4000

The genuine horseshoes stopped around ‘68 or ‘69 off the top of my head. If that was a genuine ‘60s one, that would be worth a lot of money now, dog or no. Well, that’s basses for you. 😂 I’m the same with Status and Fender Jazzes, amongst many others. Both are ergonomically and sonically horrible for me. As Prowla suggests, I do think some of it depends on what you’re used to. I learnt on a Ric, my first bass, so to me they feel ‘right’, whereas Fenders generally feel all wrong. If you started on something else then you may struggle to adapt. But then I have the same issue with Strats and Les Pauls. Assuming the weight is ok I find LPs really comfortable but not Strats, the opposite of what many would say.

So far as I recall the “Matrix” tag was applied across several models. That would seem to be one of the ones I remember from back in the day. Have you tried checking with Status?

I’ve played several US Subs over the years and never liked any of them. To me, they all felt a bit agricultural. I’d take a Sterling Ray over those any day of the week.

Well, just like the Rics, they vary a great deal and of course people like different things and have different requirements, which are always the most important points to consider. As stated elsewhere I’ve played several duffers and some really nice ones, and many at some point in between. But no instrument is going to be for everyone. To be fair, I had a checker bound, toaster-equipped ‘73 that was a dog too. I don’t generally like Rics after very early ‘73 up to the introduction of the 4003 all that much, although there are exceptions. There’s a ‘73 in the Gallery that I played and didn’t like at all; of course someone else may love it. And there are many 4003s I’ve not been keen on either. Was the horseshoe on yours a genuine ‘60s horseshoe or a reissue? Either way, it wouldn’t have been original to the bass if it was early ‘70s.

Wouldn’t swap mine for every Wal ever made. 😉

I’ve had about 20-odd and only kept 2 (both ‘72s). My Fireglo is Feb, pre-skunk. There are others I would have kept if funds had allowed, but only about 3 or 4. Probably my 8 string, my ‘72 and ‘73 4000s, and I’d have back my 4004. All my Rics been vastly different, only the 2 x CSs were really similar. And just to prove it’s such a personal thing, the friend who bought my ‘76 prefers it to my ‘72.

My “perfect” bass (my Fireglo ‘72 4001) was perfect from the moment I picked it up. I’d played probably thousands of basses by that point , not least having spent my Uni years forever down Wapping in the Bass Centre, but the moment I played the first note I knew it was easily the best - for me, YMMV - that I’d ever played. I couldn’t afford it at the time so assumed it would remain nothing but a treasured memory, but when I went back a year later to buy a new amp it was still there and, even better, was on sale. Luckily I’d taken my then-current bass with me (a ‘76 4001) so I could do a direct comparison and see whether I was imagining it. I wasn’t. It was night and day. I didn’t buy an amp, I bought the bass, obviously. 😂 The ‘76 didn’t last long after that, that was replaced by an ‘88 Pedulla MVP. I guess the fact that my “perfect bass” lasted a year in Manchester’s then-main guitar shop before being put on sale means it wasn’t perfect for others, but that’s fine by me. 😉

We had a debate about this before releasing our last cd and decided to ask our fan base, who mostly wanted a physical cd.

This. I bought my “perfect” bass in 1993. It was only about the fifth bass I’d bought at the time. Since then I’ve probably had another 50 or so, all but 3 of which have now gone.

From memory I thought the settings sounded pretty different, but then I am one for minutiae! 😂

I sold my Custom for approx £550, also mid-nineties. It actually wasn’t that heavy, maybe 9, 9 and a half pounds? I’ve played a lot of Wals over the decades and they’ve differed so much. Some very good, some dead as posts and everything in between. The weights have been all over the place too. I think my favourite-sounding of the Customs was a wenge-faced one in the Bass Centre but it weighed as much asa small house. I really liked and miss my Pro (although again pretty heavy),easily preferred that to the Custom.

I’ll never tire of listening to that track. Incredible.

I played several basses with the SDs with the switches in those days. I liked them IIRC. Ironically I px’d my Pedulla for a Wal Custom in Music Ground (?) in the mid ‘90s. A big mistake as I never bonded with that Wal like I did with the Pedulla; I wish I’d kept it. I later sold the Wal to a friend. Different style of band though, the Wal might suit my current band better, but if I could have either back (based on merits and not value) it’d be the Pedulla, no question.

The fretted early Thumbs generally had wenge boards, but I meant the fretless ones; all of the early fretlesses I’ve played (a few) have had ebony boards, which isn’t to say there weren’t wenge ones too of course. I’ve always preferred the EMGs to Barts. Having had a few basses with Barts, I eventually realised I didn’t get on with them at all. The only bass I had that I liked them in was my ‘88 Pedulla MVP. That was a lovely bass. Some of the early Warwicks had Seymours in, the ones with the small switches on them.

Mine’s got loads of scratches, minor dings etc. It’s not in perfect condition by any means. But that’s not what a perfect instrument is to me. Condition has nothing to do with it. Look at Jaco’s main Jazz, or Rory Gallagher’s Strat, or Greeny when Gary Moore had it.

I once tore a muscle in the front of my neck putting on my extremely neck-heavy Alembic Stanley Clarke while I was very, very cold. I sold it soon after and I still have problems with that muscle to this day; that was probably 20 years ago. Not an injury to me, but to one of the guys in my band many years ago when we were in a funk band together. We were both leaping about the stage, him going one way, me another, until - in slow motion - we both realised his nose was just in range of the headstock of my Jaydee and connection was unavoidable. I saw his eyes go wide just before impact. There certainly was blood. 😂

That fretless is way cool….😎

Obviously they’re not in exactly the same positions, but a comparison would great anyway.

Maurice Gibb used a Ric with flats too, on the Bee Gees stuff. Sounds great. Obviously how a bass works solo-d and in the mix are potentially two entirely different things. The Ric in the video doesn’t sound like any Ric I’ve ever played though. I’d love to hear a comparison between a HH Stingray and a Wal. Somebody set that up! 😁

I’ll be interested to see how this pans out. Just out of interest, how heavy is too heavy? Both of my ‘72s, while admittedly extremely expensive nowadays, are probably under 9lbs. And the walnut 4003 and the 4004 basses are probably lighter still.

Well I know what slapping a Ric sounds like. 😉 However that Ric sounds nothing like any of the many Rics I’ve owned. It sounds like he’s either got the deadest strings in the world……or flats. 😂 Sounds a bit pants, tbh.

I think all the ones I’ve played, even the earlier ones, have had ebony boards, but they possibly did both. Wenge and bubinga seem to be a huge part of the Thumb tone. The Ovangkol-necked ones don’t sound the same IME, although do do still have a not-dissimilar quality (in fact that applies across the board with Warwicks).

I didn’t like the neck - huge compared to all my other basses at the time - didn’t like the scale length, didn't get on with the ergonomics, and wasn’t keen on the sound. It had punch but (IMO - YMMV obviously) wasn’t a very musical-sounding instrument. Typically I like quite hollow-sounding instruments like Rics and Alembics. It looked nice though! I bought it because it was a bargain, cost me £700 new after some serious haggling.

I too need to scratch my early Thumb itch one day. The only issue is that I’m not sure I’d get on with the ergonomics - particularly the small body - anymore. Last time I played a couple, only last year, I struggled. One other thing, wenge-necked fretless Thumbs are also tremendous things IME. They really sing, IMO.

For me they still are, hence why I’ve only got Rics left! 😂 Sadly my first, s/n TC915, was stolen in Hendon in ‘86.