R.I.P. 4004 Series basses

[willsellout]

The 5 string.

 

[Jeff Scott]

When someone sends me a new 4003S/5 I can make some good recordings of it. I'll take a FG one, thanks.

 

[mapleglo]

When I receive mine, I can post a demo. They are currently saying early summer, which translated into english likely means mid-winter. Unless you want a 1990 five string demo.

4003S/5

• mapleglo
• Jan 15, 2018
• rickenbacker

Rickenbacker 4003S/5

 

[Asimov]

When I receive mine, I can post a demo. They are currently saying early summer, which translated into english likely means mid-winter. Unless you want a 1990 five string demo.

Do a demo comparing the two. That would be pretty cool.

 

[woodyng2]

The Cii may be a different story, as from my experience, the walnut sandwiched body does make the pickups sound a bit darker compared to the Laredo.

That’s what i thought when i got my first 4004,an ‘04 Cii,until i changed out the pots/cap.
All-maple Laredos do seem to have a bit more crispness,but my Cii’s sound output changed dramatically when I installed Dane’s harness. Same with my Ci. Those 2 must’ve had some low performing components in them from the factory.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Mute moot point as I now prefer Laredos, anyway. I am not a fan of gold hardware.

 

[woodyng2]

Mute moot point as I now prefer Laredos, anyway. I am not a fan of gold hardware.

Easy enough to fix,as you know.....

 

[Jeff Scott]

I did it once, not going through the expense of it, again. Besides, the Cii doesn't give me anything more, anyway, that I want, really. Next Rick is going to be a 5 string.

 

[basmansam]

Did you keep the .047 cap or use something different?

I used a .047 cap too. It's wired VVT.
Thinking about sending my 4004 to Dane to route the HB1's in jazz bass spacing with a 50's style gold pickguard(like Woody's).

 

[woodyng2]

I used a .047 cap too. It's wired VVT.
Thinking about sending my 4004 to Dane to route the HB1's in jazz bass spacing with a 50's style gold pickguard(like Woody's).

DO IT!!!!!

 

[Ric5]

I own 2 Ricks these days ... both are 4004 converted into 5 string basses

 

[Ric5]

I regret selling this one

 

[Ric5]

 

[Ric5]

 

[Ric5]

So what was wrong with the 4004?

1 - The wiring ... toggle, volume, tone ... bad idea for a 2 pickup bass. You cannot blend the pickups.
2 - The pickups - they used 15k humbuckers with 250k ohm pots and later 330k ohm pots. The 4004s were too dark sounding. And when you finally get treble and hi-mids it was harsh.
3 - The moved back pickups - When they moved the pickups they made it impossible to remove the truss rods without routing out wood. Ya ... bad idea.
4 - One of the worst 5 string basses ever made. The 4004cii5 was a disaster on many levels and was canceled pretty quickly.

That being said I love the 4004 bass, but it HAS to be modified to be a good bass.

 

[Ric5]

here's me rocking a 4004

low quality video ... but the bass tone comes through

 

[willsellout]

That being said I love the 4004 bass, but it HAS to be modified to be a good bass.

I've found this statement to be true with All Rickenbacker basses for me personally.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

The purplish blue one I tried at the RIC dealer years ago didn't need any mods. So wish I'd bought it instead of looking for a better price & preferred finish online.

 

[mapleglo]

didn't need any mods

I don't know that I've ever met *any* bass that didn't need any mods.

 

[woodyng2]

Need,schmeed!
I think i got the bug to do “personalizations” from my Dad’s doing old car mods...
Plus i’ve generally found what works for other bass players isn’t what necessarily works for me.