NBD: Rickenbacker 4005xc (day 2 impressions)

[TTA]

Oooh... shiny.
*sniffs screen*
I can almost smell it...

it smells great. But i can also see/smell it picking up a cigarette smell quite easily. The insides are beautifully unfinished.

 

[TTA]

I can't imagine spending that kind of money on a bass and if I did spend that I would want a R tailpiece.

Yeah it is not a cheap bass but i could flip it easy at a profit today, or give it a few years and it will be priced for reverb dentists only. (Joking… no disrespect for dentists)

And i could probably buy 2.5 new 4003’s for the same price… but what the heck would i do with half a bass?!? ;-). And i have 4 4003’s already… and i only have 8 arms.

the R tailpiece is a common comment. My reply is aways this:

Google “george harrison” and they are some of the top images. I think it was a very deliberate, iconic, choice and i like it. My theory is that this bass has nothing to do with re-releasing a 4005… and everything to do with Ric wanting to make something that they knew would be desirable to Ric collectors. Bonus that the end result is IMHO gorgeous, with great playability and sound.

 

[TTA]

Nice report!

I had a '67 4005 that I never quite bonded with.

It was beautiful and sounded great, but the 34" scale neck was a real diver and I had to stretch to reach the low notes...

View attachment 4641467

i just thought… i think ric painstakingly recreated the original 4005’s… neck dive. >_<

I am quite sure they got it spot on!

 

[msb]

I’m kinda hoping a short scale neck on a 350 body is under consideration . Black , of course .

 

[Gizmot]

I can't imagine spending that kind of money on a bass and if I did spend that I would want a R tailpiece.

I can't speak for the basses, but I can tell you firsthand that the "R" tailpiece on my 370/12 is a GIGANTIC pain-in-the-butt to re-string. Yes - it looks cool, but I can live without it.

 

[Gizmot]

I think this is a beautiful bass. I LOVE the checkerboard binding! If I ever get another Ric, I want checkerboard binding - even if I have to pay extra for it.

 

[teleharmonium]

Nice. Glad they went with the trapeze. What is the weight ?

The 5th knob is a series volume control for the neck pickup wired to work counterclockwise. You can think of it as a balance knob... or as something completely useless since you have another volume knob that can go all the way down.

 

[teleharmonium]

This might sound crazy, but the high pass cap added to the bridge pickup allows that pickup alone to produce a guitar like sound, or for it to work sort of like a treble blend when both are on. I did that on my 4003s5.

 

[captainofsmooth]

I fell in love with these when they were released, but I was immediately heartbroken at the price point. Absolutely gorgeous basses though. Congrats on your new instrument!

 

[mellowgerman]

I just received my brand new Rick 330 guitar about a week ago and couldn't agree more that the new Rick semi-hollow smell is AWESOME.
Also, I'm glad that the bridge pickup is so close to the bridge and not in the 4001/4003 position. I say that because I don't like dual pickups being that far apart, making for the one factor that allowed me to talk myself out of dropping serious dough one of these!

 

[Pimpernel Smith]

I can't imagine spending that kind of money on a bass and if I did spend that I would want a R tailpiece.

Oh, please no! Not the R tail piece. I had one on a Rickenbacker 12 string. It was terrible. I am still traumatized from changing the strings on that thing. I even called old Mr. Hall about my troubles. He was a nice guy, and advised me to use duct tape under it while I fitted up the string. Then the fun of fitting the 12 strings into the semi-blind headstock began. I used surgical tools, and a capo and still ended up putting string ends though my fingers multiple times. Changing a set took me an hour and a half each time.

I put the plain Harrison style trapeze top on when they became available. Much better.

That made me think about playing an instrument with 4 strings that could be left on for years.

 

[Engle]

The stickers are there for the subset of ric enthusiasts that feel the bass will be devalued with sticker removal.

i am sure a ric expert can fill us in on the fretboard… but it is not walnut. And it is beautiful.

Nice bass!

The sticker thing is quite amusing. I guess a replacement plate is worth it if the bass retains more value than the cost of the plate, but wow….

 

[Jeff Scott]

I have low action but no contact at all and i can be quite aggressive.

Mine did, but it was like that already when I got the bass in 1973.

I have the pickups on the 4004L SPC set quite close to the strings but unless I am super aggressive in playing it (which I'm not) it's not an issue.

 

[Jeff Scott]

The 5th knob is the magic knob that i dont think anyone really knows the purpose of.

I do!

 

[Jeff Scott]

but i do think it is a complete stretch calling this a 4005. Is is a short scale bass with a 330 body.

Agreed. No bias, here.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I can't imagine spending that kind of money on a bass and if I did spend that I would want a R tailpiece.

Yep, I got one, ready to go.

 

[Jeff Scott]

My theory is that this bass has nothing to do with re-releasing a 4005…

So, why call it thus?

 

[Jeff Scott]

i just thought… i think ric painstakingly recreated the original 4005’s… neck dive. >_<

Once I installed Hipshot Ultralite tuning keys on it the 4005WB balanced perfectly, for me.

 

[40Hz]

Beautiful!

My favorite (both for looks and sound) Ric model despite them being well outside the range of anything I’d be willing to pay to own one.

So (much like my other love, a Dragonfly-40) I’ll content myself with admiring it at a distance and congratulating its happy owner.

Besides, the only thing more classic and classy than tort is checkerboard binding.

 

[SirMjac28]

That is drop dead gorgeous congrats and keep the stickers they add to the resale like pedal boxes