Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

After reading the 4004 toaster post and thinking about the walnut /maple sandwich on the Cii , it occured to me.....most RIC basses are neck thru maple....so the wings should not make a big tone difference , if any . Hi gains on a Cii should make it sound like a 4003 . My Cii has toasters but does not sound like my 4001......I am going to install some 1982 guitar hi gains in the Cii and see if it sounds like a 4003/4001 . Really....all the RIC sound must come from everything that is lined up from bridge to nut . Why would walnut wings make any difference ?

The walnut headstock wings are unlikely to make a difference in the sound, but the body wings definitely do. The walnut seems to be a more mellow sounding wood, the maple on the other side is a very crisp sounding wood, so the synthesis gives slight damping effect on the treble and more substantial mids. I could compare the "old" full maple Laredo to a 2004 Cii with walnut wings everywhere. I liked the sound of the Laredo a bit more, but the neck close PU position, the higher weight and the base ball bat neck let me sell it again. The Cii became great after VVT mod. But keep in mind when you compare basses, so close in construction and character: Always use the same set of strings (brand, set and age), otherwise the results of the comparison are just meaningless.

Also bear in mind each individual instrument will differ in sound somewhat even when constructed from the same woods and to the same spec, as no two pieces of wood are ever alike. Listen to a bass acoustically to see what it really sounds like, not plugged in. You may be surprised by acoustic comparison tests. But yes, the body wood will always affect the sound somewhat, even on a neck through.

The 4001/3 also has signifigant routing for the pickups and controls. Also the thinner neck on these will affect tone big time. Yes the damping of the walnut wings will mellow things a bit. Remember to change the pot values to match the high gains, 250K for the single coils. The 500K pots from the humbuckers will be too harsh sounding by raising the resonant peak. With the walnut wood you could use 330K a tone pot to liven things up a bit.

the body wings make a very noticable difference in tone ...

the sound of a bass is a complete package ... the neck wood, the fretboard wood, the body wood, the nut material, the bridge material, the finish, the total weight of the bass, how the weight is distributed, the strings, the pickups, the pots, the setup, how you play, your amp, etc ...

And no pieces of wood are identical ...