Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Back during the last week of August,while half of Oregon was burning,i made a cross-state day trip to pick up this beauty.
It was from a Facebook listing by a fellow RRF member,who was basically reposting Craigslist finds from all over the USA. (Thanks!)
It is a ‘00 Laredo that the guy i bought it from ordered directly from RIC. Jetglo,with a specified maple fretboard,to match a Fender P he owned and loved. The bass never quite supplanted the Precision for him,and consequently became a case queen for a good number of years. I wanted it because of the finished maple board ,as well as the lowered pickup positions. Ever since i had my similar Cii defretted,I’ve wanted another one with those pickup positions. The bass is in pristine condtion,and still had the original factory RIC strings on it, (a bit grungey),which i have replaced with a set of ghs pressurewounds. The fretboard has a lot of flamey marbling going across it,hard to capture in photos.
One thing that surprised me is how good the standard circuit sounds in this bass. It’s the first 4004 i’ve played that i feel may be fine to leave as is. (Sorry,Dane!)
The owner also wanted to let go of all of his remaining stuff,so he threw in a ‘90’s Trace Eliot 300w 1-15 combo amp in great shape,and some other goodies. The combo sounds great,but weighs quite a bit,so it may end up at one of my bands’ rehearsal space. All for $1k.
I do need to get this bass to a tech,because it is set up with high action. Neck angle looks great,and i think this will be a real player once i have it set up to my liking.

Nice grab and the TE thrown in ain’t too shabby.

Very nice bass, Woody.

woodyng wrote:...One thing that surprised me is how good the standard circuit sounds in this bass...

I have never found the harness lacking in any of the four 4004 basses I have/had.

Both my Cheyennes had a murky sound that went away with the new components Dane put together for me.
The Fireglo Laredo had all that when i got it,and so opened my ears to the sound possiblilities the hb1‘s could provide.
When i decided to go for SC pickups on v63-ish Laredo,i had new 250 k pots in to best match them.
This bass has a nice open top end coming through. Surely, it has to do with the all maple body,maple fretboard,and rearward pickup positions all playing their part,too. I’m still not crazy about the mini-toggle,but we’ll see how this bass plays out in time.

T28 wrote:Nice grab and the TE thrown in ain’t too shabby.

Right? I mean i checked internet sales listings,and these or similar seemed to be selling in the $400-500 range,so if i don’t find a use for it,i’ll sell or trade it. Effectively brings the price of the Laredo down even further if i do.
It’s a nice sounding combo,i’ve used it in 2 different band settings,so it may just end up keeping me from having to schlep my very-schleppable Markbass combo.....

Great snag Woody...... they make good 8 strings! ;^)

ram wrote:Great snag Woody...... they make good 8 strings! ;^)

Hmmmm,and i said i wasn’t going to mod this one.....

I've been lusting after maple boarded 4004s all month, congrats!

What part of Oregon are you in, Woody? I'm in Corvallis.

radapaw wrote:I've been lusting after maple boarded 4004s all month, congrats!

Thanks! I’ve got a Cheyenne with the unvarnished maple fretboard,too.
I like them both,but the Cheyenne’s fretboard has a tendency to discolor. That Won’t be happening with the Laredo’s.

Isaac wrote:What part of Oregon are you in, Woody? I'm in Corvallis.

I’m on the Lower left!
(Brookings-on-the-Coast).
This bass came from Tualatin,Oregon. I drove from Medford(and back) in one day to fetch it.

woodyng wrote:

Isaac wrote:What part of Oregon are you in, Woody? I'm in Corvallis.

I’m on the Lower left!
(Brookings-on-the-Coast).
This bass came from Tualatin,Oregon. I drove from Medford(and back) in one day to fetch it.

I grew up in Medford. Used to play in Brookings quite a bit, at the Sporthaven and Dandy's Green Door. Dandy's burned down back around 1980.

Isaac wrote:

woodyng wrote:

Isaac wrote:What part of Oregon are you in, Woody? I'm in Corvallis.

I’m on the Lower left!
(Brookings-on-the-Coast).
This bass came from Tualatin,Oregon. I drove from Medford(and back) in one day to fetch it.

I grew up in Medford. Used to play in Brookings quite a bit, at the Sporthaven and Dandy's Green Door. Dandy's burned down back around 1980.

One of my bands played at the Oxenfre Public House last Saturday for their annual Halloween party. It was a blast!

And all this time I thought Laredos had maple fretboards! Did they used to?

Gorgeous!!