4000

The "heavy-handed rock pick player" is something of a generalisation and it annoys me somewhat. I play mostly pick style and spent most of my early years playing heavy rock, but I've always had very, very low action and play very, very lightly, unless of course I'm digging in for effect. I always wanted to have the same sort of facility as a typical shred guitarist, whether I used it or not (I tend not to these days). Martin Petersen has said in the past he could only think of one customer who had lower action than me, although my main bass these days has something of a compromise due to age and build tolerances. It's very low, but not super low. The right hand picking thing, with minimal movement, and the need for (potential) speed are the reasons why I prefer relatively narrow string spacing.

Indeed he is, on both counts.

'57 Chevy. Which is fine by me.

I love Prog, rock and metal and yet ABBA are one of my favourite bands. I've never understood why some people underestimate them so much or find them a guilty pleasure. In fact I tend to view them as kind of Prog Pop; there's a lot of classical stuff in there. Listen to SOS, for instance. Anyone seen the Ritchie Blackmore documentary on Sky, where he's talking about how a particular incarnation of Rainbow - himself included - all admitted they loved ABBA?

I'm afraid this falls into the same category as whether the weight of a bass matters. It does if it does, and if it doesn't to you then you may not get it. I've found over the past decade that most Fender-type necks cause me problems with nerve pain, muscle cramps etc, but I do have prolapsed cervical discs which affect the nerves in my arms and hands. Beyond that, surely it's up to the player and if it matters - or not - then that's their call? I don't see it as anything strange anymore than why someone prefers the look or sound of one bass over another. Personally I much prefer playing a relatively slim, more or less parallel neck (i.e. not like a Jazz) with nothing over 17mm string spacing. Why? Because it's more comfortable to me. Sure could adapt, but why should I? I could wear size 11 shoes too, or maybe 9s at a push, but 10s are generally more comfortable. End of. Oh, and with regards to 1mm strings spacing, go and talk some accomplished fingerstyle guitarists. 1mm can make all the difference when fingerpicking something technical.

The treble pickup being louder than the neck one is one of the things I find weird about the newer basses. On most of the ones I've owned, the toaster (not keen on neck high-gains) has been louder then the treble pickup, as it is on my current two.

I recently had some parts delivered by them. Or didn't. They left a card on Friday saying the parcel had been left at my local PO, and gave the correct address. So I turned up on Monday with my card; no trace whatsoever. I went home and rang them and they said it had been left at a PO that didn't exist in my town. They gave me the post code and it turned out it had been left in the next town to mine. I went mental (I don't drive for a start), then arranged redelivery, and then a friend offered to take me to pick it up to avoid getting lost again. I did make a complaint, which achieved nothing other than a polite apology. They really are utterly useless.

Have you thought of trying different strings? Not all stainless sound the same, or you could try nickels (ditto).

They deserve it. Horrible things. Sadly I couldn't get a Ric I wanted for £3k these days.

This is my favourite of her tracks that I've heard, although I'll admit that as much as I like Tal I'm not a huge fan of her voice. I do love the track though.

A gorgeous '73 P bass I played recently. Or possibly another custom Sei.

I did play one in Forsyths once that was so-so; the neck was massive for a start. But mine was lovely. If it hadn't been for the fact that it aggravated my nerve issue I'd still have it. I sold it to another Forum member. I've never seen one that isn't as least as well built as my Wals though. I also preferred my 4004 to any 4003 I've played.

Some of them have an ABM, which is why I didn’t specify.

Frets changed with the 4003 I believe. People forget that the 4001 came with flats.

In the simplest possible terms, the 4001 and 4003 have a different truss rod system and the 4003 typically has hotter pickups. The 4001 came with a capacitor on the treble pickup that cut the bass. The 4003 originally didn’t have this, but recently has a push/pull which means you can opt for in or out. 4004 is a different beast altogether, with a more modern bridge, contoured body and humbuckers. It really isn’t as simple as that though as the 4001 has varied a great deal over the years, as has the 4003 and even the 4004 to a lesser degree. If you want to find out more go to the Rickenbacker Resource Forum.

It felt cheap? Mine was far better made than either of my Wals, and on a par with my Sei basses, which at £1600 was pretty good IMO.

I think I've owned about 20 now. '68, '71 21 fretter, 4003s8, 4004, 3 x '72s ( 2 x 4001 and a through-neck 4000) , '73 4000, '73 4001, '76 4001, '80 4001, '91 and '96 4001CS, '91 and '98 V63...and a few others I forget. My current '72s have been by far my favourites, although I do prefer one to the other.

The truss rods come out pretty easily (in most cases) and are field replaceable. I played a '70s 4005 once but I wasn't that keen. It looked great, but the sound wasn't there for me. The bridge pickup is way too near the bridge. I also had a 4004, which was a lovely bass, but unlike everyone else I found it much less comfortable than a 4001/4003; it aggravated the nerve problem in my right arm so had to go.

Well every Ric sounds different (I've played hundreds at the very least), but I've never played a 4003 that sounds that close to my 2 x '72s.

Having been in both in the past 2 weeks, def The Gallery.

Jazzes, all 3 of them. I've really tried to get on with them but just don't. They sound horrible in my hands and are probably the most uncomfortable instruments I've ever owned, which is saying something. Still, I find Rics probably the most comfortable bass going, which others will find odd. Of my Wals, the Pro sounded and played really nicely but weighed a ton. The Custom had loads of sounds, hardly any of which were usable. It was a relatively light one though. I had a Jaydee Supernatural with a neck that moved if you looked at it (to be fair, my Sei 6 had the same problem). All my (5?) Statuses were pretty dreadful; uncomfortable, sounded like plastic and almost all had continuing issues with the electronics. My Alembic Stanley Clarke was a wonderful bass but had the balance of a bowl of soup going round a corner at high speed. Head heavy? That's not the half of it. A Stingray Classic I got in a part-trade sounded pants and weighed a ton.

As with others, I like most things. I don't really tend to think in genres, it's all just music to me. However if we are talking genres simply for ease of reference, then I tend not to listen to very much R&B, reggae, soul or blues. My biggest loves would fall under the umbrella of Prog, but I'm also a big pop music fan, and love anything vocal harmony-based, like ABBA, the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel or The Mamas and The Papas, or more up to date First Aid Kit and The Staves. I was brought up on jazz, though I don't tend to listen to a lot of it these days, probably due to early force-feeding. Favourite bands include Yes, Genesis, Floyd, Bow Wow Wow, Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, Hawkwind, Manowar, Sabbath, Chic, early Jamiroquai, First Aid Kit, Return To Forever, Radiohead, Chilis, etc etc etc. Oh, and give me a drone and some melancholy vocal harmonies and I'm done.

I'm aware of that; it's nothing to do with the vintage tone circuit or the cap (which I normally bypass anyway). The balance of the pickups is simply much different. Obviously the newer ones have hotter pickups and different pot values.

The newer basses sound very different to my vintage ones. For a start, the neck toaster dominates on mine, whereas on the newer basses the treble pickup seems to dominate on the ones I’ve played.

Er, getting them to the top of the charts across the world? Love ABBA, one of my absolute favourite bands. Always loved them and was always happy to say so, even when it wasn’t cool.