Cairobill

Argh just missed 'em [quote name='Beedster' post='1129338' date='Feb 16 2011, 10:35 AM']Sold pending[/quote]

I'm happy on 4 and 5. If I was going to opt for which end of range to extend it would be adding a high c for chords if I was playing jazz in a trio. I've never been a great fan of the sound and feel of a low b. If I need a low d I detune. Below that I'm not keen on venturing.

He's pretty amazing. Very much a one off.

That a double neck? Impossibly cool... [quote name='jonsmith' post='1108562' date='Jan 30 2011, 07:50 PM']I definitely wouldn't wouldn't worry about being able to get a sheet of paper under the bridge. That's not real tail lift as far as I'm concerned. Tail lift that actually causes problems, while obviously not unheard of, is not totally widespread. Not great if you do get it, but if it does occur it's easily rectified with a new bridge. The closest I've come to having this problem is in the photograph below. This '75 was strung with horrible extremely high tension roundwounds when I got it. I swapped them for Tomastik Jazz Roundwounds, but took them off after a few weeks as they were just too floppy for my liking. It's had Rotosound Roundwounds on it for the past five years and hasn't moved at all in that time.[/quote]

I have spent a fair bit of time in B to G and B to C on my six string. When I get my dream fiver (all my basses are 4 strings nowadays) I will go for a neck through 33 inch scale strung E to C for the reasons mentioned above....and a D tuner

My misspelling - thomastik jazz flats. Quite expensive but of course, you won't have to change them If you find that the action is 'medium' with the roundwounds on, you might find that you don;t need to tweak the bass once the flats are on. My Rick just seemed to relax, go aaaahhh, and became a slinky, low action, dub/abbey road monster once the thomastiks went on. Plus they feel very nice to play and I'm no means a flats fanatic (I use DR hibeams on all my other basses). Good luck N [quote name='omikin' post='1108226' date='Jan 30 2011, 03:29 PM']thanks for the reassurance! will try out those thomasltik jazz flats... never used flats before. as it currently has 45-105 roundwounds on it i'm guessing i'll need to get the neck and saddles adjusted for the revised string tension?[/quote]

A little bit of tail lift seems to be as standard on most 4001s. The 4001 is designed to be played with light gauge flats (thomastik jazz flats being the ones that sing on my bass they're 43 to 100) and installing rounds with regular to high tension will bring on a bit of lift although most ricks remain useable with much worse lift than this. I wouldn't worry about it, it's standard issue and a subject of (often heated) debate on various forums. Swap out to a hipshot like for like replacement if you're worried. Alternatively, give the thomasltik jazz flats a try. First flats I've used seriously and I love them. Think smooth low action and big, sonorous, sustain for ever McCartney tone ALL the way up to the upper register of the bass. What Ricks do best in my opinion.

I bought an absolutely mint 1978 4001 off Simon on the board. After experimenting with various strings, pick fingers etc I found out that the thing REALLY likes to be strung with thomastik jazz flats, which are very low tension, and played with a pick a la mccartney using the much derided pickup cover as a palm rest. I usually play j basses with fingers but the Rick brings out a mellower, more rootsy and 'songwriterly' side to my playing. It is amazing to play and sounds unreal. Very, very good indeed. The slightly shorter scale length makes it feel dinky compared to my j bass. It also really encourages melodic playing. I love this bass, it's wonderful. They also have this odd ability to sound totally consistent across the entire register that I have found in very few basses. I do like that Geddy/Squire clonk and grind but the purity of the sound with flats is something to behold. It also fits like a glove in the mix whereas a rick with roundwounds will have a very 'look at me' kind of sound. Beautiful basses but I really had to look, weight and neck profile vary a lot. Mine is super thin and under 9lbs. Nick

I used to prefer flatter (16 inch radius and up) but have done a flip flop over to vintage fender spec on my bravewood. The combination of the narrow, well profiled neck and 7.25 inch radius really makes the bass 'disappear' into the hand. Flat boards now feel ungainly, with the vintage spec feeling more consistent as the hand rotates from high to low strings. Big change for me...

And just to drop a slice of Talk Talk here. Utterly amazing track, really gorgeous. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cIWsQuYVeg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cIWsQuYVeg[/url] When they're on form they make Radiohead sound like Shakatak [quote name='Cairobill' post='1067783' date='Dec 23 2010, 01:51 PM']Two of my favourite bands right there... [/quote]

Two of my favourite bands right there... [quote name='bassatnight' post='1066697' date='Dec 22 2010, 12:38 PM']A very underrated band who a lot of people have covered, much like another great underrated band Talk Talk.[/quote]