Page 1 of 4
4004Cii Fiver
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:36 pm
by markbass99
Ok, I was sort of inspired by Brian Crisman's 4004Cii5 parting jab at J.H., so I got off my rump and start looking into a five string conversion on my 4004. I doubt if I would be happy with the model that's been discontinued as the neck would be wider than I would like(its got a 2" nut) and I was intrigued by the roominess of the fretboard and headstock on my 4004. I found an inexpensive 2 1/4" barrel type bridge($23) and fabbed it up with the existing 4 string nut to get an idea of what the spacing would like at my plucking hand....and I like it, there's about 9/16" between the strings above the treble pup. I'm going to use modified 6 string nut($4) like Jeff Rath suggests, and I got a place scoped out for a fifth hipshot ultralite tuner($21). I'm waiting on the tuner and a string set and then I'll get back to you all with the results.
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:58 pm
by atomic_punk
Mark, I don't know if I would go that high with the 5th tuner, I've seen Jeff R go between the two on the treble side with those tuners and it works quite well.
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:15 pm
by sloop_john_b
Yeah, that looks a bit scary.
Man, I love this bass. Be carful with it Mark!
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:30 pm
by markbass99
Steve, I had reservations about that location too, but the Rath position always looked too crowded, although it seems to work well for him. Another position I considered was right at the middle on the end of the head with the tuner sticking straight out, there's plenty of clearance with the "wave", but I dismissed that as being too weird looking and hard to access. I've seen somebody else put one in the "wave area" before, the wood is really meaty on this headstock(almost 3/4" thick), there's a decent amount of tilt on the headstock, and that position is only 7 1/2" from the nut.
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:44 pm
by markbass99
This a picture that I used to mentally invision possible tuner locations, look at the real estate on this thing! Don't worry, I'm treading carefully on this project, my next step is to do the nut and string it up with just the lower 4 strings to further investigate whether I'm going to like the spacing with my left hand. It's still not irreversible at that point. One of the biggest considerations was the hipshot tuner, it's got a really small footprint on the back because it uses a threaded type bushing and a small single screw anchor tab.
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:48 pm
by jwr2
before you drill a hole in that bass ... think about it ...
http://www.3dentourage.com/425/2002%204004cii5.htm
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 4:54 pm
by jwr2
Right now I am out of town ... when I get home I will post a picture of a 4-2-5 bass with the tuner in the horn ... so look at it and think about it before you drill the hole ...
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:03 pm
by rickfan60
IMHO There are only two ways to do that mod properly. The easier and less expensive way is Jeff's method. It is tried and true. Jeff does a great job on them. I've played one and was impressed by how well it works. The woodwork is minimal and no re-finishing is required.
The other and more expensive way would be to plug the existing peg holes plane the back and front of the headstock to thin it then replace the planed wood with thin layers of maple. If it is done right it could be made to blend in with the existing wood. If you want to get fancy, the upper head wing could be replaced with one modeled after a Rick 5 string so it looks more natural. The head of a Rick 5er is the same length as a 4 string. Only the upper wing is extended slightly to accommodate the third tuner. If you wanted to make it really fancy, the head wings could be made from a contrasting wood like bubinga or walnut. Just my $.02
Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2006 5:08 pm
by markbass99
Thanks Jeff, I would really appreciate that, it's going to be a while before I get to that step, I appreciate all the feedback everyone's giving me.
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:05 am
by atomic_punk
Ted, that's a good option I never really thought of. You'd have to be handy at woodworking and re-spray the peghead, though. At first, I was one of those people who didn't like Jeff's mod being on the "wrong" side, but now it looks very normal to me....maybe it is just seeing it so often.
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 7:27 am
by teeder
Jeff, that's a beautiful bass! You don't need a FG V63 do you?
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:09 am
by ricosound
... no, but I do!
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:09 am
by jwr2
a fireglo v63 ... hmmm ... I prefer the mapleglo v63 basses ... but I am thinking about getting a amberfireglo 4003 and having checkered binding installed and doing a 4-2-5 on it ...
as per the holes in a headstock I always thought the best way to 4-2-5 a 4003 would be to fill the existing holes on the treble side and then drill 3 new ones ... this would of course work best with a jetglo bass so you could refinish the headstock and it would then look almost factory ...
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:13 am
by jwr2
Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2006 12:38 pm
by aceonbass
Hmmm...I think putting the A tuner on the end of the headstock on the top side might look interesting. I definitely wouldn't worry about it from a structural aspect and the A tuner on my 4008 is at least as far out on the headstock. This should come down to pure asthetics in it's location. Ted is right however about the "best" way to do it. Another way would be to cut the headstock wings off to the point that the original tuner holes disapear. Then graft on new wings and re-drill for five tuners in a new location being mindfull of interference with the truss rod cover.