4000

My old ‘91 4001CS (I had a ‘96 too), my old ‘73 4000 and my main ‘72:

My old 21 fretter (v.rare):

My old 4004:

Here are some I own/have owned: My current 2:

Don’t forget there are many different versions of the highgain. Even looking at the basses I’ve owned from ‘71 and ‘72, every one has had a subtly different pickup (although all were screw tops).

Have never got on with Spectors. Nothing like the early Thumbs.

Horses for courses. I absolutely love Zender’s sound and think Wooten’s sound is terrible, one of my least favourite bass sounds. Still, I also hate Barts. I had them in a few Seis until I realised that, for me, they were the weak link. FWIW Martin Petersen rates MEC electronics. My favourite sounding Warwicks were the early Thumbs with EMGs.

Re necks, the necks of 4001 basses up until early 73, although again they vary, typically have a wider/flatter feel than later ones, which is my preference. The more recent 4003 basses have a similar profile but are a bit chunkier. There’s basically everything from pencil thin, flattened profile, through rounder profile, up to almost P bass sized. Oh, and 4003 pickups, which again vary depending on period, are typically hotter than 4001 pickups. And then there are toasters (my favourite neck pickups) and the famous ‘60s horseshoe, which is a thread in itself. And the 4001 had a capacitor in line which cut the bottom on the treble pickup. This was removed on the 4003 until the push/pull, which enabled you to have it in or out. Many people remove the capacitor from their 4001 basses, which beefs up the treble pickup.

Yes, often, with the 70s Jap ones. Not so much the modern ones I’ve played. BC member Bassassassin is your man for info on copies.

Off the top of my head they made fretless 4001 & 4003 basses, which would have had lacquered boards. I think there were a couple of 4002s; again I think they had ebony boards. Don’t think I’ve seen a fretless 4004. No idea about 4005 or 3000-series basses. I don’t remember ever seeing a fretless 4005.

I Yes there was a 4002. It was a high-end model with an ebony fingerboard, Birdseye maple body and low impedance pickups in different positions to the 4001/4003. So, in a nutshell - although some of this will be covered above - you have: 4000 - single pickup, unbound, dot inlays. Through-neck up until ‘73, when it became a set-neck. 4001S - twin pickup version of the above. First through-neck, then set-neck, now latterly through-neck again. 4001 - twin pickup deluxe version of the above, so with body and neck binding, triangular inlays, stereo facility (although a few S models also had this). 4003 - replaced the 4001, in both S and Deluxe. Different truss rod system (note, on the 4001 you do not adjust the neck like on most other basses - you have to release the holding nuts, move the neck into position by hand, and then tighten the nuts to hold it in place. This is where loads of people wreck the truss rods or pop the fingerboard, by adjusting the rods like on other basses. However the 4003 system can be adjusted like most other basses). 4002 - boutique (and rare) take on the 4001. 4004 - various versions, e.g. Laredo and Cheyenne 1&2, but essentially an unbound, scratchplate-less, twin humbucker equipped take on the 4000 series basses. Addressed all the issues people complain about on the 4001/4003 but wasn’t popular. 4005 - big-bodied semi-Acoustic. 4008/4003s8 - both 8 strings. 3000 series - different bass entirely to the above. 4001v63, later replaced by C series. Modern take on the ‘60s 4001s. 4001CS - Chris Squire Signature. Numerous limited runs of 4000 series specials, Blackstar, Tuxedo etc. Rickenbacker 4003 - Al Cisneros signature. And probably others I haven’t mentioned, like the twin necks and 5 strings. And as stated in the other thread, necks, pickups, pot values, exact body dimensions and details etc etc etc have varied hugely over the years. If you can’t be bothered trawling Rick Resource, get Paul Boyer’s book, otherwise we could be here for years. 😉 I honestly do not get where the weight thing comes from. Even the heaviest 4001/4003 won’t be over 10lbs, and typically - and I’ve played at the very least several hundred - they’re around 9lbs. Some, like mine, are lighter. They’re more consistent weight-wise than Fenders. Oh, and it’s “Jetglo”, “Fireglo” etc. There is no W on the end. If you don’t get the book or trawl RRF, take what’s provided and Google; there is simply far too much information for one thread. Heck, the whole of the RRF covers all the differences!

FWIW, you’ll get far more detailed information in terms of all the differences in spec on there, but I understand it’s probably a bit intimidating. I’ve been on there for years and I’m still learning. For me though, I have a certain era of preference (‘69-‘72 inclusive), so for the most part stick to that.

This might come as a surprise to some, but I’ve played quite a few I’ve not been keen on, mainly from ‘75 through ‘80, and of course the 4003 basses with the big necks (although a friend actually had one of those that was really good; it sounded great). I bought a ‘73 once that was a complete dog too, although typically I quite like ‘73s, or at least those from early ‘73, which this was. My first (indeed my first bass) was a 1980 4001 (TC915, stolen in ‘86); to be honest, as much as I loved it, it being my first bass, it wasn’t all that good.

Good luck with that!😂

That kind of proves my point, because having played countless mid/late ‘70s Rics, I’d say they typically sound less deep. The 1 inch high gain compared to the 1/2 inch toaster makes a big difference IMO. There were several years where the 4003 had a big neck, kind of like a P Bass. Didn’t work for me either. And the neck of my ‘98 V63 was much bigger than that of my ‘91 or ‘96 CS (they got bigger sometime around ‘96-‘98 IIRC, as later CSs also had bigger necks), which is the main reason I got rid. Whereas the necks on mine are tiny compared to any P I’ve played, even the Nate Mendel.

I’d really like to find a Stingray that works for me. Unfortunately every time I play one (which is quite often), we just don’t gel.

Go to the Rickenbacker Resource Forum.

I really don’t know where the boat anchor thing comes from. They vary, like most makes, but typically are between 8.5 and 9.5lbs. In practice, based on playing hundreds of them, they really do tend to be around 9lbs. Both mine are under. Another thing that people tend to do is play one and judge them all by that, for better or worse. Spec has changed pretty drastically over the years, often in increments. Vastly different necks, different pot values, different pickups. Even the body and headstock shape has changed over the years. A ‘60s 4001 is a different bass to an early ‘70s one, which is different to a mid/late ‘70s one, etc etc. FWIW I could never get the Ric sound I was after until I played (and bought) my first ‘72; all the mid/late ‘70s ones I played just didn’t cut it. YMMV. And of course in exactly the same way as every other make, individual instruments will be different, even from the same month/year. If you look at all the P Basses made over the years, or all the Js, everyone knows that the spec has varied and that even accounting for that, individual basses differ. It’s the same with Rics.

With a name like Vorg I’d say it’s probably Gornglo (a little joke for all the Star Trek fans)😉.

Actually, RRF isn’t full of fanboys. Fans of the instruments, yes (obviously), but not necessarily JH fans. There have been plenty of spats with him on there over the years and he’s stomped off in a huff many times. He tends to come back though.

Hmm, enquiries may need to be made. Or maybe I should just hold fire for now.

Liking the Greenglo!

My choice, after trying several out, was and is the Tech 21 VT500. But what I want may not be what you want. I actually took my One10 on the train to try out various heads. So my advice would be to take your Two10 and try some amps out. Or you could try mail order and return the amp if it’s not to your taste.

I think I’ve only bought 2 new (well 3, but 1 was a grey import when they didn’t have a distributor). I’ve bought loads s/h.