Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi everyone. I'm fixing to purchase my first RICK bass and have kinda come to a dilemma. Although I've always leaned towards the v63's for they're vintage appeal I've recently been looking in awe at the 4003S. There is one thing and one thing alone that got me turned on to "the growl" - MR. CHRIS SQUIRE. Was Mr. Squire's original bass an "S" bass or a 1999RM? I'm not looking for His bass but I just want the bass that'll talk for me, not back to me. I know this forum has alot of great players, both guys and girls. I'm looking forward to hearing from you all and your help and expertise is much appreciated...John

It was an RM1999, one of the original export models with a horseshoe pickup. Sanded down several times after having the wallpaper applied to it and ended up as you see in the tribute model.

Here is the "official" story courtesy of ChrisSquire.com...

The Rickenbacker 4001 is the hallmark of Chris Squire's career and bass sound. He purchased the model 1999 bass (serial number DC127) in 1965 while an employee of Boosey and Hawkes, LTD, a musical instrument retail business. It was the fourth bass of its kind to be imported into England (Rickenbacker is an American guitar manufacturer). Allegedly, the first three had pedigrees themselves, as Chris remembers, "Entwistle had one, the guy in the Kinks [Pete Quaife] had one, and Donovan had one."

He has used the same bass ever since, through his stint with the Syn, Mable Greer's Toyshop and throughout his recordings and performances with Yes.

He swears by that instrument, as it has served him well even though "it's been dropped, chipped, thrown down from one side of the stage to other—not recently, but it has been done." According to Chris' guitar tech, Richard Davis, the headstock was once completely broken off and had to be restored for Chris by Rickenbacker.

The cream color and unique tone of Chris' Rickenbacker has an interesting history. Chris explained in a 1987 interview with Guitar World:

"It went through so many phases being in certain bands—the flower-power thing. I had wallpaper stuck on it with big colored flowers and stuff like that and then when that year was finished it was like 'take it off.' There was this little Chinese guy in Soho [Sam Lee] that used to do guitar repair and he would go, 'Oh terrible! I better shave it off.'

So by the time anyone ever heard my Rickenbacker bass on the Yes record it had actually been shaved down to about two-thirds of the weight of the regular factory model; she sounded completely different."

In 1991, Rickenbacker began producing a limited-edition reproduction of Chris' famous bass. Dubbed the 4001CS, the run of 1000 basses feature a horseshoe bridge pickup, no body binding, mono output, 8 dot inlays, no neck binding, toaster neck pickup, contrasting African Vermilion headstock wings, clear plastic back painted pickguard with Chris' signature, more rounded shaped neck profile. The basses are available only in Cream Colorglo finish. The production run ended March 15, 2000.

And welcome to the Forum, John!

the 2 basses you are interested in will sound quite similar ...

Steve:

That has to be the most eloquent welcome post I've seen!

Kudos!

John:

WELCOME! May I put my vote in for the V63. If your looking for that SQUIRE vibe, it's a great choice.

Welcome to the forum!

All I know about the two basses you mentioned is that I would love to have a mapleglo V63 . . . my dream bass . . .

2/3rd the weight is a bit of an exaggeration, of course.

When talking about "the bass", I find it important to be thorough

Steve...thanks for the warm welcome and great Squire pic. Which would you prefer: the '93 4003S or the '98 4001v63? just curious...John

Welcome John, I'm afraid you will need to get one of each. No use resisting.

No matter which one you buy, you will immediately begin looking for the other.

I'd pick up the one of the two that you can find first. Both will be tricky to locate. If you do not like either, they can disappear fast around here on the for sale thread.

The V63 might be a hair closer to what you are looking for, but whichever one you run across first will do the trick. I played a CS for one set once and it sounded like "my tone", just a lot better than usual! (Thank you SO MUCH, Mike!)
A lot of it is in how you play it. Notice great players get a similar tone with any bass? A lot of it is in the fingers.
It is hard to have just one...

resistance is, futile...

Having owned and played both, (the last 4003S I had sold last week) - I can categorically say you will get a superior Chris tone from the 4003S.

There's a reason why Ric changed to hi-gains over 35 years ago - they sound god**ned fantastic.

Depends what you want. A killer Yes sound, or the looks of an RM1999. I know what I'd go for.

Hi Mark. From what I can tell the v63 is pretty much the 4001CS minus the price tag. It has has the toaster and horseshoe pickup - the 4003S I'm looking at has the horseshoe treble pickup, but a regular bass pickup instead of the toaster. The 4003S is $1600 and the 4001v63 is $2000 so thats why I'm kinda leaning towards the 4003S but I'm still not sure which one is "the one"...John

Here is "The One" :

I have a V63 and have played 4001CSs. Except for cosmetic changes and the Certificate, the two are identical. I'd opt for the V63 IMHO.