NBD: Rickenbacker 4005xc (day 2 impressions)

[bobyoung53]

I think it is like insurance.

Do you know how most of the volume controls change is right at the end of it's rotation, 90% of the change is at the last 10%? It sounds like this is kind of a fine tuning, like it stretches that little bit out into a whole rotation, not sure as I've never owned one but that's what it seems like it would do to me. You run it full and back off the bridge so i probably wouldn't do a whole lot for you.

 

[TTA]

Beautiful! Gotta ask... how did you get from wanting an acoustic to this??? Tell us your journey.

sure!

One night in i think winter 2021 i was playing bass and my wife and daughter both told me off for being too loud.

"But the kids go to bed at 7:30pm!!!"
I said. "When can i play?!?"

So i bought a pair of studio headphones and a darkglass adam pedal… (basically a di box and multiband compressor and cab sim, and signal splitter, and multi distortion pedal and tuner and eq and a modern metal cliche).

But i have yet to get a longer headphones cable so i hate being bound next to my pedals. The logical solution was not a longer cable… no… the better solution was buying an acoustic bass!!!

I knew of the classic 4005. I figured semihollowbody would be fine. Ideal really. But i was never a fan of the original 4005 look… and they were selling at around 15-20k on reverb.

so i googled "rickenbacker acoustic bass". I was not aware of any existing. But i found a guy that was licensed to make ric acoustic bases circa 2012 or so. They let him keep doing it. I forget the name but i think he was in california. Lovely things but aside from the neck… they just did not look super ric. And they cost even more than the 4005xc.

But on that google image search i happened upon a 330 with four strings. After a double take, I clicked and ric was producing the 4005xc for the 90th in limited numbers.

"Holy fork! But i bet they are sold out." So i looked online… saw crazy prices. So i called my local music chain store. They do a lot of bulk pre orders from ric because waits are so long. For all of Canada They had ordered 6 fireglo and maybe 4 jetglo. 1 fireglo was not called for, and 2 jetglo remained.

After some debate, i opted for the fireglo as a fireglo 330 is iconic to me. I did not even check the price. I also ordered a jetgo 4003 because i had two at that time (fireglo and mapleglo) and always wanted jetglo.

I was told each could be a year it more.

I got impatient. So in the summer i got a dingwall ng2 37" multiscale. I loved it! So much that i bought an april 2022 date custom build slot from john fox bass. Dingwall orders are about 1.5+ years out and jfb buys slots and then sells them to customers to shorten the wait. But it was still a 9 month wait.

Fall 2021. I was about to pay for a used dingwall 5 string ab1. But it got bought out under me. dirty! Karma paid off and the next day i found a mint, fairly priced 2020 1 of 25 monty brown toaster flame maple checkerboard 4003 on sale on tb. I bought it! Amazing!

then murphys law of bases on order hit. Not a week later my jetglo 4003 order arrived in store. I think i promised to sell half my bases that day to not get in trouble. Apparently no one NEEDS multiple basses…. Especially not 4 of the same bass. I was at 4 4003's… And 8 bases total. Seemed like an ok number to me…

A month or two later the dude that got the ab1 from under me… remembered me and decided to sell . He reached out and I got first opportunity and decided i would not miss it again… and got it.
That ab1 was just incredible and quickly became my #1 Bass.

more time passed. Recently i thought… my dingwall (low f# six string!!!) build is april. Very soon!!! I should send john fox more money now so that the bass does not look as pricy later. >_<. Followed by… i wonder when my 4005xc will arrive? My cynical reply to myself was "probably in april… Murphys law. And your accountant wife will see it all and murder you."

"great way to die" i replied to myself.

then two weeks ago i got a call from the music store. Order arrived. My heart raced. I called… but it was only a set of strings that were backordered and i forgot about them.

This week i got an email! Order arrived… Payment due. Looking at the balance it was NOT strings! I went straight to the store after work. They wanted to see it also so i opened it up, made sure it was a-ok and jammed out a bit. A bit became a lot.

i got home late and my wife was not happy. Why did i not message her? Why was i late? Where did i go? Is it that hard to message? Is she not important enough to me? Was i listening to her?

For the record i was half listening to her. I was also playing my 4005xc with a big internal grin. Yes dear. I am really sorry. I was not considerate. I will try not to do this again. I was happy she did not ask the price of the screaming red bass in my hands (of note this may all sound bad but i am getting our family a rv and we just redid the kitchen so i knew i had wiggle room before impending death)

"is that a new bass?" She asked. "Yes. I ordered it a year ago."

"Well i like it." She said

And it was all ok. :-D

 

[TTA]

Absolutely. Im no stranger to spending collector money on basses. I guess the deciding factor for me was that I'm not normally a Ric guy in general. I've owned a few 400x over the years, and never really clicked. But that beauty of yours is so very enticing. I'm glad you're enjoying it! Cheers!

Rics are so love hate. I have always been strongly in the love category ever since i was a poor student and my dad talked me out of buying a sexy af, beat up mapleglo 4003s (worst decision ever!!!), and into a different "perfect" bass that never clicked… and that i sold to buy a very flawed 4003 that i loved to death.

It is partly the tone, partly thr look. But to really get rics you need to appreciate the quirks and desire to be a bit different imho.

 

[BTL]

That's one quirky beast...I LOVE it!!!

 

[J Posega]

That tailpiece looks like absolute crap. Why not the classic R tailpiece instead of some cheap looking, lame rectangles?

Ric just cannot get the bridge right, can they?

Otherwise, beautiful bass.

 

[Jeff Scott]

So it's basically like a fine tuning for the neck pickup volume?

Right, but of course you can always just use the main neck pickup volume for that. I almost always have one of the pickups slightly dialed back when I'm using both together, it's a habit to make that setting even though it's pretty small roll back, I'm sure others do this.

The fifth control is wired in series with the neck volume control but with reversed rotation to a standard volume control. However, unlike a normal volume control, the third lug that would normally be grounded is unconnected so when the control is rotated FCW there is still some signal present, it is not completely cut off as a standard volume control would do. Since the neck pickup has two volume controls in series, there is much greater loading on the neck pickup so it gets darker sounding quicker when the volume(s) are turned down.

i think this is a "marketing department bass." It probably went something like this…
.....

"R tailpiece? Some guys in talkbass threads love r tail pieces."
"But some that actually own them hate them."
"Harrison used the plain style. That bass is iconic."

Harrison's was a guitar!

"What does XC stand for?"
"Extra costly!!!"

The Tappet Brothers would be proud of this!

Would they be drop in here?

Not quite, but not difficult to make happen.

so i googled "rickenbacker acoustic bass". I was not aware of any existing. But i found a guy that was licensed to make ric acoustic bases circa 2012 or so. They let him keep doing it. I forget the name but i think he was in california. Lovely things but aside from the neck… they just did not look super ric. And they cost even more than the 4005xc.

Paoli Veal-Zeen-Ski

Custom built for Andy O'Connor.

That tailpiece looks like absolute crap. Why not the classic R tailpiece instead of some cheap looking, lame rectangles?

That tailpiece is classic, for those in the know.

Ric just cannot get the bridge right, can they?

The bridge is great. What issues do you have with it?

 

[TTA]

The fifth control is wired in series with the neck volume control but with reversed rotation to a standard volume control. However, unlike a normal volume control, the third lug that would normally be grounded is unconnected so when the control is rotated FCW there is still some signal present, it is not completely cut off as a standard volume control would do. Since the neck pickup has two volume controls in series, there is much greater loading on the neck pickup so it gets darker sounding quicker when the volume(s) are turned down.

Harrison's was a guitar!

The Tappet Brothers would be proud of this!


Not quite, but not difficult to make happen.

Paoli Veal-Zeen-Ski

Custom built for Andy O'Connor.

View attachment 4642337

That tailpiece is classic, for those in the know.

The bridge is great. What issues do you have with it?

Yeah Harrison played a 330… and i think that was part of why the 4005xc is what it is today. I wonder how many 330 collectors got it just cause… and how many bassists got the 90th guitar with the 4003 body.

and that acoustic looks like the one!

 

[TTA]

That tailpiece looks like absolute crap. Why not the classic R tailpiece instead of some cheap looking, lame rectangles?

Ric just cannot get the bridge right, can they?

Otherwise, beautiful bass.

the 4004xc bridge adjusts and intonates super easy. It was the old design 4001/4003 bridge that was annoying to intonate. And sometimes they lifted. A v2.0 bridge was finally released in 2019 or so and imho is great.

Also…

 

[thisheregiraffe]

"But the kids go to bed at 7:30pm!!!"
I said. "When can i play?!?"

My life in a nutshell

I can identify with many other aspects of your very entertaining story. Great post The key difference for me is my wife never tells me that she likes any of my basses...

 

[Jeff Scott]

Yeah Harrison played a 330… and i think that was part of why the 4005xc is what it is today. I wonder how many 330 collectors got it just cause… and how many bassists got the 90th guitar with the 4003 body.

and that acoustic looks like the one!

Um, 360.

 

[TTA]

Um, 360.

Um, 360.

Well i guess that is about how much I know about guitars. :-O

in my defence it looks like a 12 string 330 to me. The Beatles' Secret Weapon: George Harrison's 1963 Rickenbacker 360/12

 

[Root 5]

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.

To me it looks like bubinga or maybe Claro walnut.
And yes, new Rickenbackers smell great!

 

[WillyW]

congratulations!

I had passed on the original orders for these, and was still kicking myself when I found out there were a few unclaimed. I still couldn't swing the deposit though.

I had ordered a 4003w in 2020 and was offered a 4003AC, but at the time ad no clue what it was, researched it later, and was kicking myself again…

Then the second Run of the 4003AC began to surface, and against my bank accounts wishes, jumped on it this time…

So there is still hopes for me getting a 4405xc…

I want to say the FB looks like bubinga, but bubinga isn't usually that pretty.

 

[rockscott]

Its a beauty, price is insane, but thats life in the big city!

 

[5StringBlues]

What's the best smell for metal?

 

[BassyBill]

What's the best smell for metal?

Best smelling bass award in my collection goes to my Tony Franklin fretless. The new nitro finish wafting out of the case - heavenly.

 

[steve_ss]

So, why call it thus?

i think this is a "marketing department bass." It probably went something like this…

"so 90th… what do we do? This is pretty big?"
"Lets reissue a 60's horseshoe 4001!"
"Great idea… but lets do that at the 100th. Other ideas?"
"Lets sell a 4003 bass as a guitar, and a 330 guitar as a bass!"
"That would have crossover sale appeal. Lets do it!"
"It needs to look like a 330 though."
"We can make that happen with short scale."
"R tailpiece? Some guys in talkbass threads love r tail pieces."
"But some that actually own them hate them."
"Harrison used the plain style. That bass is iconic."
"Plain tailpiece it is!"
"What do we call it?"
"Well is is kind of like the 4005… semi hollow body."
"TTA suggests a 4330."
"Hmmm… how about 4005xc!"
"What does XC stand for?"
"Extra costly!!!"
*everyone roars laughing*
"Amazing. I think we will sell a lot of these!!"

I thought the XC was roman numerals for 90. As in the 90th Anniversary edition. At least that's what I told my wife when I got my 4005xc.

 

[nixdad]

Um, 360.

Thanks for correcting, Jeff Scott.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Thanks for correcting, Jeff Scott.

We can't let the truth get messed up along the road of history.

 

[TTA]

I thought the XC was roman numerals for 90. As in the 90th Anniversary edition. At least that's what I told my wife when I got my 4005xc.

You are right! But i still stand behind extra costly.