you a production neck with the proper vintage style details and construction.

"Actually, at the risk of offending a few people (and I'm not trying to!), I'd be willing to offer the opinion that the perception of many outsiders is that Ric IS the 4001/3 and vice versa."

Should read "...that the perception of many people is the only Rick bass that ever mattered IS the 4001/3..."

Don't believe me? Check out the 4005 the 3000s the 2000s. Where are they now? Dead and gone because not many bought them! They are only bought now because they are rare. Rickenbacker has tried other bass models, I believe they were always doomed to fail.

The only reason that the 4004 is still alive is because it's the right shape and one heck of a great instrument in it's own right!

I agree with the Company line of learning from the past. If they didn't sell then, they probably won't sell now in any significant number that would absorb the start up costs.

And no, I would not even buy a re-issue 4005 for $1,500 (forget about $4K+). There's a lot of other useful stuff I need in that price range.

jmho.

I believe the 4004 would be a lot more popular if the factory could produce them in production numbers. When the factory backlog is caught up, I expect to see the 4004 line take off in numbers and sales. RIC will have time to get the 4004 programmed into the CNC body routers and then you'll have it.

JMHO

Dane, sounds like you want to make a 2007 edition of the 4005, we'll call it the 4007,

RE:4004 - I think if it was put into a couple of stars hands, it would blow up. I'm sorry I don't have one right now. They are great basses.

Hey Paul,

Do you see where this thread is going?

"Don't believe me? Check out the 4005 the 3000s the 2000s. Where are they now? Dead and gone because not many bought them! They are only bought now because they are rare. Rickenbacker has tried other bass models, I believe they were always doomed to fail."

RIC is not alone in this. Fender and Gibson, for example, have made many different instruments over the years, most have failed because the buying public only want Strats, Teles, Precisions and Jazzes/ Les Pauls, Flying Vs and SGs. Not neccessarily because the 'others' were inferior, they just weren't the popular model of the day and had trouble catching on. In the case of the 4005, of course, the 4001 became hugely popular with the rise of Yes, even though many '60s band's bassists played a 4001, it took Chris Squire to really bring the 4001 to the forefront. By the early '70s, hollowbody instruments were out of favor; only in recent years have hollowbody guitars and basses really made a comeback. If RIC could produce the 4005 at a fair price, then maybe it would be a possibility. But John has voiced his dislike of the instrument, which is fair enough reason not to make them regardless of the cost. RIC is in a position that does not require them to bow to our personal demands; we should be quite happy John has listened and given us such things as the 75th anniversary instruments, walnut wings, etc.

Can I get an Amen?

Only if I can get a 4000 series v68 in Amber Fireglo, in which case you'll get dozens !!

There are two luthiers here on the forum that can do that for you, Jim. Just ask JB.

Yes Charly...Aww man!

Oh I'm considering that John, I saw the wonderful job done on Paul's Minkie.

Hey Jeffrey, at passover, we say Dayanu(sp), which means "We are grateful and content". Being that Rickenbacker over any other company has chosen the integrity of their production, over the quantity, we need to respect that.

OK - Who wants a MIC 4005?