4000

I had a Ric 4003s8 for a few years. The string courses were reversed compared to most 8 string basses. It was a fantastic bass, only sold to fund my custom Alembic. I really wish I still had it.

Ah, what a coincidence! Must’ve been you beat me to it. I was dithering as a consequence of my anxiety, which was very bad at the time. Actually, that begs a question, on the pictures it looks like the rear upper bout has a slight forearm chamfer. Is that actually the case, or is it just an optical illusion? I have seen some Laredos with the chamfer, but most of the 4004s seem not to have it, they just have that very small chamfer round the edge of the body, which is the bit I didn’t get on with on mine, hence why I sold it.

Either a ‘72 spec Ric in Azureglo, but pre-skunk stripe (I prefer the sound without the skunk), an Alembic Series Balance K in Buckeye Burl, or a Sei Flamboyant in Buckeye Burl that somehow managed to combine the sounds of a Series Alembic, a vintage Ric, and (just in case) a Wal.

JPJ was asked specifically about his old Jazz sound in Zeppelin, well before Elixirs even existed. The interviewer assumed he used flats on it and he said he never had as he didn’t like them for the reasons stated. How true that is I have no idea, but that’s what he said. Read a load of Gary Thain internet stuff yesterday and it was flats all the way, as I thought. In fact I’ve just remembered that an old friend of mine knew someone who knew Gary back in the day and he told me years ago that the guy said Gary used flats. Interestingly, both JPJ and Thain also used Acoustic rigs back in the day. As many will be aware, I’m not a fan of the “modern” Jazz sound, but the Thain/JPJ/Kravitz sound I love.

They’re fantastic basses, and one of the last on my “to do” list.

Ouch! Serial number on the other is 12(?) 51021. How close is it to yours, given the fingerboard similarity?

Oh, they wouldn’t go in my vintage basses, but I have a custom Ric that it’d be interesting to try them in. But I’m unlikely to buy any any time soon.

I’d quite like to try a set of Bardens, but it’s an expensive experiment if they don’t suit. My 2nd CS came with a SD bridge pickup (which I replaced) and I hated that pickup. Of course one other way to add mids is to back off one or the other of the pickups slightly. Jazzes also have that mid scoop with both pickups full on.

Nice bass either way (both of them)! Edit: I’ve just looked again at yours and so far as I can tell the finger boards look identical, even down to the dark mark at the 12th fret. Weird!

The Ibby was my last dabble with more than 4 strings; because of my tonal requirements the only 5 I think I’d consider now is a Ric, although the 16.5mm spacing of the Ibby 5s matches two of my three 4 strings. I prefer 16.5mm spacing. I really, really like Ibby SRs though, comfort issues aside. I’d be quite happy to have a bunch of them, assuming I could get round the body shape thing. They’re great value for money, play well, sound good and look nice, and the low weight of most of them is a big plus (although to be fair my 5 wasn’t much different weight-wise than my Rics).

And this is me playing my main bass in the studio recently:

My Ibby was the same as this, although this wasn’t mine:

Yeah, the onboard eq is very useful for that. I play mainly with a plectrum and found I had to boost the onboard lows and mids almost fully to get any beef. Same with Warwicks. Actually, the reason I sold my Ibby SR (a Ltd edition buckeye Burl 5 string) was because I found the body shape uncomfortable! I keep toying with getting another SR but the truth is the body shape hurts my arm. I had the same problem with my Ric 4004. As I’ve said elsewhere, for me the Ric is the most comfortable bass out there. I have nerve problems in my right arm that are aggravated by almost everything else. FWIW my Rics have necks every bit as nice as the Ibbys IMO. The ‘72 necks are different than later necks, comparatively wide and flat feeling. This was my 4004:

These are my old ‘91 CS, my old ‘73 4000 which I really wish I still had and my main ‘72, plus pics of my current 2 (the main ‘72 again and my Azure ‘72).

I’ve had all 3. The Ric growl is IMO very different to the others IMO, but the construction and pickup placement are also very different. I’ve always found with the Ibbys and Warwicks I have to really boost the lows and mids to get what I want out of them, although it is a good sound.

Think it was advertised on eBay by the same seller. May not be the same bass but the fingerboard looks familiar. Is this yours?:

Was the MB 4004 from Nick’s Guitars? I was planning on buying that and someone beat me to it.

Flats on a Jazz- always sounded to me like Gary Thain used flats, but I could be wrong. Ditto JPJ and Lenny Kravitz, although I read a JPJ interview where he said he didn’t use flats on the Jazz as they were “too dull”.

Horses for courses and all that. He has one of my least favourite voices of all time! I don’t mind Messages, Electricity and Red Frame White Light but can’t bear anything else by them. If I never hear Enola Gay or Joan of Arc again it’ll be too soon.

They used to have a teal one in the Bass Gallery years back, which I used to play every time I went in. Fabulous neck. Unfortunately I don’t get on with forearm chamfers and the one on that is pretty extreme, which I found pretty uncomfortable. I toyed with buying it - nearly talked myself into it several times as I loved the neck and the look - but the chamfer was a deal breaker. I also don’t really get on with carbon fibre sonically. I mostly play with a plectrum and find that, IMO, cf basses sound much better with fingers (YMMV). Don’t get on with piezos either, for similar reasons, so sonically it wasn’t really for me. I’ve had 2 Rickenbacker 4001CS Chris Squire signatures, a ‘96 (bought new) and a ‘91 (bought used). I bought them because I think Chris’s bass is possibly the best looking bass ever; I didn’t expect them to make me sound like Chris. The necks on both were sublime, particularly the ‘91, which had one of the best necks I’ve ever played, maybe even THE best. Both sounded very good but darker than my preference; I didn’t know at the time that the pickups were way hotter than vintage and the pot values different. These days I’d change everything out for vintage spec. The ‘96 was the heaviest Ric I’ve owned, which is why I sold it, as it coincided with my first back injury. The ‘91, to be honest, was probably the worst built Ric I’ve owned. In the end, neither sounded as good as my vintage basses, although with hindsight it’s possible that with work they could have done. But they looked absolutely stunning and had lovely necks.

That guy is a complete cockwomble.

Haven’t they stopped making the 4004? Could be wrong, but I thought they had. I always bring up the 4004 and it’s “improvements” to the naysayers, to be met with crickets. I’ve never had issues with the twin rods either, and most people’s issues stem from not knowing the correct way to adjust the older ‘70s rods and thus bodging it. FWIW Alembic also use dual rods and I don’t see too many people complaining about those. What’s more, Ric rods, old or new, are field replaceable. FWIW I wouldn’t say a Ray is better than a Ric or vice versa. They’re completely different. But having played hundreds of examples of both, I know which I prefer, and it ain’t the Ray. 😉

I started playing in 1980 and played many, many Wals in the 80s and 90s. London was full of them when I was at college. I found they varied a great deal, from very nice, to meh, to absolute dogs. They all sounded like Wals, but they were by no means equal. I think I’ve only ever played one Custom (maple facings, quite light) that I really, really liked. In almost all cases I’ve preferred the Pros. In terms of build quality, for a boutique these days they are no more than average. My Custom had an uneven fretboard, and it was built like that. The person who bought it off me sent it to Wal to be fixed. And my Pro, which I preferred, was pretty workmanlike in terms of build and finish compared to the other boutiques I’ve had. None that I’ve played has been a match build-wise for my Seis or Alembics. They do however have a pretty unique tone, and if that’s what you’re after, then only a Wal will (probably) do, although I suspect an ACG with the full package will get close, and for a great deal less money. I do actually really like the sound in certain contexts; Flea sounds fantastic on BSSM and Leigh Gorman sounds fantastic on everything (although his Wal is a passive Pro). Don’t get me wrong, if I found another nice one for the right money then I’d maybe get it, but none of the probably 30 or more Wals I’ve played has justified anything remotely like £5k+ to me; maybe half that.

Agreed on all points!😁 Actually, one of the issues with people stating their heights is many people either have no real idea or lie. I’m actually 5’11” and a half if I’m being accurate, but the amount of people who have said to me “you must be about six three because I’m six foot” when they’re actually no more than five nine is ludicrous.