Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Ok, I thought I would see how this thread goes..

Show us your 5-ver any type (factory or custom jobs..)

Here's mine... a 4003s5 V63 MG..

Youtube demo "Big Generator, Flashlight, and Squire Bass lines.." (and it's a NON-Pro demo for sure..) https://youtu.be/OIxX9jIzIC4

I modded this 2010 4004L into a 5ver a few years back. It now resides with the current owner in Canada who told me, "This is the five string bass that RIC should be making. String spacing was wider than an S5, but not as wide as S Cii5.

aceonbass wrote:I modded this 2010 4004L into a 5ver a few years back. It now resides with the current owner in Canada who told me, "This is the five string bass that RIC should be making. String spacing was wider than an S5, but not as wide as S Cii5.

Dane,
Nice looking bass! Is it an illusion, or is the fingerboard and neck dimension wider than a standard 4-string? The knock on the standard Ric 5 that I've read (never seen or played one) was that the string spacing was too tight and some basses had structural problems with the extra string tension. Is this a new wider neck beam with original body wings added? If you have any old photos of your mod process, I for one would love to see them!

Gilmourisgod wrote:Dane,
Nice looking bass! Is it an illusion, or is the fingerboard and neck dimension wider than a standard 4-string? The knock on the standard Ric 5 that I've read (never seen or played one) was that the string spacing was too tight and some basses had structural problems with the extra string tension. Is this a new wider neck beam with original body wings added? If you have any old photos of your mod process, I for one would love to see them!

Maybe I shouldn't answer this question since I'm not Dane, but the 4004 used to have a wider neck than the 4003. The nut was about the same, but the string spacing was wider at the bridge. 2 or 3 years ago, RIC decided to give the 4004 a similar neck to the 4003, but for about the first 20 years of production (and Dane's example is from that period) the 4004 had a wider neck on the body end. This made them great candidates for conversion to 5 strings (or 8!)

Here's my 4003S/5, BTW.

It sounds HUGE!

http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... ine%3Dtrue

Jeff pretty much said what I was gonna say...even though he's not me.. Strength of the stock Rick necks was never really an issue, especially with the two piece necks like this bass has. Notice the heavily modded stock tailpiece without mute.

Dane,
From what I've read the problem wasn't with the necks, more related to the combination of neck pup route being unnecessarily deep combined with increased string tension was causing some basses to have separation between body wings and neck beam as the neck was pulled towards the bridge? The old style neck pup routes only left about 1/2" of wood under the pup, so there wasn't much meat left to resist the pull. I'm glad to see they seem to have gone back to a shallower route for the 4003/s models. The extra pup depth didn't seem necessary, and every bit of "meat" in that area adds a lot of strength. I've been thinking about a 5 string conversion project for a while, so I'm trying understand the structural issues. I would imagine this is where double truss rods would really stiffen the whole assembly.

Jeff,
That 5 of yours is gorgeous, custom color paint job, or is that stock midnight blue?

That bass was actually painted by Pat Wilkins after the original finish began lifting around the areas I routed. I bought the bass brand new, but under the circumstances, RIC wouldn't do anything about the problem. Having double truss rods has no effect on flexing at the body .

Gilmourisgod wrote: Jeff,
That 5 of yours is gorgeous, custom color paint job, or is that stock midnight blue?

Why thank you, Alexander! I like it too. That's the RIC factory Midnight Blue. The 2000 version of it, anyway. There have been at least 3 different MID shades that I can remember. One was a little more purple, and the latest one is much darker. All are cool IMO!

I had another S/5 in Ruby, but I sold it a few months ago to a guy in Russia. He loves it, has already recorded an album with it and plays it live.

He's in one of these photos too:

http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... lebrity%3D

One of only 2 4003S/5's in Ruby registered here.

And featured on page 87 of "the book"!

Where is that Jetglo 4003/5 - original bound body and maple board with sharkfin inlays? Remember when it was discussed here and then JH confirmed that it was made this way and not modded?

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/4004cii5_46.jpg

I did a google search and found this pic (above link) of this 4004/5 modded with larger pickups. Looks like it could be owned by someone that may post here at this forum.. I'd like to see a YouTube demo of how it sounds. It would be cool to see how that bridge pickup sounds, since the pickups were placed closer to the bridge. Seeing a lot of pictures here of custom and cool looking Rickenbackers, but some I always wonder how they sound. Just a simple demo, maybe with no effects, to hear the true distinct sound..

Jeff Rath modded that bass for a customer to take those pickups...I think. He can be found over at TalkBass.