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The Rickenbacker 4000 was one of the earliest electric bass guitars being launched in 1957, just six years after the first modern bass the Fender Precision. The instrument was designed by Roger Rossmeisl and was unique in many ways. The 'cresting wave' shape became an instantly recognisable Rickenbacker signature, still in use today, but more importantly this was the first bass to feature a through neck design; the neck is not seperate from the body, rather it goes 'through' the body, with the upper and lower wings glued to the central piece. This construction method allows greater sustain than the bolt-on (Fender) or glued joint (Gibson)
Features
- 33½in scale, 20 frets, rosewood fingerboard with dot markers
- Maple solid body with through-neck. Neck woods varied over the year, mahogany, maple and walnut, sometimes laminated, sometimes not
- Maplego, Fireglo, or colour finishes
- No binding
- One pickup, one volume and one tone control
- Nickel, chrome or black plated hardware
- A fretless verion 4000FL was also available
- Wiring Schematic
Timescale
- 1957 Launched at a price of $279.50. Gold scratchplate. Mahogany one-piece neck. Horseshoe single coil pickup
- 1958 Gold or white scratchplate
- 1963 White scratchplate only
- 1964 Pickup design changed
- 19XX Black scratchplate optional
- 1984 Discontinued
The following extract comes from the 1968 Rickenbacker catalogue
Rickenbacker bass models 4000-4005 comprise an extremely complete bass series. The three basic designs offer a wide selection of bass models. Models 4000 and 4001 are Solid Body instruments, allowing a wide bass-tonal variation. String tension is sustained entirely by the neck, as the neck runs the entire length of the instrument. Bridge-tailpiece, pickups, and strap button are actually mounted on the body portion of the neck. assuring perfect structural alignment. Model 4001 is hand-bound with black and white 'block' binding
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