Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Based on what I have heard in online demos 4004 sounds just like a 4003.
But I was wondering if the 4004 with the sandwich body sounds different. Looks like there is one with
maple/walnut/maple body.

The biggest difference has to be the pickups and electronics.

I have found, at least with a couple of samples, that the Cii was a bit darker sounding than the Laredo, or vise versa, depending on one's POV.

I haven't read about electronic diffs (if any )between the models yet. Cheyenne vs. Laredo anyway.
I swapped out my electronics on my 4003 to 500k pots/HB1/.022uf cap/selector.
Still sounds the same but no noise.
Been reading about the 4004 in the Rickenbacker Electric Bass Book.
Haven;t read about the Cheyenne II yet.
If I understand correctly the Cheyenne I was walnut wings and maple neck only.
Laredo was solid walnut wings or walnut with maple or other hardwood sandwiched over it. Or also all maple wings. You can pop your cavity cover and look inside to see which you have.

@Jeffrey: Thanks for your first hand experience feedback. Very interesting. So you were saying the Cheyenne or the Laredo could be darker than the other meaning that both models had the potential to be brighter than the other or darker than the other? That would indicate that maybe there’s really no big difference in tone due to the woods used.
Or maybe the different pickup placement, as they changed that thru the years. Sometimes closer to the neck, sometimes closer to the bridge.

lumgimfong wrote:...in solid black for the Cheyenne in the beginning..

That was the Laredo that was JG with a maple fingerboard, not the Cheyenne.

lumgimfong wrote:@Jeffry: Thanks for your first hand experience feedback. Very interesting. So you were saying the Chyanne or the Larido could be darker than the other meaning that both models had the potential to be brighter than the other or darker than the other? That would indicate than that maybe there’s really no big difference in tone due to the woods used unless you knew exactly which woods were used if any other ones you played were painted solid colors by peeking into the cavity and noting what kind of sandwich or not it had.

The Cii I owned was darker than the first Laredo I played later on. Not by a lot but it was quite noticeable, particularly when I first played that first Laredo I got to play the first time (got that?). Given my experience with my Cii, I was very surprised at how bright sounding the Laredo was, by comparison. As they were identical other than the body sandwich on the Cii and their respective finishes (MG on the Cii, BBR on the Laredo), I put it down to different construction of the body wings.

Overall, would you say they two models sounded like 4004 basses? Not like one sounded so different as to be a different model of bass. Just one darker one brighter in tone?
Also, what kind of body wings did the Laredo have?

Yeah, they sounded like 4004s (that's what they are ). The BBR was a Laredo, so solid maple body wings.

Here is the Laredo in question.

Here's a summation of 4004 construction:

Early in 1992, the "first" 4004 iteration was a very limited edition made for RCA music stars. Basically, it was what became the 4004C Cheyenne which had maple neck-through with maple fingerboard, and walnut body and head wings. The RCA's had special print on a tear-drop shaped, gold back-painted clear acrylic pickguard and chrome-plated hardware. There were probably fewer than a dozen made.

The 4004C Cheyenne followed later in 1992, but had gold-plated hardware and no pickguard.

The 4004L Laredo was similar but was advertised as having "hardwood" construction (which was usually maple, but could be walnut), maple neck through with maple fingerboard, chrome-plated hardware, and early on came in Jetglo only. After the first batch/year/few years, the Laredo came in other colors.

In 1999, they started experimenting with other wood construction on the 4004 series. First off was a Cheyenne with a quilted-maple top. From the back, the walnut wings and maple neck were still visible. The 4004Cii Cheyenne II was born. The first batch had the walnut wings but with the quilted maple top and a bubinga fingerboard. Later, the construction changed to body wings that were maple/walnut/maple "sandwich" construction, and the Cheyenne II became available in all the stock colors AND in "Cheyenne II only" colors of Trans(parent) Red, Trans Blue, and Trans Green.

Laredo's at the time of the beginning of the Cii also featured the bubinga fingerboard. The "hardwood" nature of the later Laredos was illustrated by one that I had; it was painted Turquoise but a peek inside the control cavity revealed the maple/walnut/maple body wing "sandwich" construction. So some/many Laredos shared that Cii construction. Much more in the book.

@Jeffrey: Thanks! That’s what I wanted to know. Thanks for sharing the pic! That is a real beauty!

@Paul: Thanks for that very clear summary. Makes it easy to understand. I wish they would bring these back into production but looks like they won’t be in the regular lineup anymore.

lumgimfong wrote:@Jeffrey: Thanks! That’s what I wanted to know. Thanks for sharing the pic! That is a real beauty!

The BBR Laredo was on loan for MICRIO!!! in early November of '09/ The bass belongs to Ron O'Keefe.

Thanks again, Ron for the bass for MICRIO!!! Really wish you were able to join us.

I've owned both a 4004L that was all maple and a 4004cII with the maple walnut maple sandwich, and honestly they sounded the same to me.

Thanks.
So sounds like a 4004 is a 4004 no matter which iteration.

I have two '93 4004's but neither is stock. The 4004C (Walnut wings and maple neck). Dane made me a hotter harness with Blend/ Volume & Tone knobs (got rid of the switch) and push/pull knobs to tap the pickup cores. The 4004L was converted to an eight string. maple all the way with a finished maple fretboard. Electronics are stock. The 4004L8 has always been brighter and crisper than the 4004C, even with the new harness in the 4004C. I'm not saying the 4004C can't get bright and thin sounding, just that the 4004L has always been a tad brighter. Both DO sound like Rics!

My 4004 CII had a very dark tone, my 4004 Laredo was a bit brighter, but neither one sounded quite like a 4001/3 to my ears.

Close, similar, but different basses in my opinion.