4001 neck width at the nut

[FrankieTbird]

If I was in the market to buy a 4001, what years should I be looking at to get the narrowest neck width possible?  I'm used to playing a Thunderbird with a 1-1/2" nut (38mm), so a big wide neck doesn't cut it for me. 

[Bert]

All the '86's i've tried (and have) have narrow necks. But if memory serves me right our moderator's sons has an '86 with less comfortable neck.
70ies and 60ies Rick's can have narrow neck's as well. In general somewhere around 1994 necks tended to grow wider.

[Jeff Scott]

My two '73 4001s had 1 5/8" nuts.  I had read of one person who claimed to have a Rick bass with a 1 1/2" nut, but I have never seen one in all the years I have checked out scores, if not more, of them.  The '60s and 'early '70s basses also have thinner front to back thickness, another important factor in neck comfort.

[gearHed289]

I don't think you'll find anything less than 1-5/8''. My favorites come from '89 through '93, though that range may go back/forward further.

[ilan]

All the '86's i've tried (and have) have narrow necks. But if memory serves me right our moderator's sons has an '86 with less comfortable neck

My son's July '86 4003S/BT has a very thick neck, but I find it very comfortable, and it's the fattest sounding (in a best way possible) of the three Rics we have at home.

A friend who's an accomplished violin maker and classical upright player has told me that in his experience, the thicker the neck, the meatier the tone.

[Bert]

My son's July '86 4003S/BT has a very thick neck, but I find it very comfortable, and it's the fattest sounding (in a best way possible) of the three Rics we have at home.

How wide is it? I do not like wide necks. but have no problem with thick necks.

A friend who's an accomplished violin maker and classical upright player has told me that in his experience, the thicker the neck, the meatier the tone.

I do not know what he means with meatier, but in my experience neck dimensions do not say much about the way wood sounds and responds. (My shadow has the thinest and smallest neck and is acoustically the best sounds Rick I've ever owned.)