The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Rickenbacker Basses => Topic started by: ilan on September 13, 2022, 08:43:31 AM
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https://www.facebook.com/ricguitars/photos/pcb.5603066479776957/5603066386443633/
(https://scontent.ftlv15-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/306623978_5603066373110301_8304489280188830351_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=a26aad&_nc_ohc=VXL_bKYqWAEAX9URqkl&_nc_ht=scontent.ftlv15-1.fna&oh=00_AT_1B9tP3PA8-kWjUYzQB9q7QZ1ISusKaIVMYWeSyFZIfA&oe=632587D1)
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As much as I love short scales those two have no appeal to me at all.
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They sure do appeal to me. Thumbs up.
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I like the short scale 4001 they gave to Rinus Gerritsen.
(https://cdn.basschat.co.uk/monthly_2021_08/IMG_5671.JPG.eebfcd78900804ab05965cd4f41ab7a8.JPG)
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That bridge position looks like the regular scale. Did they shorten the body?
I like the old thicker horns .
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That bridge position looks like the regular scale. Did they shorten the body?
I like the old thicker horns .
No, it's not in the same position as the regular scale.
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I'd love to have a shortie rick. My old 4001 don't get much playtime anymore. Not a fan of above colours, but a short rick is a definite turn-on. White short 4000 with checkerbinding please :mrgreen:
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That bridge position looks like the regular scale. Did they shorten the body?
I like the old thicker horns .
The Rinus bass looks like it has normal bridge position, but different neck joining.
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For the 4030 the use a regular 4000 Series carcass, then position the bridge further up the body and install a 24-fret 30" scale Richlite fretboard.
A 4003 can be converted to 4030 with a new fretboard and a refin to cover up the plugged mute and pickup routs. It's doable. If I were going to have one made, I'd opt for JG/BT to blur the new bridge position, and use an ebony board.
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I still think that big old tailpiece looks silly way into the body like that. Should have used a Schaller. Other than that, these seem pretty cool, but I don't play short scales enough to spend that kind of money on one.
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I like the old thicker horns .
The '60s to early mid '70s thicker horns or the later mid '70s and later thicker horns (relative to the modern thinner horns)?
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I’m used to looking at my 80 4001 that has substantial horns.
I also have a 76 4000 that looks funny (to me) , but fell in love with the way it works. Being an old Pbass guy I like the two knob simplicity , and don’t miss the other knobs and switch.
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My preferred era of horns is the '60s to early-mid '70s.
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Horseshoe ! As it was I spent years looking for a 4001 , they were scarce around here , and it was in the early days of the internet before I found one in Toronto. A late 4001. Fireglo , in nice condition.
When I first got it I went on the Resource page to ask about bypassing the cap, John Hall answered my question , and I didn’t realize who he was until about two weeks later.
Mine’s a pretty common variant without the desired early features , but I still get a little weak in the knees when I look at it.
And it plays wonderfully.
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That bridge position looks like the regular scale. Did they shorten the body?
I like the old thicker horns .
The '60s to early mid '70s thicker horns or the later mid '70s and later thicker horns (relative to the modern thinner horns)?
My preferred era of horns is the '60s to early-mid '70s.
Agreed, the 60s-mid 70s horns are the best proportions. I want to say after about '76 they start to get progressively wider, reaching a zenith in the early 90s, where they are downright huge. The new basses RIC is putting out have horns that looks really weedy. The 4003S isn't as noticeable but when the binding is applied they look overly thin. At least from commentary I've read, the basses are CNC'd and the patterns have not been changed in quite some time, but I swear the last 5 years they've seemed to get thinner. It seems like after they got very large in the 1990s, they corrected them towards the mid to late 90s, and then they've shrunk some since then. Maybe not and I'm just losing my mind, but a 1970 4001 is about the most prime example I can think of. Also prefer where the fretboard joined the body on the late 60s/early 70s ones.
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I've got an '89 4003S and a '93 4003S/8, both with the big fat horns. I like em. Both these basses have very stable necks. I often wonder if the slight extra support provided by the extra wood has anything to do with that? My other Ric is a '92 4001CS with skinny horns. That neck is more prone to movement, but it's also much thinner (front to back) than any Ric I've ever played, particularly in the upper registers.
Besides the new horns being pretty skinny, they also shifted the wings back slightly, so there's hardly anything between the pickguard and the edge of the body where the neck meets wings on the treble side. Sorry for the run-on sentence, and I hope that makes sense!
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Also prefer where the fretboard joined the body on the late 60s/early 70s ones.
Exactly! Now the pickguard at the neck "joint" is flush with the edge of the body.
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Exactly! Now the pickguard at the neck "joint" is flush with the edge of the body.
Yeah, it looks a bit odd these days, some of them with checkerboard even seem to have pickguards that cover some of the binding. I'm sure there's some reasoning behind it, but at least in my mind it seems like setting the neck further out like that would only add to stability issues at the neck/body transition (though I suppose that's not so much an issue with the 1" spacing. I know with that swimming pool of a route my 4001v63 had some problems). Given the current state of Rick basses with these details (nothing wrong with build quality, they're very good and I like the recent switch to single truss rod), I chose to go with a Greco PMB-800 to get back into the Rick zone instead of picking up a new 4003s. Closer in details to a 1970s one, plus the 1/2" spacing (with far less wood removed for routing, much more stable neck than my old 4001v63).