Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Guys and gals, I'm trying to figure out certain details on the 4004 series basses for eventual inclusion in my book.

Question 1: Is the bubinga fretboard on the 4004 Cheyenne II (4004Cii) always "unfinished?" It seems to me that some of the ones I've seen are heavily varnished like 4003 fretboards. Please respond and tell me what you have on yours, and what the date of manufacture is (month/year) if you know it.

Question 2: Is the bubinga fretboard on the 4004 Laredo (4004L) varnished or not? The early ones with the maple fretboard that I've seen were varnished, but how about now?

Question 3: The pickups on both the Laredo and Cheyenne were "lowered" (toward the bridge) for a while starting around 2000 with the introduction of the Cheyenne II. About when did they return to the original position?

Question 4: Are there any Forumites who have one of the first batch of Cheyenne IIs out there? These are the ones with the quilted maple top, body construction like the Cheyenne I (maple neck through, walnut body wings). I need to document one of these for the book. (A precursor of this combination can be seen in the RIC museum at the factory, but it has a maple fretboard and semimatte finish. It was used as the stage bass at the 75th Anniversary events.)

Thanks, folks.

hi paul,i am no authority on these,but my '04 model cii has the pickups positioned further back,and the unfinished fretboard. all of the laredos i have seen have the finished fretboard,except for the early walnut body ones,which seem to have the unfinished bub-boards....then there are some models that have maple (finished?) boards as well...i seem to have a basic misunderstanding of which models are which,for example is the non-sandwiched model with silver hardware a laredo or cheyenne?

Paul, the fretboard on my 08 Laredo has the finish.

Woody, from the factory, the modern Cheyenne II has the "sandwich" body wings of maple/walnut/maple and gold-plated hardware. Some players prefer chrome and swap out the hardware after delivery. Laredos don't have the walnut sandwich construction but are all maple (except for the later ones with walnut head wings).

I recently stepped back into the 4004 world with an '08 Larado. (* See "I got a new toy" topic in the basses thread.)
It has the newer pickup location and a finished board.

My '02 Cheyenne II had the older pup location and an unfinished board. The tone of the Larado to my ears is identical to that of the CII I had.

I getting ready to mod it with Volume / blend / tone, and I'll be installing a Hipshot style "A" bridge.

I thought all the newer 4004's had finished boards???

I had a May '03 Cheyenne with an finished board and a November '04 Cheyenne with an unfinished board.

Over at the RIC corperate site, their are a bunch of NAMM pics posted. Non of the CII's that I saw had a finished board.

Ya know, I was so taken by the "sandwich" factor" and the grains, and the overall beauty of the Cheyennes hanging in the Ric Booth at NAMM, in all their glory..... I did not even stop to notice if the 'boards were finished or not!

I THINK they are NOT, but that's only a thought..

My MG '08 Laredo- Finished, for sure, and beautifully so.

Oh, have I mentioned here in the Forum, that I like this Bass a little bit??!!

you're preaching to the choir,larry!

woodyng wrote:you're preaching to the choir,larry!

Well,---

AMEN!!

Bump. Looking for more input from Cheyenne and Laredo owners, please.

My '05 Cii TG has an unfinished board.

My '08 L BBR has a finished board.

Their pickup placements are slightly different.

May 1995 Fireglo 4004L - finished maple fretboard & headstock wings, pickups closer to the neck.

June 2003 Trans Blue 4004cii - finished fretboard, maple headstock wings, pickups closer to the bridge.

June 2004 Fireglo 4004cii5 - unfinished fretboard, walnut headstock wings, pickups closer to the bridge.

My 05 FG4004Cii has what looks like an unfinished board but it also looks kind of like a mat finish . Actually Im not usually up this early so I shut up now.

Paul, my '00 Laredo had a finished (Maple) fingerboard, now owned by the multi-talented Dane Wilder; and my '04 4004cii had an unfinished fingerboard. Of course, you know that isn't always the status quo. I saw a Monty Brown 4004cii with a finished fingerboard a few years ago and it was one of the most beautiful basses that I have ever seen.

Congrats on finally getting your BlueBurst 4004cii, it looks great!