Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've been inspired by Paul Boyer's Model of the Week series and have decided to do one of my own called The Anatomy of a Rickenbacker Bass. Each Monday (until I run out of material) I will try to feature one aspect of the 4000 series basses that will hopefully spark some conversation and encourage others to share what they know. I will draw on my 30 plus years of experience playing and tinkering with these wonderful basses with the hope inspiring others to do the same. Before the Internet, we had no way of knowing all the things that are just a few mouse clicks away today. No one was there to show us the proper way to adjust the old style truss rods or to provide accurate wiring diagrams. Much bad information was spread back then. The worst part was much of the bad information was spread by Rickenbacker dealers! I don't profess to have the full story on any of this stuff. No one person does. I will do my best to be accurate and I welcome corrections and additions on any point no matter how small. Feel free to chime in at any time to support or refute any thing I post in these threads.

Anatomy of a Rickenbacker Bass Week 1: The Woods

It can be argued that wood is the heart and soul of most guitars and basses. The kind of wood used, the way it is worked and finished determine the tonal personality of the instrument. Some builders use lots of different woods and complex joinery to show off exotic grains. While others use only one or two utilitarian woods that are more simply joined. Rickenbacker has traditionally opted for common woods that are worked and finished in an uncommon way.

The principal wood used in the 4000 series (and most other Rickenbackers for that matter) is the aptly named eastern rock maple. Shel Silverstein's “The Giving Tree” comes to mind here because of the many things this tree gives us. Three of them are the spectacular fall colors of New England, maple syrup, and of course, Rickenbackers. It is known as Acer saccharum or sugar maple but my local hardwood dealer tells me there are actually 3 or 4 closely related species of sugar maple that are usually called rock maple or hard maple by the lumber industry. You never really know for sure which species you are getting. They are more or less interchangeable. In addition to providing us with sweeter pancakes, the tree also gives us a sweeter bass tracks. Those high overtones that cut brightly through the mix come directly from your Rickenbacker's rock maple heart.

This is the unfinished body of my '86 4003S/5 showing a typical maple grain.

Maple is typically light-colored and closed grain making it particularly easy to finish. It is also non-toxic which is why it is often used to make toys and household items. The grain ranges from plain to highly figured. The plain straight grains are the best neck woods where the more figured cuts are better for body wings though both types appear in either place. These days most of the rock maple sold in the US is farm raised so the grain tends to be broad and straight.

The beautiful figuring we all love is the result of stress on the tree. Trees growing on hillsides, close to other trees, exposed to frequent high winds, or forced to bend in strange contortions just to catch some sunlight will tend to form more figured and interesting grain. Think of those fancy grains as tree muscles. They are places were the fiber bundles grew denser and stronger to keep the tree together. For the tree, simple straight grains are the easiest to grow but easy is not always in the cards. With people it is said that adversity builds character. With trees it builds charactered wood. When cut, highly figured woods tend to be less stable and warp or twist. Proper aging and drying is required when working with any wood but is especially important when working with figured woods.

I don't know which species this is but it sure is pretty.
The second most used wood on the Rickenbacker 4000 series is rosewood. Most of the rosewood used by Rickenbacker is some type of bubinga. This dense and strong wood provides the stiffness to Rickenbacker necks. Without the help of that 3/8” thick slab of rain forest timber, the maple part of your bass neck is surprisingly flexible and yielding. It is only about a third of the total thickness but more than half of the stiffness. Most species are native to Africa and a few to South America but can be found growing in tree farms all over the tropics. The color of the wood runs from a deep chocolate brown to a sandy tan, passing though a rusty red on the way. The grain is mostly closed and takes finishes very well. Bubinga is the heaviest of the woods currently used on Rickenbacker guitars. Luthiers like it because it has wonderful bell-like tap tones. It is an exceptional tone wood and nicely compliments the resonance of maple. In the early days of the 4000 series Rickenbacker may have also used some Brazilian rosewoods which are no longer commercially available.

The fingerboard of my '80 4001.
The lightest of all 4000 series woods is walnut. Except for early 4000s and the 4004C, walnut is used primarily as an accent wood on the headstock and does not figure much in the tone. When used as a tone wood, walnut produces a warm, dark tone with very little edge. It is usually blended with other woods for effect and not often used alone. The mellow tone and light weight of the 4004C are due to the solid walnut body wings. The second version of the 4000 starting in about '58 featured a walnut neck slab that was replaced by a maple one by '61. Walnut heartwood is usually dark brown with some hints of purple and is particularly easy to work and finish. Carvers love it as it tools very nicely and holds its shape. Fun Fact: Walnut has the distinction of being the only dark wood native to North America.

I love this picture. The walnut wings are by me. The finish and photo are by Dale Fortune.

For about 8 years the 4001 featured a central accent stripe that is often incorrectly identified as walnut. The Rickenbacker faithful know it is actually made of Shedua. Sometimes called Ovankol, Shedua is a type of bubinga and is often used as a tone wood on exotic instruments. While not specifically stated, it is possible that some Rickenbacker fingerboards over the years were made of Shedua. Native to tropical Africa, shedua is dark to light brown often showing yellow highlights throughout. Tone-wise it is more mellow and adds less of the bell-like brightness of the other species of bubinga. Though thinly applied, its place on the 70's 4001 put is squarely in the role of tone wood.

A Shedua stripe on an '80 4001.
Very early on, the 4000 featured a solid mahogany neck. This particular wood choice was very short lived and was replaced in '58 by walnut before finally going to maple in '60 or '61. Mahogany is strong but light-weight and produces a pleasant mellow tone. The grain is very straight making it a good choice for necks. It is most often used on acoustic guitars as a back and side wood. Gibson used it extensively in their product line for years. The Les Paul, SG, and Firebird all mostly mahogany. The necks of the first few 4000s is the first and so far only appearance of mahogany on any production Rickenbacker bass. The trees are native to the Caribbean and South and Central America. Nearly all mahogany these days is on the CITES list of endangered plants. Some species are farm raised because most surviving old growth is protected.


OK, so what about the fingerboard and headstock wings of the 4001CS? Good question! They are listed as being Vermilion which is a name normally associated with pau ferro (iron wood) or padauk. John Hall says neither is what was used on the 4001CS. Apparently it is closer to zebrawood. Unfortunately, zebrawood is used to describe a few dozen unrelated species that feature bands of alternating color. I still have no idea what it is.


As far as I know, all of the woods used by Rickenbacker are farm raised. Being something of a conservationist who has spent many hours wandering around rain forests, that is a major plus to me. As I mentioned above, these woods tend have closed grain. This is particularly important as closed grain woods can be sanded to be perfectly smooth which provides a great foundation for Rickenbacker's mirror-like finishes. But finishes are a story for another time. Until then.

Ted,
Thanks for taking the time to do this thread.
I'll look forward to each week, learning the details of these finest and most unique American made instruments.

Super cool thread, Ted! I look forward to learning from your anatomy series.

To support, here's some "official" info about RIC's fingerboard woods from John Hall's post in alt.gtr.rickenbacker FAQ's:

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Subject: 5.30 What type of wood is used for Rickenbacker fret boards?

"We use both African Rosewood and Bubinga, which are very similar close relatives. Both are also classified as Hong Kong Rosewood sometimes, which is closer to the mark, since it is grown in Asia rather than Africa."

[John Hall, [email protected], 11/09/1999]

"We do not use nor have we used commonly available Paduak, which is Pterocarpus soyauxii. In past years we used Hong Kong Rosewood (Dalbergia family) or African Rosewood (which is true Bubinga in the Guibourtia family) which we continue to use.

I will grant you that Hong Kong Rosewood has been colorfully referred to as Indonesian Paduak by wood suppliers.

In the end, without the species, the trade names of wood are almost useless."

[John Hall, [email protected], 04/24/2000]
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Excellent idea Ted! I'll be glued to this thread for as long as it lasts.

Excellent stuff! Here´s a wee detail: A quick search of the gallery showed that the Shedua strip was used on 4001 basses from 1972 - 1983 when it was discontinued.

Great idea for a thread! This is going to be very interesting!

As for the pretty quilted maple, it's likely Western, or Big Leaf Maple, Acer Macrophyllum. I don't know if other species get that pattern, but from what I've read, most quilted comes from big leaf.

Great thread! I'll probably save it to read in whole when I have more time later.

great idea,ted! i always wondered about the differences in some of the rick laminated necks,i.e.the 4001 and the 4005,why they went with such a small center strip on the 4001 vs the more equally divided size on the tuna boat necks,and why they switched back to 1 peice quartersawn for that matter....then again,it IS all good!

jogi68 wrote:Excellent stuff! Here´s a wee detail: A quick search of the gallery showed that the Shedua strip was used on 4001 basses from 1972 - 1983 when it was discontinued.

There is a bit of confusion about the transition from the 4001 to the 4003. John Hall says the two models were not produced simultaneously. It is not known exactly when the 4001 ended and the 4003 began but it was somewhere between 1980 and 1981. The confusing bit is that we have seen 4001s with serials as late as 1986! The 4001 stragglers were because of excess inventory and reworks that took a few years to push through the system.

cjj wrote:Great idea for a thread! This is going to be very interesting!

As for the pretty quilted maple, it's likely Western, or Big Leaf Maple, Acer Macrophyllum. I don't know if other species get that pattern, but from what I've read, most quilted comes from big leaf.

I am sure you are right it being big leaf maple as so much of the quilted stuff is. I bought that slab several years ago. It is still on my wood rack just waiting for the right project.

Ted, this is great! I want to talk to you about incorporating much of this into the book when the time comes. You may not get rich and famous, but maybe famous!

On the 4001/4003 turnabout, even the 1992 catalog still listed the 4001FL, indicating that there may still have been some of the old truss/neck assemblies in house that late. John may be correct in saying that no "new" 4001 basses were manufactured after 1980/81, but assembling, finishing, selling, and shipping may not be included in the manufactured term.

rickfan60 wrote: OK, so what about the fingerboard and headstock wings of the 4001CS? Good question! They are listed as being Vermilion which is a name normally associated with pau ferro (iron wood) or padauk. John Hall says neither is what was used on the 4001CS. Apparently it is closer to zebrawood. Unfortunately, zebrawood is used to describe a few dozen unrelated species that feature bands of alternating color. I still have no idea what it is.

This is GREAT stuff Ted, THANK YOU for taking the time to give us a detailed run down....and, by the way, you read my mind....I was going to ask you about the CS.

My CS sounds DIFFERENT than all the other RIC's I've owned or own. It has a bell like tone that sustains forever. I've used the term "piano like" to describe the tone. It is very different than my V63 so I've always attributed it to the Vermilion fingerboard.

ALSO, can you give us a bit of info on EBONY as a neck wood? Wasn't ebony used on the 4002? I've had a number of Alembic basses and loved the way it looks & sounds. I've been dreaming of having a FRETLESS ebony neck for one of my RICS...Any thoughts on that? I love a warm sound with lots of sustain, would that be possible on a fretless 4003 with an ebony neck?

Great thread, Ted!
Any idea why many of the '60's fretboards were darker?

Ted, the gallery has a 4001 dated March 1983 with the Shedua strip while none of the 4003 basses has it, so there´s no way to dress up a 4003 as a 4001 from the ´70s/early ´80s...

I´ve noticed already that some features old and new appeared side by side for a period of time, like the change from checkerboard to plain binding or wavy Grovers vs. Schallers. But that´s a different story to be told in another thread, right?