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I Think I Want Another 4001

OldDirtyBassist

OldDirtyBassist

Guest
Mar 13, 2014
1,602
619
#1
I go into the shop today and the guys tell me there's a 4001 in store. I made the mistake of looking at it. Now it won't leave my head! Mellowinman's thread isn't helping. He looks so happy holding his new RIC. Now there's a possibility of a used Fireglo in my possession. The RIC bug has hit me once again.
 
#2
Probably a 4003, but maybe a 4001 or a 4001V63 or 4001C64. They stopped making "real" 4001 in the early '80s. Still, there's plenty of folks out there who still think the only Rick bass is the 4001. The book sorts it all out, but hope you get whatever it is!
 
#4
I'm not a Ric expert, but I think the 4001 sounds like the 4003 with the vintage tone engaged. I actually much prefer the non-vintage tone and on my 1980 4003 (that didn't have the push pull pot) I simply bypassed the capacitor that sucks all of the low end out of the bridge pickup. As far as the neck, I don't find that neck profiles slow me down. I'd rather have a slightly fatter neck that can take various gauge strings without struggling.
 
#5
The store has an extended layaway plan, so it's a big consideration. The red/pink tint they use is so pretty.

I like how you can play chords, even down low on the 4003. Plus, the notes above the 7th fret on the E string are listenable in comparison to most other basses.
 
#6
Try a few if you can, some seem to come out of the factory with very high actions. I test played one at GC yesterday that they said they just got in, so it wasn't a case of the usual Neglect by the GC staff, and the action was almost unplayable, literally 1/4" at the 12th fret. I suppose the neck could have bowed during shipping, but the nut looked really high. IMHO, GC shouldn't leave a $1799 instrument on public display in that condition, makes the brand look bad, deservedly or not.
 
#7
OldDirtyBassist said:
I go into the shop today and the guys tell me there's a 4001 in store. I made the mistake of looking at it. Now it won't leave my head! Mellowinman's thread isn't helping. He looks so happy holding his new RIC. Now there's a possibility of a used Fireglo in my possession. The RIC bug has hit me once again.
Click to expand...
I don't get why some of the posters in this thread think the OP is looking at a new 4003? :confused:

Or, did I miss something, here? :)
 
#9
OldDirtyBassist said:
I go into the shop today and the guys tell me there's a 4001 in store. I made the mistake of looking at it. Now it won't leave my head! Mellowinman's thread isn't helping. He looks so happy holding his new RIC. Now there's a possibility of a used Fireglo in my possession. The RIC bug has hit me once again.
Click to expand...

OldDirtyBassist said:
The store has an extended layaway plan, so it's a big consideration. The red/pink tint they use is so pretty.

I like how you can play chords, even down low on the 4003. Plus, the notes above the 7th fret on the E string are listenable in comparison to most other basses.
Click to expand...

Gilmourisgod said:
Didn't sound like he's sure it is a 4001, then he refers to playing chords on a 4003, logical inference: he's looking at new 4003's.

Oldirtybassist:
Is this an old used 4001, or a new 4003?
Click to expand...
Must be me then, as I don't see that in his posts.

Never mind, carry on. :cool:
 
#11
Either way, a fantastic bass, but a lot of variation in setup and QC coming out of the factory from what I've seen recently. My local GC never has more than one on the wall and one or two in stock, so comparison shopping in the store isn't really possible at GC.
 
#12
The 4001 had a different truss rod, not sure i understand the differences, but have read that the 4003 is more forgiving. The old ones required the neck to be bent manually, and then "fixed" in place by tightening trussrods. There are also some differences in neck profile and thickness, exact body proportions, etc. mainly cosmetic changes. The 4003 also has a push/pull pot for vintage or modern sound that adds of subtracts more bass response from the bridge pup. Good luck with it, hope you like the bass.
 
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#13
Gilmourisgod said:
The 4001 had a different truss rod...The old ones required the neck to be bent manually, and then "fixed" in place by tightening trussrods
Click to expand...
Correct, that is how it's done. Personally, I prefer the old style rods; they work great and virtually never (never actually) have to be adjusted once set unless you are putting different strings on with significantly differing tension. You just have to know how they work and how to make the adjustment when (if) necessary.
 
#16
Are they advertising it as new or used? Price? Shoot a pic and get the serial no. We can probably figure out what it is. If it has the flag, most likely a new 4003, but it is not out of the realm of possibilities that someone put a sticker on a used bass.

There are folks who specifically seek out 4001s. Some of them had thinner necks than 4003s have/had, some years had the skunk stripe and some folks prefer that (shedua wood laminated in between two outer pieces of maple on the neck).

But for the majority of bass players, a new 4003 or the recently released 4003S are better values.
 
#19
I think the push/pull tone pot is pretty recent (2008?). They stopped making 4001's in 1982 or so. I had a 1979 jetglo, really thin, fast neck, and very trebly bridge pup. I think the 4003 has better electronics and hotter pups, always had a little trouble with thin sounding bridge pup on the 4001, though it did nail a Squire/Lee sound pretty well. The older basses were effectively unique, with a lot of variation in dimensions, neck construction, fingerboard material, etc. The new basses are all CNC machined, so dimensionally identical. Even post CNC, most Ricks seem to have more individual character than a lot of mass produced guitars, probably due to all the fussy handwork needed to get that incredible finish.
 
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