Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Well, I've been waiting a long time for a nice 4080 to come up for sale (there is one on the 'Bay as we speak), and now that it finally has, I find myself facing a tough decision;

I could get a second 4003 AND a new 4001C64 (or a second 4004Cii AND a 4001C64) from my local dealer for about $2k less than the doubleneck. I've wanted another 4080 ever since I sold the two I had almost 20 years ago, but thats a serious chunk of change he's asking, and I can't help but think about my options, especially when the 4080 has some of the usual issues of a 20+ yr.-old instrument (to be expected), and the 4003 FG, 4004Cii Trans Blue and 4001C64 FG are all brand new beauties, in mint condition, with full warranties.

This is going to be a hard choice - any thoughts?

The 4080s are a bit of a novelty item to me. Sure, they have their utility if you have a gig where you need both bass and guitar at your immediate disposal, and they look cool and all, but they must weigh a ton. I'd go with whatever suits your musical needs most, unless you've just got to have an anvil with both 4 and 6 strings.

Don't get me wrong, as both a guitarist and bassist, I'd love to have a 4080, but I've got back problems.

Hmmm...in reading the thread about two doublenecks, it appears that the 4080 only weighs 14 lbs. Not as bad as I figured.

I'd love to have a 4080 from the collector perspective, but for playing? Nah. If you're collecting, get the 4080. If you're playing, well...

Get the model(s) that you know you will get the most enjoyment and use from.

Who knew that cj and Joey are more eloquent than I am?

Richard, there's a very splendid pair of '75 AZ doublenecks on the bay and Kenny H wants the 6/12. See the online forum.

This must be the beast in question.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Rickenbacker-Double ... 1c1767aaeb

It certainly is a looker, that's for sure. Among many trees in the forest, this one stands quite tall - sort of beckons for attention.

I would think you'd get a lot of playing enjoyment out of it. As far as a collectible, it certainly would be an investment. There can't be too many of these around.

Good luck making a decision. Either way you can't go wrong. It's just that nasty regret thing that might haunt you to the grave.

FretlessOnly wrote:The 4080s are a bit of a novelty item to me. Sure, they have their utility if you have a gig where you need both bass and guitar at your immediate disposal, and they look cool and all, but they must weigh a ton. I'd go with whatever suits your musical needs most, unless you've just got to have an anvil with both 4 and 6 strings.

+1. How often are both really needed by the same player in the same song? Rarely at best. Otherwise we'd see a lot more current innovating on the bass-and-guitar doubleneck. It's remained largely stagnant since the 70s and 80s. There are newer examples out there, but none that I've seen in mass production.

Not a Rick, but I have gigged with a copy of a Gibson doubleneck back in 1987. I thought it would be great to never to have to switch guitars in a gig. I was wrong. Even being light for a double-neck, it was more than I could bear after a couple of songs.

Unless you play in a Rush/Genesis tribute band....

Yeah, I think Richard definitely needs a 4080!!!

My friends use a 4080 in a local Genesis tribute band called the Waiting Room. They often refer to it as "The Beast". It looks great, but it is more of a novelty piece. I see these as a collectible work of art. I would love to display one in my home studio but would never gig with it unless it saw minimal time in a serious 70's tribute act. Good luck with your decision!

Yeah, we play a lot of Rush covers including "Passage to Bangkok" and "Xanadau", and I'm a big Geddy fan, so there is some logic in wanting a 4080, but the point is now moot - the seller ended the listing early, and never responded to my questions when it was active. I don't know if this was due to the sudden appearance of a 2nd AzureGlo 4080 for sale (how rare & coincidental is that?!?), or if he/she really didn't want to sell it, and were just "testing the waters", so to speak.

My quest....

Continues.

superdick2112 wrote:Yeah, we play a lot of Rush covers including "Passage to Bangkok" and "Xanadau", and I'm a big Geddy fan, so there is some logic in wanting a 4080, but the point is now moot - the seller ended the listing early, and never responded to my questions when it was active. I don't know if this was due to the sudden appearance of a 2nd AzureGlo 4080 for sale (how rare & coincidental is that?!?), or if he/she really didn't want to sell it, and were just "testing the waters", so to speak.

My quest....

Continues.

It's nice to have so many choices...

The Quest for the Holy Grail

...Camelot is a silly place...

cassius987 wrote:How often are both really needed by the same player in the same song? Rarely at best. Otherwise we'd see a lot more current innovating on the bass-and-guitar doubleneck. It's remained largely stagnant since the 70s and 80s. There are newer examples out there, but none that I've seen in mass production.

Yes...but the 362/12, that's a different story...

That's kind of what I figured Kenny.