I borrowed a mid 70's 4001 for some recording on an old band's EP (2 years ago). I NEEDED that Ric sound for just one of the tracks (slow, grinding Em rock epic), but I tried it (through my Ampeg SVP PRO and a Hartke Hyrive 410) and though it sounded incredible I couldn't play it for more than about 6 bars, the neck just [i]felt[/i] wrong, had to settle for ol' faithful (blade) with some tube distortion.
The track sounded very good in the end, but I've always wondered 'what if', did I ditch the Ric too soon because of studio pressures or is the Ric just not for me?