Author Topic: Two more short scale 4030's  (Read 1422 times)

ilan

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The guy who bought the same bass twice — first in 1977 and again in 2023

morrow

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #1 on: September 13, 2022, 08:52:56 AM »
As much as I love short scales those two have no appeal to me at all.

Dave W

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #2 on: September 13, 2022, 09:44:14 AM »
They sure do appeal to me. Thumbs up.

Alanko

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2022, 01:04:11 PM »
I like the short scale 4001 they gave to Rinus Gerritsen.



morrow

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #4 on: September 13, 2022, 02:20:29 PM »
That bridge position looks like the regular scale. Did they shorten the body?
I like the old thicker horns .

Dave W

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #5 on: September 13, 2022, 08:39:23 PM »
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.

amptech

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #6 on: September 13, 2022, 09:58:45 PM »
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:

amptech

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #7 on: September 13, 2022, 10:02:49 PM »
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.

ilan

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #8 on: September 14, 2022, 12:24:56 AM »
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.
The guy who bought the same bass twice — first in 1977 and again in 2023

gearHed289

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #9 on: September 14, 2022, 07:24:14 AM »
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.

Jeff Scott

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #10 on: September 14, 2022, 12:48:44 PM »
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)?

morrow

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #11 on: September 14, 2022, 06:29:44 PM »
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.

Jeff Scott

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #12 on: September 15, 2022, 12:07:18 AM »
My preferred era of horns is the '60s to early-mid '70s.


morrow

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #13 on: September 15, 2022, 04:57:25 AM »
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.

D.M.N.

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Re: Two more short scale 4030's
« Reply #14 on: September 15, 2022, 02:04:26 PM »
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.