Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

A few questions regarding the 4004Cii/5 model, if you please:

1. Why did RIC pull this model from the lineup?
2. Any plans to re-instate this, or to introduce another 5-string model?
3. How's the output balance between the strings?
4. Anyone know of one for sale, anywhere?

1. Pickups
2. None at this time.
3. See #1 - B and G have weaker output.
4. Not that I'm aware of.

If you search this and the corporate forums you will find more than you care to read about on all this.

5 string Rics are not being made now ... have not been made for years ... may not be made again for years ...

I am a DIY kind of person ... instead of waiting for Ric to make 5 string basses I did what they did with the 4003s5 ... basically I converted 4 string basses into 5 string basses ... Now I have all I need ...

http://www.3dentourage.com/425

1. Pickups, most likely, but there may be other reasons unknown to us.
2. Don't know.
3. Not that bad really. Certainly not as bad as some posts on this subject would lead you to believe.
4. Good luck on that one. I'd sell mine for $5000, maybe.

Here's what John Hall had to say on the subject:

http://www.rickresource.com/phpBB3/view ... ii#p162310

and here:

http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum_view_ ... g%20basses



Make no mistake, the 4004cii/5 is a great bass. I love the neck on mine.

RutleDirk wrote:A few questions regarding the 4004Cii/5 model, if you please:

1. Why did RIC pull this model from the lineup?

Apparntly, due to some negitive comments about the pickups, and their function.

RutleDirk wrote: 2. Any plans to re-instate this, or to introduce another 5-string model?

No body knows, or they aint talking. It will probably happen, but there is no current time table in the public domain.

RutleDirk wrote: 3. How's the output balance between the strings?

Bad enough to be un-usable.

RutleDirk wrote: 4. Anyone know of one for sale, anywhere?

Good luck on that one. Those who have taken the plunge, and fixed them love them, those who havn't fixed them, have them as case queens, waiting for some mircle from the factory, that will make them usable. All that coupled with the fact that there were very few produced, makes them extremly rare.

The lack of 5 string models being made will drive 5 string players to use basses made by other companies. About 40% of the bass players out there use a 5 string. That 40% will not be using a Rickenbacker.

I have come to the conclusion that for my needs as a bass player Rickenbacker is no longer the best option available. I prefer a 5 string bass with an active preamp and a wide enough spacing to play finger style and pickups that cover all 5 strings equally. Noting that comes out of the Ric factory meets those specs.

jwr2 wrote:Noting that comes out of the Ric factory meets those specs.

And they're just fine with that. They're not attempting to cater to every type of player. Go play a Warwick or something.

jwr2 wrote: About 40% of the bass players out there use a 5 string.

Seriously? I never knew the percentage was that high. Do you have a source for that?

I can tell by John B's comeback to a certain person's post, that more of "those" comments were made by a person who just can't give it up.

One of these days, I'll pick up another one, I just can't get used it them.

I don't know about 40% of players, I know the younger guys like 'em.

Carole Kay (whom I greatly admire) has this to say about 5 Strings....

"FAQ 18

Q. Am thinking of getting a 5-string bass, did you ever play a 5-string?

A. I've tried 5-string basses, think they're neat, just not for me tho'...the low B string sort of controls the band on the bottom end a little too much in my opinion, great for church tho'. The jazz bass players of my group only use 4-string basses altho' some of the younger ones still play a 5, but many out here in LA are getting away from 5-strings, opting for 4-string basses."

While Kay has a point about an abusively used B string below the 5th fret (I can see the point), I've kind of come to love the extra real estate above the 5th fret on the B string. Although, I must say, since I've not yet 4-2-5d my '08 4003, I'm kind of having fun relearning 17 years of playing with five to fit back into just 4. It is a fun challenge to swap up between 4 and 5 strings on any given set just to see if I can do it.

Fighting set boredom that way.

I played 5 string exclusively for a few years and then decided that in most music playback systems the lower notes were hard to make out and the "meat" was above the low E. I still have my fretless 5 string Zon, but other than that all my basses are 4 string.

1965 wrote:

jwr2 wrote: About 40% of the bass players out there use a 5 string.

Seriously? I never knew the percentage was that high. Do you have a source for that?

Polls on talkbass.com give those numbers ...

another poll has less than 5% of the players there choose Rickenbacker as their favorite brand ...

jwr2 wrote: Polls on talkbass.com give those numbers ...

another poll has less than 5% of the players there choose Rickenbacker as their favorite brand ...

Well, the second number doesn't surprise me at all. We all know Rickenbacker is a niche brand. But Talkbass is hardly an accurate representation of all bass players. I think that in the real world far less than 40% of bass players are playing 5 strings.