It’s official … 4005

[morrow]

They've released pics of the 4005 reissue. Said to be priced just under 5 thou. Expected to first arrive this summer.

[ilan]

Serious GAS here for a JG.

[morrow]

Beyond my snack bracket , but I'm really happy to see Rickenbacker do this , and happy for those that will place an order. First deliveries are expected this summer. They are considerably cheaper than what they've been fetching in the vintage market.

[ilan]

They are considerably cheaper than what they've been fetching in the vintage market.

And possibly better, with modern truss rods. Unlike vintage Fenders, I don't think that old Rics are better. Rickenbacker have kept their quality standards, no CBS or Norlin eras.

Now, what to sell. Too bad it's a buyers market now.

[Dave W]

Pics?

[morrow]

Checkerboard binding on the back.

[uwe]

That  radical bridge pup position and then a foot of nothing before the neck pup is snug to the end of the fretboard ... I know the purists wouldn't want it any other way.

And you do have ample room for an aftermarket split-coil in the middle, very thoughtful of them.

[Ken]

What's the difference between these with the rounded horns and the ones with the horns that come to a point?

[Alanko]

What's the difference between these with the rounded horns and the ones with the horns that come to a point?

The pointy beast, 4005XC, was shortscale and not based on a historic instrument. Oddly, Shaftesbury had a bass like the 4005XC in the late '60s, so it's a copy of a copy.

[Ken]

The pointy beast, 4005XC, was shortscale and not based on a historic instrument. Oddly, Shaftesbury had a bass like the 4005XC in the late '60s, so it's a copy of a copy.

Ah, thanks!

[morrow]

I preferred to see it as a bass version of Harrison's famous 12 string. And have to confess that I was hoping for a bass version of the 325 Lennon used.

[Pilgrim]

Although I LOVE the look of the three Rics, fortunately I have no desire to spend the money for one.

[gearHed289]

Even as a big Ric nerd, these are of no interest to me, but they'll definitely make some people happy. I wonder how many they'll actually sell after all these years of people wishing for its return? I'm guessing not a lot.

[uwe]

I have one, of course it looks gorgeous. And if you love something dearly, you can also get it to sound decent at least. It's just not the 4001/4003 effect of plugging in and immediately hearing a signal that makes you go "Oh wow, this sounds really cool and different!".

I don't think Ric expects this to be a huge seller, but it will likely be a consistent one over the years for a committed minority. Maybe Noel will get one, he had this one here on loan from Paul Weller at the time ...



For all their limitations and the one-trick-pony'ishness to them, I kinda do miss Oasis. Not the saviors of rock'n'roll, but morbidly entertaining.

[Alanko]

When I was a kiddo in the '90s Oasis seemed genuinely dangerous. Quite laughable now. A pack of roaming Mancunians with dodgy eyebrows, Ben Sherman shirts and parka jackets mincing around menacingly near some press photographers. Shouting "bollocks!" occasionally, dating supermodels and falling out of limousines. All ripping stuff to read about in the NME or various lowbrow 'lads mags' of the era.

In 1997 that felt like the height of danger, but a decade later your mate at school could send you a link to a website which automatically played a terrorist beheading video. For a laugh. The world moved quickly, and Oasis suddenly seemed quaint by comparison, with their brick wall'd Beatles sound and mushroom haircuts. Of another era! Britpop coincided with the last time (ever?) that there was any deep routed optimism within the British psyche. Tony Blair's labour government seemed fresh-faced and seemed to promise a lot of positive lousy, but represented a jerk to the centre-right in British politics that I don't ever see being reversed. Come 2007 we were in recession and we've been circling the drain ever since, asset-stripped and veering further and further right and getting constantly embroiled in gutter-tier identity politics. Oasis peaked at a time when there was still some sense within the general population of British exceptionalism (wrongly or otherwise) and the notion we had something to ship around the world.

Mark Lanegan documents a dispute he had with Liam Gallagher while Oasis and the Screaming Trees were on tour together. Mark was genuinely up for a fight with Liam, who had goaded him from the start of the tour. In return Liam hid behind security staff and eventually vanished off the tour. All talk!