Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

OK Some of you guy's know I am taking the plunge and making a potoato out of a 1980 White 4003 I bought this week. And I sure hope this conversation is still of interest.

I have been looking at some of the photo's again that Dane & Jared posted. I also went to the site Jared found for me at;

http://www.8stringbass.com/MainFrames.html

Looking at the 8 stringers, I see my second favorite basses, the Alembics, have the big strings and the small strings on alternating sides from each other? I find this very odd indeed!

I Also see Rickenbacker unfortunately chose to put the small string underneath the big strings.

Hammer uses the style I like with the small strings on top of the big strings.

As I look closer at the potato headstock I also see the tuners would work better the other way as well. If you look at the configuration of the tuners the big bass string knobs are at the peaks and the small tuners end up in the valley's this way.

I plan to drill mine with the small tuners at the peaks and the big wheels in the valley's this way I think it will look better and I can get the small stings on the other side of the bass strings.

Here I go changing a perfectly good plan again but hey so far I am batting a thousand!

Could anyone tell me if there is a specific model of guitar tuner for the small stings that was used here? Or is this a standard Ric guitar tuner? Dane I think you may have answered this for me already but I did not find the post in the other messages?

Also if anyone actually owns one of these beauties could you give me an actual acurate measurement of the headstock from the nut to the tip and from side to side. I can come quite close just from the photo's but I sure want this to come out as perfect as I can get it to the real thing.

Thanks Guy's you know I will photo this when I get it looking good!

My 4003S/8 has the larger string above the smaller and I think I would prefer it the other way around. It is much easier to hold down both strings when the smaller is above the larger.

Yeah Thanks Ted my thoughts exactly. With the potato head I can make the changes to the configuration of the tuners before I drill them out so it is an easy swap.

I played a Hammer 8 a long time ago and I was amazed how easy it actually was to play it! I have always used a pick so the strings were easy to hit like this and I always got both strings to ring nicely. I suppose a finger player would want them the other way?

What do ya think Ted I am going to try and see if that 1908's 4003 can handle the 8 strings.

I am still thinking if I use a nice light gauge set of roundwounds with the guitar strings it will hold up pretty good. 40-95?

I already have two questions about this already but what do you guy's suggest would be the best string company to use here? Is there a roundwound string that has less tension compared to other companies of the same gauge?

If you are a pick player, like myself,,I would definitely prefer the drone strings above the standard strings so when you pick down, you would catch both strings.

Fingerstyle player's I would suggest the opposite.

If you are going to convert a ric bass to hold more strings then I suggest you use 1986 or later instruments ... for neck strength and for truss rod adjustability ...

also why don't you just buy a 4003s8? it is a much better looking bass ...

I agree with Jeff, although they have been pretty scarce lately.

the 4008 came with the octaves "reversed" for better playing with a pick.

Or is it the other way around...

I guess I may not have mentioned it? But I want a potato head. NO way to buy one, anywhere! and the two that exsist are so valuable I don't want them. Jeff the reason I did not just buy a 4003s-5 back when I first joined this site was because I like the fingerboards and binding on the standard 4003 bass. You were very helpful with your knowledge concerning that conversion.
And I could not be happier with mine. It is a real workhorse and it plays like Butta!

TO make a potato head in white I want the body binding and pickguards in black. I found a nice one running and bid it. Couldn't believe I got it for that much.

I would love to use a newer 4003 model with the heavier neck style but I got a good deal at $750 for a real nice 1980 white 4003. I think???
I will be just fine with the added tension. This 8 string conversion should not have as much added tension as that Big 125 B string did on the 4003 5 string I made. earlier this year.


Ohh yeah I am quite sick of waiting for an S-8 to pop up on ebay (been watching for about a year now) and if it does it will go pretty high anyway. So If I am to make my own 8 string I am going to do it right and make a POTATO HEAD out of it. Should only cost me another $70-80 bucks for 4 small Ric. tuners, a new set of light strings, some paint and a little wood work to do it.
Gonna be fun.

Lots of comments but no guesses on the tuners yet?
And does anyone have one of these potato heads on this list? I would like to have the actual dimensions of that headstock, to make sure I do this exactly right.
Also any suggestions on the light gauge strings?

Hey I am glad, at least, to see I am not the only guy who likes the small strings on top!

The reversed stringing on the Ric 8 mimics the reverse stringing on Ric 12s. It's one of the things that make for the Ric sound. On the down stroke, the last note you'll hear is the octave which helps give the Ric its distinctive chiming sound. Like it or not, it's more Ricky to have it strung low/high on the down stroke. This has been written about in the several Ric books out there.

My Hamer 12 has the octave strings on the top, and it really does make it easier to play with a pick. I've gotten to the point where I can pick out just the bass note if I want to. Try it that way....

I think the potato headstock is ungainly and ugly looking ...

If you want to do a ric 8 string then just fill and redrill holes in the existing headstock ... just move the 4 large tuner out 1/2" +/- and then add 4 small tuners on an existing headstock ... then you don't have to chop up your headstock ...

the end product should have 8 strings and play good ... buy why not make it attractive as well? We've seen enough ugly mods to ric basses ...

here's a way to do it ...

Yeah Steve I remeber the Hammer I played seemed natural to play. It just seemed to work for me.

Bill I had not thought of the difference in sounds. Dam I hate to loose any Ric. quality by changing the strings. I guess I want the playability more than the slight loose of tone?

Rickenbacker did apparently make the 4008 in this way.
Thanks for the thought though I had never considered this.

I guess Mine will sound a little different than the originals did anyway my pickups are newer and a little brighter.
I do intend to build that fake Horse shoe cover for the treble pickup. That will be a nice touch to this Potato Head forgery.

Randy, I agree with the octave string on top setup..I've got a 4003s8 and got a new nut cut so that I could use it in that configuration..just had to flip the bridge saddles around. As far as re-creating the potatoe headstock, I suggest that you blow up the potatoe picture to correct size (using the nut width as your constant..ie: when the picture of the nut width is the same size as the actual nut/neck width on your bass, then you have a pretty close template from which to work.)...of course, if the original potatoe headstock is longer or wider than your 4003, then you will have to scale it down...good luck and be sure to post pics. dm

Jeff your killing me man. I think you must be the guy who had the drawings of the potato head. I remeber those sketches. Could you post one or give me the dimensions.? or both?

I know that Headstock is wierd. It's actually so ugly it is beautiful, if that's possible, and it is certainly unique among all the basses ever built. I don't know what happened to me but I am stuck on that goofy thing can't get that shape out of my head.

I feel like the character Richard Dryfus played in Close Encounters.

To be honest if for some reason I don't like it in the future I can just go right back at it and change it to look like the S-8 headstocks. It's just woodwork and time.