Bass Gear Review

Reviewer	David Fittell - bass player since 1970
Manufacturer	Rickenbacker
Model	4001 '65 original
Price	I traded a '71 Fender Jazz for it

Neck Type	Maple/walnut laminated thru-neck
Fingerboard	Rosewood?
Body Type	Maple wings on thru-neck
Finish	transparent red sunburst (much of it peeling off)
Pickup(s)	Bridge pickup has a pair of rusted horseshoe magnets surrounding
	the strings. Neck position has a 6-pole guitar pickup.
Controls	2 x volume, 2 x tone, single output (ie. pre Rick-o-Sound)

This bass has worked hard with little proper care since 1965. It looks beat up, but surprisingly it's main problems were manufacturing ones. The outstanding feature is the playability of the neck. Very slim with a flat back. Initially had a curve that could not be adjusted out because the ends of the truss rods had bent over after years of strain. A local repairman made some tube-type nuts that hold them straight. The neck then adjusted up nicely. Next problem was the bridge. The saddles had worn out because they're made of some soft metal (aluminium?). Replacement ones were the same material so I spent some time making my own brass ones. Then the pickups. The neck pickup gave a weak sound on the E string because it was installed out of line with the string. Why had none of this instrument's previous owners filed out the scratchplate so it could be moved over? On this bass Rickenbacker used a 6-pole pickup from their guitar line, so even now that it's in the proper position the string balance is a bit uneven. The bridge pickup magnets had almost completely lost their magnetism, so the output was very low. And I cut my hand on the rusted edge. My repairman has carefully removed the pickup and wound a high output replacement that installs into the same fittings. I'm always reluctant to mess with a vintage instrument, but I have done the minimum necessary to make this bass useable. Where possible, the changes are reversable. It is now a great sounding bass with that classic clarity for riffing lines. I can't make it work for slap, but there are plenty of styles that it does extremely well.

Woodwork	100%
Hardware	60%
Playability	100%
Appearance	90%
Sound	90%
Value	90%
Overall	90%