i'm not so ofay with 4001 history, and i haven't been able to find so many (any!) where i'm living right now (korea). are there particularly good or bad years to look out for? i'm leaning towards a 70's, but haven't played an early model with the toaster p/u. any advice would be greatly appreciated.
cheers.
Looking for my first 4001....
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squirebass
- Veteran RRF member
- Posts: 1579
- Joined: Fri Oct 13, 2000 11:05 pm
Welcome to the forum, Jonathan. If you can't find the answers to your Rickenbacker questions here, there IS no answer! To answer your first question, I really don't think there are any bad years for a Rick 4001, but you will find that the 70s models before, say mid '73 are a little more expensive than the later 70s models. In my opinion, they are all pretty great players, at least all the ones I've ever played. Early 70s Ricks before mid '73 (there is no EXACT cutover point) had wider fretboard inlays and checkerboard binding, which accounts for their higher price, also they seem to be rarer. But Rickenbacker is a privately held company, and has been owned by the same family for the entire time that the 4001 has been built, so I think you will find they are very consistent and unless it is just broken or has been abused, it will be a fine instrument. I'd recommend the '70s hi gain in the neck position, as it has a little higher output than the 70s toaster.
"This is the big one, Elizabeth, I'm coming to join ya, honey!"
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jwr2
70's Rics are beautiful instruments ... you can get a 74 through 79 for a reasonable price ... I have owned 2 70's rics ... 1974 and 1973 ... both were modified a little too much ... I restored one to stock ...
A 1970's ric has a beautiful neck ... be careful adjusting the truss rod on a 70's ric ... if done improperly you can pop the fret board off ... bummer ...
I prefer 1986 and later rics ... but I like the old ones a lot ... I had my 1968 4001 out last night ... that is a damn fine instrument ... it spends most of it's time in a case under a bed ...
A 1970's ric has a beautiful neck ... be careful adjusting the truss rod on a 70's ric ... if done improperly you can pop the fret board off ... bummer ...
I prefer 1986 and later rics ... but I like the old ones a lot ... I had my 1968 4001 out last night ... that is a damn fine instrument ... it spends most of it's time in a case under a bed ...
Hi Cabsav,
the later 70's (can't really pin it down) have a different neck profile than the early ones and a fatter sound, I myself like the later ones, the early necks are very flat, the later ones are more round, more modern if you will. I had a 75 with the old style neck shape, that is why I say you can't really pin down the differences they went through in the early 70's. The early 70's are called the transition years, the only constant being that nothing is consistant on them, you can have one 73 and compare with another and you'd swear one is from a much earlier time. (in Ric years)
I myself like the high gains better, and also like the post ninety 4003's better. The pickups are much hotter and will stand up to and usually blow away any other modern bass. 4001's sound great, new 4003's sound even better.....
Unless you want the Chris Squire very trebly thin sound, take out the .047 uf. cap the goes from the middle lug of the treble vol. control to the switch, your bass will have much more presence. (capped basses sound good through BIG amps like SVT's but lose it with little amps, especially in a band setting, and this is only for 4001's and early 4003's)Ric got rid of the cap somewhere around 1984 (I think)
And Jeff, when are you going to put the horseshoe back in your 68?
the later 70's (can't really pin it down) have a different neck profile than the early ones and a fatter sound, I myself like the later ones, the early necks are very flat, the later ones are more round, more modern if you will. I had a 75 with the old style neck shape, that is why I say you can't really pin down the differences they went through in the early 70's. The early 70's are called the transition years, the only constant being that nothing is consistant on them, you can have one 73 and compare with another and you'd swear one is from a much earlier time. (in Ric years)
I myself like the high gains better, and also like the post ninety 4003's better. The pickups are much hotter and will stand up to and usually blow away any other modern bass. 4001's sound great, new 4003's sound even better.....
Unless you want the Chris Squire very trebly thin sound, take out the .047 uf. cap the goes from the middle lug of the treble vol. control to the switch, your bass will have much more presence. (capped basses sound good through BIG amps like SVT's but lose it with little amps, especially in a band setting, and this is only for 4001's and early 4003's)Ric got rid of the cap somewhere around 1984 (I think)
And Jeff, when are you going to put the horseshoe back in your 68?
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cabsav
hey all~
thanks for the welcome and all the info. i'm really torn: i like the idea of the early 70's playing-wise (plus there's something about old guitars that i can't get away from;), but louder p/u's are also attractive. i guess i could always get a couple of aftermarket high gains. any idea what would they cost?
thanks for the welcome and all the info. i'm really torn: i like the idea of the early 70's playing-wise (plus there's something about old guitars that i can't get away from;), but louder p/u's are also attractive. i guess i could always get a couple of aftermarket high gains. any idea what would they cost?
