Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Some time ago I made a poll on our Dutch BassGuitarist forum to spot the 4005. You get one mp3 with in it 7 different samples of 4 different Rickenbackers. Your task is to spot the 2 samples of a 4005.

You will hear the following instruments:

4003 MID/BT neck pickup
4005 both pickups
4003 MID/BT both pickups
4001c64 neck pickup
4001c64 both pickups
'73 4001 neck pickup/TI Jazz flats
4005 neck pickup

not necesarily in this order. There is one sample with TI jazz Flats. The rest of them are Rickenbacker roundwounds.

The mp3 you can find here (click)

This is recorded by plugin a jack cable into my macbook and push the record button.

Fun! Thanks for posting this.

Wow, neat. Much more difficult than I thought it would be. I have no idea.

Wow, neat. Much more difficult than I thought it would be. I have no idea.

Darn it.

Before I heard the bass I expected a more semi-acoustic sound. I was surprised to hear a sound similar to my other Ricks. Offcourse a different pickup placement gives a different sound. But to me these sounds are definitely related.

I think I may have an idea which are the 4005 tracks but it is difficult to tell the difference, even after having owned a 4005 since 1973! I have alway said that 4005 is a sleeper bass, tone-wise.

And the winner is.......

I dont know. Posibly one person guessed both right but I cant see if the one person voting for sample 3 also voted sample 2.

You heard following samples (now in right order):

1) '73 4001 neck pickup/TI Jazz flats
2) 4005 both pickups / Rickenbacker roundwound 040-095
3) 4005 neck pickup
4) 4001c64 both pickups / Rickenbacker roundwound 045-105
5) 4001c64 neck pickup
6) 4003 MID/BT both pickups / Rickenbacker roundwound 045-105 (old I suppose)
7) 4003 MID/BT neck pickup

My '73 4001 blushes at the moment. Most of you thought she was a 4005. Like on the Dutch forum most people think the darker sounds are the 4005. I expierienced the opposite. The sound is more or less the same as a 4001, but the bridge pickup placement makes for an even treblier sound.

As I made this mp3 for myself initially you will only find my preferred pickup settings, which are neck pickup, or neck pickup with 80% bridge pickup added. The 4005's volume knobs didnt work very well so there neck/bridge is 50/50. All played with 2.0 mm Jim Dunlop's (purple picks sound best!) picked near or above the neck.

I still wonder if there is much difference between different 4005's in sound. I hear some sounds on Stone Roses videos which I couldnt make with Chris's 4005.

The both pickups on sound (sample 2) was sort of a giveaway as a 4001 simply cannot make that scronky sound (unless you start putting pickups in the mute area)
As far as the neck pickup goes.. They all sound like Rickenbackers!
Eden.

Shoot! I guessed 1 & 3.

That '73 sure sounds good.

berth wrote:As I made this mp3 for myself initially you will only find my preferred pickup settings, which are neck pickup, or neck pickup with 80% bridge pickup added.

Yup! thats me too!
Eden.

I had picked 3 and 4 so I at least got one right. They all sounded so close.

Shows what I know. I voted 1 and 4. Both 4001s.

Wow, I have no idea; I thought this was going to be some sort of "Where's Waldo" type photo collage with 4005s hidden amidst the photos.

I've listened to them Bert, I had no idea... Very difficult to spot the difference!