Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Can anyone provide neck profile and/or width info (12th fret) for a new '08 with the full-width inlays? I have been told that the necks have slimmed down again for this year and would just like to see some numbers. I recently picked up an '06, but the thickness of the neck is different enough from my 1980 4001 that I'm not terribly comfortable with it and have a hard time going back & forth between the two. That aside, it's an awesome sounding and looking instrument - very versatile.

Thanks,
Matt B.

My 4003FL ('08) feels thinner and easier to play than my 4003 ('07). That's all I know!

Matt, if we could get Jeff Scott to measure up his new 2008 neck, we could see where it fits into the database.

http://www.geocities.com/johnallg/Rick_ ... ements.xls
Microsoft Excel Viewer (for those with Windows and not Office) - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/deta ... laylang=en

Tell me what tool I can use to measure this and I'll give you two more data points.

I've got plenty of tools to do accurate measurements, I'm just not exactly sure how the girth measurement is taken. Width & thickness are pretty self explanatory, just use a set of calipers. Girth could be all the way around, using a string, etc. or could be just the curved portion of the neck, say, from fretboard edge to fretboard edge.

Anyway, when someone tells me how to take them, I'll add measurements for a Nov. '76 4001 and a June '84 4003

12th fret:

2 1/16" wide, edge to edge
15/16" thick, not including the fret
5 7/16" girth

What about the 1st and 3rd fret girth?

The way most measure is to cut a foot long 1/4" wide strip of paper, make a little line mark about an inch from the end, then wrap the paper around the neck (under the strings) and make a mark where the paper overlaps the original mark. Then move to the next place to measure, and do it again. Once you have all three, lay it out and take measurements with a rule marked in millimeters. I make a separate slip for each bass.

The database has the owner's inits, bass model and color, month/yr made, and girth at the 1st, 3rd, and 12t frets. For those who are REALLY anal, measure the thickness of the neck at the 1st, 7th, 12th, and 16th frets, and the width at the nut and the 12th fret.

johnallg wrote:What about the 1st and 3rd fret girth?

Matt asked about the dimensions only at the 12th fret, so I obliged!

I'll get the rest later.

12th fret is the key indicator for me and I do appreciate you taking the time to make those measurements Jeff.

Thanks,
Matt

cassius987 wrote:My 4003FL ('08) feels thinner and easier to play than my 4003 ('07). That's all I know!

Agreed..it feels as if the neck of my 4003 (08') is slightly thinner than that of my 4003 (02'). Can anyone confirm?

Alberto wrote:

cassius987 wrote:My 4003FL ('08) feels thinner and easier to play than my 4003 ('07). That's all I know!

Agreed..it feels as if the neck of my 4003 (08') is slightly thinner than that of my 4003 (02'). Can anyone confirm?

Most assuredly, the '02 profile was thicker. I would say more than just slightly but I pay too much attention to how the neck feels in my hand. I go back and forth--4003, 4003FL, Jazz Bass, my dad's Hofner, my restoration bass from the 70s, etc.--just to get an idea.

(How do I know anything about the '02 issue? I had a 2003, close enough, for a couple of days that I bought from eBay before I laid down more cash for my current 4003, which I bought new. The neck was kinda' chunky. But I returned that 2003-issue bass because it was... awful. Pickups were making fart sounds but the seller acted like nothing was wrong. I think it may have been a faker though, the fingerboard looked like that new army camo that is pixelated, but in wood tones. I digress...)