Rickenbacker 4004 Laredo

Rickenbacker 4004 Laredo made in 2008. 2 Hb-1 Humbucker pup's, passive electronics, schaller tuners, hi quality bridge,etc....Looks to die for, but the controls from the factory just dont cut it. No where near enough versatility sound control wise!

Dark deep and bassy-I like the sound for the most part. I just wish I could change it up a little- Not for Slap!
Played through all 70's ampeg tube rig...On stage result was average. Its a precision bass type of sound but with more note articulation, but not enough to justify its 2x the pricetag of a P . Sounds good when recording, for blues and country, it sits nice and fat in the mix. But again I can get this sound with A p-bass for more than half of the cost.

Action was ok coming from dealer: mid-to-low. I can work with that. Much easier to intonate than other Rickenbackers I have owned. Unfourtunalty it needs to be, as its neck is just all over the place. What is up with this!?! It seems like a standard problem with these basses. The neck just wont settle into place, the truss rods need constant adjusting. I prefer my rics set-up to be dead straight but this fella just likes to neck dive...

The finish is beautiful,and this is my fear, this line of bass seems better suited to hang on collector's walls as "bass art" than hanging by your balls on stage at a local gig.

I think the hardware will last forever. The finish will too if properly taken care of. Stap buttons too. Can I depend on this bass and will it withstand live playing? Sadly I dont think that it will, the neck/rods just arent settling nicely into place the neck it like a semi-wet noodle.

My main axes on stage, depending on the gig/song are a 67 fender Jazz, An 86 MIA P-bass, a Ric 4001CS, a 07 Ric 4003, and a Rogeri upright. At the moment I have more confidence in my SX jazz knock-off to be a backup than the 4004, and thats a dam shame.

no opinion-But if this neck issue keeps happening its going back.

20+ years playing bass. Total gear whore. I Keep the keepers and sell the rest. It dont matter if they are a cheap SX import(impressedby their stuff) or a hi end boutique bass. If they arent players they arent players! Right now the 4004 is not a keeper. Its not versatile enough. It only has in effect one tone. It sounds good but it gets boring real fast. I really want to like this bass but so far its not holding up its end of the deal-This neck has got me worried.

This is a review of a 2008 Rickenbacker 4004 "Laredo" bass guitar.

The features of this instrument have been covered in previous reviews. Suffice it to say that it is spartan, and just adequate. At the very least, pickup blending would have been nice.

The sound of the bass was OK--not bad, but I did not find it especially compelling, either. The E string always sounded different from the others--choked, with harsh harmonics, as if the string was twisted. I tried to do a setup & string change in order to address this issue, but that is when I found the bass' fatal flaw (below). However, I also owned another 4004L built around the same time with a similar E string issue, and no amount of adjusting or string changing did anything about it.

The Fireglo finish was absolutely superb--one of the best I have ever seen, period. Just stunning.

However, the bass was ultimately unusable: its neck had a lot of relief in it, and since it came from the factory with both its truss rods already maxed out, it had to be returned. The factory determined that it could not be repaired. In other words, the bass was shipped from the factory with an irreparable defect.

Also, the outlines of the pickup cavities were sloppily done. The lines were not straight and the corners did not match the corners of the pickups.

To say the least, this is all very disappointing in a $1,600 instrument that took about 1.5 years to receive. (And keep in mind that the current price of this model is now $2,500!) The color was great, but ultimately the bass must be playable and its routing well cut, so I have to give it low marks.

Who knows? I had it only a few weeks before it had to go back to the factory. Still, my old '83 4003 has been solid as a rock.

They were helpful and replaced the bass. (...With another one with an odd sounding E string.)

A major disappointment, both in build quality and overall sound, despite the amazing finish. I do not recommend the Rickenbacker 4004 Laredo, as these problems apparently are not isolated. You can read more about my experiences with 3 different, recently built (2008/09) Laredo basses here:
http://bassthatricbuilt.web.officelive.com/default.aspx

This review is for a new Rickenbacker 4004L "Laredo" in the 2005 color of the year, Blueburst. It was received in January 2009.
It features two Rickenbacker HB1 hum-canceling pickups, with master
volume, master tone, and a pickup selector switch. Tuners & bridge are
Schaller; these seem very well made, & the bridge is especially easy to adjust.

A common complaint even among Rickenbacker die-hards is the lack of a
volume/volume/tone control layout. Many people convert their 4004 basses to this layout, but doing so means irreversibly modifying the instrument by expanding the hole for the selector switch. Definitely a compromise, either way.

There is also no switching for tapping the coils of the HB1s.

The neck pickup sits flush against the end of the fingerboard, so you
cannot play slap bass on a 4004. (I don't play slap anyway, so that's
lucky for me.) The pickup is placed here so that the truss rods can be
removed via the neck pickup cavity; otherwise, channels would have to be routed into the front of the bass to allow access. I reckon that
Rickenbacker has gone for style over function here.

Overall, the features are fair. I like minimal controls, but even I find the austerity of the 4004 a bit inhospitable to the player.

The pickups sound OK. They are dark, although neither as aggressive or "big" sounding as I had hoped (they sound a bit hollow to me) nor are they very clear or distinct. They do sit rather easily in a mix, though. Altogether, I would say the sound is fine, but it won't be for everybody. (And unfortunately, for most people it will be difficult or even impossible to try before buying.)

The bridge pickup, I think, sounds considerably better than the neck
pickup, which is dark and very hollow sounding. The bridge pickup is
clearer and more aggressive, but when both pickups are on (and remember, you cannot blend them!) the neck pickup sort of cancels out the more biting character of the bridge pickup. My guess is that the neck pickup is placed too close to the fingerboard and out of a real "sweet spot." They factory used to make this model with the neck pickup farther away from the neck, but they needed a hole for access to the truss rods & evidently didn't want to alter the face of the bass. Here again, function has given way to style, I guess.

My main problem with the sound, though, is that this bass has the classic "weak E string" that many Rickenbacker owners complain about. The problem is not that the E string is quieter than the others; with some simple adjusting, you can get the output even across the strings (this can be verified with a meter). The problem is that the E string seems to have less fundamental, harsher overtones, and generally less "focus." I'm happy enough with the other three strings, but I'd much rather be happy with all four! No amount of tweaking, string-changing, or anything else really made any difference. This, for me, is a deal-breaker. It's also a major disappointment after waiting almost 2 years for this bass.

The factory setup was good, albeit with slight forward-bow. The finish was absolutely stunning. The build & finish teams did a great job.

Too soon to say.

I was able to communicate with the factory about some "breaking in" issues and they were very helpful.

I have been playing since the mid 90s, and my main bass is a 4003 from the 80s. I wanted to try something different from Rickenbacker in the 4004, but in the end I don't think it's for me.

If you buy one of these new, it will cost about $2,500, it will take at least two years to be delivered, you probably will not get to try before you buy, and you may not like it as much as you had hoped when you do finally get it. If that's your kind of deal, then this may be the bass for you.

It's a simple bass, nonactive electrics.

Sounds OK, but not enough tone range for me. The neck it weak and rubbery and is a buzzsaw if you like low action.

The finish is good looking and helps maintain a wood sound. The neck is not my style. Too thin front to back. I had a hard time getting a low enough action to make it a decent player for me. The neck is too thin near the heel and bends too much there. For players that like a high action, for which it is very good.

The hardware and finish are excellent, but I demand much more stability in a neck. I had to do too many truss rod adjustments as the weather changed. I only buy basses with reinforced necks from here on out. They sound better, too. Much more even response. This has a dead spot neck like old Fenders and Gibsons. My low action style demands neck stability. Modulus, Spector (USA & Euro), Warwick (German), Status Graphite and a lot of other brands have much better necks. Get a good neck on your bass if you want low action that sounds like something besides a buzzsaw.

When I called about getting the neck straightened, they told me where to go..........after waiting several days for a reply.

Excellent finish and good looking. Fairly comfortable. Since I couldn't make it work for me personally, I have to give it a failing grade. Even a cheap Chinese bass that I can get a low action out of will get a 6 if it is OK otherwise. I liked the tone, but the action was too high when I raised it just enough to quit sounding like a buzzsaw. Check the necks on Rickenbackers very closely before buying, because they are very thin and not reinforced. RIC should reinforce their bass necks, but they are too damn hidebound to past tradition to ever do that. RIC is NOT my bass company for sure. This would work for a high actioned James Jamerson style of player, but modern bass players need a more modern neck.

The best Ricky bass.........dual humbuckers!

Has the best Rickenbacker bass pickups. Very quiet with lots of output. They go low and stay clear. Only negative is lack of separate tone controls or blend knob. Output is fixed between both pickups when both are selected. This bass sounds like wood due to the varnish finish. The pickups are wound to a high impedance and do not allow much high frequencies to be produced. Very good bass for country, blues and other bottom heavy styles. Select the bridge pickup only and you can forget about ever needing a P-bass. You can also chuck your old neck heavy Gibson T-Bird. This is better. It works well for long piano ringing notes. Not what I would get for fast lead work needing more treble. It lays down a solid foundation. The neck pickup is thunder, but not muddy sounding.

Hardware is very good quality. Has unusual varnish finish, like a fine violin. Maybe that's responsible for the clear tone. The bridge on these is better than the old 4001 basses. It is free of that worthless 4001 and 4003 bridge pickup cover that always gets in the way.

Not much can go wrong, and if it does it should be a fairly easy fix. The neck could be stronger because it is rather thin with no reinforcement. If you get wild and start pulling on the neck, fret buzz is easily induced. I think the thin neck is what gives it the tone though, besides the overwound pickups.

They will sell you parts, no problem. Has to go back to factory under warranty, so not worth sending back for small problems. Unless you have a major problem, you essentially have no warranty. Make sure you walk out the door with a good one.

I could have gotten a really good bass for a lot less money, like a used Schecter Stiletto or even a new Peavey Grind NTB-4. However, only a Ricky bass sounds like a Ricky bass, and this one sounds better than those Ricky 4003 single coil basses, and quieter too. Spector and Warwick make basses in Europe that can be had for around the 4004L price. You get a choice of bolt-on or neck-thru with them, and different woods. No choice with the 4004L, all maple but a low and clear tone. Fact is, there are lots of good basses for between $500-$1000, or even less if you get lucky. I can't see getting a Ricky 4004 Cheyenne, as it's about the same as the 4004L except several hundred more for gold hardware and really nothing else more that matters. My favorites that can be had for between $500-$1000 USED: Ricky 4004L, Ernie Ball StingRay, Spector Euro, Warwick Streamer, Peavey Cirrus, Modulus Flea, Tobias Growler. I feel that one of those are better than the more common Fender P and J basses or Rickenbacker 4001 0r 4003 basses. For $300-$500 you can get a Schecter Stiletto, Spector Legend or used ReBop, or a new Peavey Grind NTB-4 or new Spector Performer or Warwick Streamer Basic. They will all beat the standard Fender P or J basses made in Mexico. I think the 4004L is about as low priced as you can go and get a genuine varnish finish. Don't know if that matters much, but the Jetglo finish is nice. The new ones can be had in various colors, but will set you back well over $1000 for new. I would say get an old Jetglo finish like I did or wait a while. You gotta be nuts to pay over $1000 for a bass when used Euro Spectors are commonly found for $1000 or less with flamed maple bodies. I played much more expensive basses, and they don't really sound any better than my Ricky 4004L. If I had only half as much money, I would have been very happy with the Peavey Grind NTB-4. If you need a lot of sweet highs, then look at the Spector basses, or maybe a Schecter. If you want to growl all night, then get a used StingRay or S.U.B. or Growler. The 4004L is more of a kick back and groove bass. If you play a 4003, check out the 4004, because it plays more comfortably and is better for slapping. It's the only Ricky bass I'll own from now on, and it spanks the Gibson T-Bird and hands back a lot of change. My StingRay kicked the old P-bass out the door, and my Euro Spector did the same thing to the J-bass (so would a Warwick Streamer or Corvette). I'm looking for a graphite necked bass I can live with, but the Flea bass leaves me a bit cold. Need twin pickups to combat that graphite sterility, but Status Graphite basses are rare and usually above my $1000 price ceiling even when used. The 4004L is a top bass to consider if you want the dual passive humbucker lowdown sound in a neck-thru design. I can't tell where the high dollar passive boutique basses sound any better. If you can't afford this bass then a Peavey Grind NTB-4 should do and they are easier to find besides costing a lot less. However, those Rickenbacker humbucker bass pickups are in a class of their own. Just don't expect the most versatile sound. Get a Warwick or Spector for versatility. I'm fairly turned off toward Fender and Gibson basses. Others do better for less money, no matter what Fender or Gibson/Epiphone bass you buy. The Tobias is the best Gibson bass made, but generally too expensive. Rickenbacker has managed to look and sound unique down through the years, but they better keep an eye of Peavey with their Cirrus and Grind basses. If Cirrus basses cost less, I might give them the nod over the 4004L. I think the Schecter Elite is aimed more toward the Spector/Warwick/G&L import camp. The 4004L is one of very few domestic production basses that can be found at real world prices that hasn't been bettered all around by imported instruments for equal or less money. Most of its betters are high dollar basses.

Dual passive humbuckers, one volume and one tone control, solid maple neck-thru construction, 1991 model with early style of neck pickup against fretboard, maple fretboard, Jetglo black varnish finish.

I changed the tone control to a separate volume control for the bridge pickup, then I had a luthier rout extra cavity space for an Aguilar OBP-1 active preamp which gives me bass and treble boost. Controls were placed in line behind the two original controls for four controls in a row: volume, volume, treble, bass. The neck pickup tone was incredibly deep and clear to begin with, but the treble boost was needed for the overwound humbucker pickups to get some upper end into the sound. The humbuckers are very quiet and take the boost very nicely. The bass will now shake the house down if you have the amp for it. Sound is now close to the best you will ever get if you prefer a dark sounding bass, but very clear in tone. A great bass if you like feeling the bass and feeling it pound you in the chest while maintaining clarity. Besides the high quality pickups which are some of the best passive pickups around, the 100% maple body maintains clarity while neck-thru construction lends a piano-like ringing character to the tone. Rickenbacker refuses to produce an active bass, but the Aguilar OBP-1 and OBP-3 preamps solve that problem nicely. I checked the sound with an Aguilar DB-924 plug-in preamp before committing to the OBP-1 preamp, which is the same circuit, but the OBP-1 is for on-board installation and is quite small. This is the best sounding Rickenbacker bass, unless you are in a Beatles or Yes cover band and need a wiry 4001 sound. It got even better when I went active and got more tonal range. Originally, the sound was 7 or 8 for me, but tweaking made it a solid 9. The rating is for original sound. Dead notes are sometimes noticeable, but no worse than a P-bass as mentioned in a previous post. I tend to play low on the neck with this bass, so I rarely hit a dead note. This is not the bass for a recording session player that has to cover a lot of different styles and be very strong in all of them. This is the bass for a player that specializes in dark tones more than bright tones. But no matter how dark and deep you dial in the tone, it doesn't go to mush unless another piece of equipment in the chain can't hack it.

I have a slightly more comfortable bass, but the 4004L is more comfortable than most basses, is reasonably light, has good balance, and it looks absolutely killer in its shiny Jetglo finish with chrome hardware and shiny stainless strings. It puts any 4001 or 4003 out to pasture in the sound and looks department for my sense of tone and style, yet it is less produced than the other RIC basses. While I will not say it is the absolute best bass, there is nothing else like it and it will hold its own in any situation, whether we are talking sound or style. It is good enough to play anywhere for anybody. I have had better action, but this bass is good enough. It prefers a somewhat higher action and somewhat aggressive playing style. This may be its individual character and not indicative of other 4004 basses (You will never get to play many 4004 RIC basses as they are hard to find and few players are letting them go). I would not say this is true of the 4001 and 4003 RIC basses I have played. I had to play with the action quite a bit to get it where I wanted it, which is where the instrument gives up its best performance. That is why each of my 4 basses has a different setup and feel. The intonation is more correct with a slightly high action and almost straight neck. If you want to play laid back and easy all night, you would be better off with one of my other basses. After setting up a bass to where I feel it gives its best performance, if I can't warm up to it, I sell it on down the line to somebody who likes that kind of action and feel. The chromed hardware is very good, and the varnish finish is very beautiful and quite hard and durable. The tuners hold the tune. I have seen custom instruments that were better made, but they cost more. Not the best bass for very low action. The neck is fairly wide at the nut, but average width at the heel, and consistently thin all the way up and down the neck. Make your own decision what that does for you. It's OK for me, but my Spectors feel better since they're a bit thicker. Many disagree with me, preferring the thin 4004 neck. RIC was known to change their bass neck profiles over the years, so take what I saw with a bit of caution and try the bass first if you can. My Spector bass is my PERSONAL favorite, but it should be considering what I paid for it. Other people react on what THEY see and feel. The 4004L is liked by those who know nothing about musical instruments and just form an opinion on looks and sound. Black and chrome goes with anything you wear on stage.

I installed Schaller strap lock buttons. I have only acquired two or three chips through the Jetglo finish to the wood beneath, although quite a few very small scars over the years that are hardly noticeable from a distance. The finish will last many years of hard playing. Finish cracking has never been a problem, and after a dozen years there are none. I play three other basses: a Spector neck-thru 4-string, a Music Man Sting Ray bolt-on 4-string, and an imported Spector ReBop bolt-on 4-string. The 4004L is as durable as any of them, and it took the place of my old Fender P-bass with an S-curved neck, among its other problems. Sorry, but I fail to see the cult worship of the P-bass. Leo certainly surpassed it with the Sting Ray replacement he designed. Status Graphite basses and their kind set the standard for durability. No wood bass can match a graphite bass for durability and stability under all conditions, and neck-thru or bolt-on has nothing to do with it if done correctly. Wood is reliable enough for me, and I like woody character in my sound and will tolerate a higher action to counteract wood's weekly changing action under changing climate conditions. I don't sweat a small change in action height unless it gets to be a real problem, and the thick varnish coat on most Rickenbackers hold humidity caused action changes to a minimum. If you crave extremely low action with stability in use, get a graphite neck and be prepared to lose some "character" for that rock solid stability. The best compromise is a Sting Ray with that super quick truss rod adjustment feature. The Rickenbacker neck is a bit rubbery in comparison to my other basses, but I bend it around on purpose for tonal effect and that's part of its character. Not really a good or bad thing, just different and sometimes useful, sometimes not. The point is you can count on the 4004L NOT to break down on you, and it never has for me. There's hardly anything to break as it's a simple bass, and easily fixed as long as you don't snap the neck. I have only ever seen one Rickenbacker neck warped beyond repair. It would be a good idea to keep ANY bass with a thin neck like the 4004 in constant proper adjustment as far as the truss rods go. Maple necks can almost always be straightened by a good luthier, and that's one of maple's positive features, but it can get expensive.

I ALWAYS go through skilled local luthiers that I trust, or handle the job myself. A problem would have to be hugely major to send it back to a manufacturer. RIC sells spare parts for all their current instruments at fair prices, and that's what's important. In reality, there are few major problems under warranty with Rickenbackers. Nothing like Fender and Gibson owners see. The problem is that you HAVE to send it all the way back to RIC for warranty work. Buy your Rick used if you can and handle the warranty work yourself if needed with the money you saved. Since I'll probably never send an instrument back to RIC, their repair policy has no meaning to me. I just want parts for used Ricks, and they sell them. Good enough for me.

If you run across a Rickenbacker 4004 bass, try to play it as they are in my opinion the best bass that RIC builds. They have their own unique character and you might like it. Forget the 4001/4003 sound that Squire, McCartney and others got with their Rick basses. They look and sound like no other bass. There are no good copies currently being built, and RIC zealously defends their designs in the marketplace. Not the most versatile bass, but a killer basic sound and about as reliable as wood basses come. Most people comment quite favorably on the sound, the Jetglo color with contrasting chrome hardware and classic body style is rather regal in comparison to most basses, and it's incredibly reliable in the passive factory configuration. My active configuration requires a battery change after several hundred hours of playing. It's hard to find a lighter weight in a solid body maple bass. It lacks extreme tonal versatility and the neck, though good, could be better and more stable. Every bass player needs at least one bass that has strong character, and the 4004L is mine. I mainly play rock and hard country in a local band that does mainly weekend club dates. The 4004L fits more into the hard country end of things, and it lays down a very solid bottom end that any dance oriented music would benefit from while maintaining good note clarity for those who are mainly listening. It always gets a thumbs up from the other players when it comes out of the case. I play through a bass preamp straight into the PA or I mike my small home practice amp (a high quality customized rig) into the PA. I don't lug a big separate bass amp around, and todays high end PA systems blow away most great bass amps of the past.

Double humbuckers, selector switch, volume, tone, Schaller tuners, and a better bridge than the other Rickenbacker basses.

Ok, if you like a fat and clear tone with passive pickups and tone control, this rates a 10. If you prefer active tone control and a preamp for lots of tone versatility, it rates a 6. This is not your daddy's 4001. What it does, it does very well. Just don't expect it to be a tonal chameleon. The passive pickups are very quiet, very powerful, but lacking in high end. Like most basses with unreinforced flatsawn necks, there are dead notes around the 10th fret of the D string and the 5th fret of the G string. Just like an old P-bass or J-bass.

If you like a thin neck, but still relatively wide, this may be your neck. The problem with Rickenbackers is that they might have a fabulous action when new, but the neck begins to spring forward above the heel in some samples after a few years. This is because of the thin neck in that area. The neck needs to be tapered more in width and thickness to keep this from happening and to give a smooth flex to the neck for forming the proper relief for lowest possible action. If you luck out and get very hard and stable maple, this will not happen. Moral: always buy a Rickenbacker bass after it is at least 5 years old to confirm that the neck is probably going to be stable. Also, I thought that the neck was 3-piece when I bought it, but it was confirmed that 4004 basses have flatsawn necks. Thus you have more pronounced flat notes and greater tendency to warp over time. This is not a neck for heavy strings. The Ricks with good necks have good action, but mine has sprung forward and can't be corrected with the truss rod. I would give it a 9 if it weren't for that. The problem is correctable by knowledgeable luthiers, but it can reoccur over a period of years again, especially if its exposed to a lot of heat. A Jetglo finish heats up fast in the sun, so not a good bass for outdoor gigs. Actually, the bass is very beautiful, and the varnish finish lasts a long time and doesn't hurt the sound like other finishes commonly used.

Extremely durable, except for that problem neck if you happen to get a weak neck. It's a neck-thru design, and the neck can't be replaced. Take a lesson from me and buy it used and check it closely. If you get a new one, sell it quickly if you notice shifting that can't be truss rod corrected.

They would not help me with my neck. Only buy used Rickenbackers, and get a good price to counter any future neck work. Rickenbacker is good about supplying parts from what I have heard. Since you SHOULD be buying used, the warranty is a nonissue.

I like this bass, except for the rubbery neck and lack of tonal versatility. I can get the neck fixed, but it's a pain and expense. I should have tried to send it back and get a refund, but it looks cool and nobody else around here has one like it. My main bass has a 3-piece neck, graphite reinforcement, no dead spots, passive pickups, better ergonomics, and an active Aguilar preamp. The Spector is just a better bass, and also better than a Warwick Streamer in my opinion. I only deducted 1 point for the neck since it is fixable, but otherwise it would get an 8 because of the limited tonal range in spite of the excellent basic tone. If you get a copy with a better neck than I did, and are satisfied with a deep clear tone with limited tonal adjustment, then it could rate a 9 or 10 for you. But don't expect action as low as the very best necks like Spector. I may trade mine for another Spector.

1993 4004L Jetglo (black) finish. 2 hot humbucking Rickenbacker pickups with passive electronics. It comes stock with a toggle / master volume / tone controls. I bought mine used and the electronics had been changed to toggle / volume / volume ... no tone. So Rewired it to Volume / Volume / tone ... like a jazz bass. This bass is excellent an American made quality instrument. Maple fretboard and maple body. The maple fretboard adds brightness and it looks good as a contrast to the black finish. It started out its life as a four string ... I converted it to a 5 string ... see this web site for pics ... http://www.3dentourage.com/4004L5.htm ...

Most ric's come with single coil pickups. The Ric Humbuckers are sort of p-bass sounding ... dual rail in series I think ... they don't deliver as much of the high end sparkle, or the very low low end rumble ... I play through various ampeg amps with 10's 15's and 18 inch speakers. I use a line 6 pod and or a sans amp as a tone shaper going into the amp. And YES you can get that Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, aggressive treble bite tone out of this bass. You have to know how to set the amp and preamp controls. It is a good studio bas and a good gigging bass. It sounds really good when you turn it up and let it wail and scream and thunder.

Rics always look and feel so nice. It is in very good shape for a ten year old bass. Dual truss rod design makes for nice neck adjustments. The only negative is that maple fret boards are prone to shrinkage, and then the frets sometimes protrude slightly ... this is an easy repair ... the newer models use bubinga fretboard wood insted of maple.

Rock solid ... it looks cool on stage and feels nice strapped on ... I added strap lock ... the new models come with strap locks installed.

I bought it used ...

A nice modern Rickenbacker. I like it very much. Especially after my modifications. I am thinking of putting in a 3 way toggle switch that goes single coil / series humbucker / parallel humbucker. And I prefer the vol/vol/tone setup so I can blend pickups. I usually run the bridge pickup at 10, the neck pickup at 6, and the tone at 10.

Rickenbacker took their 4001/4003 60's and 70's relic basses and stripped off all the BS parts like pickup covers, worthless bindings, nerdy plastic pickguard, sharkfin inlays, unnecessary tone and volume controls, string dampers, and humming single coil pickups. Then they hotrodded it by adding the world's finest passive humbucking bass pickups and gave it a beautifully sinister Jetglo finish. After getting rid of the costly unnecessary parts and streamlining the production, they did the right American thing and raised the price. RIC, you're my kind of capitalist pig outfit. Yeah baby, less is more, so why not charge for it?

Only three controls: Tone control, Volume control, and KILL switch. Yeah, that pickup selector is a KILL switch because as long as the neck pickup is selected in 2 of the 3 positions, this bass has bottom end that KILLS. That neck pickup is jammed clean up against the neck, and it mainly picks up fundamentals of the notes being played. It is the hottest passive pickup I have ever used, and it puts out fundamentals with no rolloff whatsoever right down to the open E. The bridge pickup is identical and placed further from the bridge than just about any other bridge pickup on any other bass I know of. This ain't a 4001 with wirey bridge pickup treble overtones. This bass has far less treble than previous Rickenbacker basses, and a bottom end that crushes and destroys. It still has plenty of punch and sounds not the least bit muddy even with the tone turned to max bass. LOW END DEFINITION is how I describe the sound, because it hits like a hammer. I never use a bass amp if the house PA system is of high quality with tight bottom end below 40 Hz. This is a modern bass without that midrange hump to the output that most vintage basses had, like a P-bass, J-bass, or Sting Ray. If the PA system needs some equalization, I run through a SansAmp RBI but keep it rather clean. This is the bass equivalent of the Hammer of Thor. I get my distortion by clipping the amp at full volume. Install tweeter protectors in your speakers if you see me coming. It can play a lot of styles correctly, but I really love it the most for Heavy Metal and Hard Rock. Never thought I would say that about any Rickenbacker.

I keep the action a bit high because I hammer the strings a lot. No, its not the easiest playing, just the best sounding bass for my style. What were they smoking back in the 60's when the 4000 series headstock was designed? Cresting wave design my ass, that headstock is psychedelic art, and its California origin makes it authentic. Ever notice how lopsidedly unsymmetrical the 4000 series bodies look? Stripped of all the tailfin era bullshit that RIC hung on the 4001 and 4003, the beautifully sinister 4000 series body sculpture and Jetglo finish create pure evil majesty. I named my baby "Karn Evil 9". It's lovely. It's lascivious. It's simple. It's sensuous. The bass tone is bottomless, but it still has clarity and punch. And the bass is very comfortable on a strap. It's too good a sound for all but a few bass amps. The amp setup MUST be capable of playing clean, loud, and low or you never hear all that the humbuckers can produce. The sound shakes the room like an earthquake. It's the full fundamental that most other basses do not reproduce, as they were designed in the days when bass amps could not reproduce 41Hz as loud as the overtones of 82 Hz and higher. So the lowest fundamentals were ignored, and the second and third harmonics were boosted to give illusion of deep bass. It might have tricked the brain, but not the body. With the 4004L, you can feel the lowest notes even more than you can hear them, as long as your amp is up to the task. Forget old vintage bass amps and second rate PA cabinets. They were designed for efficiency over bandwidth. Use modern speaker cabs designed for low bandwidth (Acme Low B2, and equivalent) and lots of power. I got off subject here, but I can't stop thinking about that addictive tone. The sensuous black body matches the tone. Deep, dark, and dangerous. Like a growling black jaguar cat.

Solid maple and machined hardware. It's a tank, and ready for your next journey to Valhalla. Your speakers may not fare so well.

I bought it in mint used condition and nothing has ever broken.

I stumbled across it, and it was like a meeting that was arranged by destiny. I have played for over 20 years, classic rock to heavy metal. This bass can even make country music sound good. When I hooked it up to a wide bandwidth reproduction system, I realized the flawed nature of most other basses. Previously, I thought only certain active basses could get the sound I wanted, but this bass gets the deep bottom I crave while maintaining the definition and clarity of the finest passive pickups. For me, it is the ultimate bass tone generator. Nothing else at the same price or lower compares. It is not for everybody, like P-brains that think a P-bass is the ultimate bass ever created.

Not really a fancy bass, but a serious instrument trimmed down to the essentials. One tone control, one volume control, two pickups and a switch to choose between them.

Great hardware, great tone, and beautiful to look at as well.

Just because the 4004L doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles doesn't mean that it's missing anything. It has everything I need, and I love its sculpted Spartan beauty. Definitely a member of the "less is more" school of thinking.

I was playing it through my new RBI through a clean sound system and really grooving on the tone, when I decided to look at the settings on the RBI. To my surprise, the RBI emulated output was inactive. I was listening to the bass itself through a clean amplification system. Many basses would fall on their faces under such conditions, as they are so unlinear in their outputs that they need major corrections to get a good tone. I activated the emulated output on the RBI and got great sounds at every setting listed in the owner's manual. With the right settings on the RBI, or the right kind of amp for your kind of music, the 4004L can play any kind of music you would care to play. This bass is more versatile than the other RIC basses. I prefer it to any Fender bass I have ever played. Haven't played an active Fender bass, but these pickups are hot enough as they are, especially with an RBI or Bass Driver DI by SansAmp which basically makes any passive bass an active bass. The only drawback I have found in the sound is a few notes sound a bit dead compared to all the others. If all the other notes didn't ring for so long, you might never notice it. I use roundwound strings, so the effect may be lessened with flatwounds since they sound deader to begin with. Just haven't tried them so I can't say.

Plays better than the earlier RIC basses. Fairly light at only 8 pounds. This one will do any style of music if you set it up right. The workmanship and finish are very good. Feels very comfortable and plays fast and easy. If I could only have had this bass when I was a teenager! It would have been a real babe magnet for me.

The neck is a bit on the thin side, so I have to keep an eye on the neck and make truss rod adjustments a bit more often than I would like. Other than that, it has no ownership issues. The conversion varnish finish seems as tough as nails and has maintained a beautiful apearance for the past 5 years. The frets seem very resistant to wear from nickel roundwound strings. I converted my strap lugs to locking Schallers some time ago, but the originals gave no problems.

RIC customer support isn't very good unless you have major warranty issues to be resolved. For small stuff it's not worth shipping to California and back. So for the small stuff, you are essentially on your own. Other people have had wildly varying experiences with RIC.

These basses are really hard to find, but worth hunting down. I have been playing since 1976, and this is the best bass I have found for my purposes, and also the most expensive. I have never spent over $1000 for a bass or amp, and never will, so I cannot compare to the most expensive basses out there. There are probably better basses to be had, but they probably don't sell for under $1000 (used mint/excellent condition) unless you run across a desperate seller or it is a heavily used instrument needing some work done on it. Some of the cheaper imports may look as nice at first, but I doubt the finish and hardware lasts as long. The imports always seem to have inferior pickups. The RIC humbuckers are strong and quiet with lots of tonal character that can be exploited to get a really wide range of tones. I guess that is my favorite feature of all. You just can't get the same tone this bass has from any other bass, and that includes the single coil RIC basses. I can't see myself ever selling this bass. Even if I find one that feels as nice or better, it will probably not have that addictive tone that seems to grow on me. Teamed up with a pair of SansAmp RBI's and a 600W Crown stereo power amp playing through my collection of various speaker cabinets, I can get just about any tone I want out of this bass. Everybody that tries it ends up liking it. Maybe not their favorite, but they really like it.