Rickenbacker 4001

Rickenbacker 4001
The Rickenbacker 4001 is an electric bass that was manufactured by Rickenbacker as a two-pickup "deluxe" version of their first production bass, the single-pickup model 4000. This design, created by Roger Rossmeisl, was manufactured between 1961 and 1981, when it was replaced by an updated version dubbed the Rickenbacker 4003. Variant models of the 4001 include the 4001S, 4001LH, 1999 (European model), 4001V63 (reissue), 4001CS (a limited edition series based on Chris Squire's 1965 British model RM1999) and the 4001C64 and 4001C64S: the C Series is a recreation of Paul McCartney's left-handed 4001S with a reversed headstock. There are also Al Cisneros (4003 AC) and Lemmy Kilmister (4004 LK) signature versions of the instrument.
Construction
The 4001 model features a neck-through construction, a full-wood body, fretboard with metal strings (originally flat-wound, though many players replaced them with round-wounds), twin truss rods, triangle inlays, two pickups, two volume and two tone dials, selector switch, and wiring for Rick-O-Sound (standard after 1971). Rickenbacker also produced six-string and 12 string guitars and a short-scale bass, the 3000 model. The bridge system is a relatively unusual design, both in aesthetics and in function, featuring removable saddles, as well as a compartment designed to hold a foam mute.
The 4001S (and 1999) model varies in its use of dot inlays, and unbound neck construction. The Rickenbacker 4003, which replaced the 4001, differs in the truss rod design and introduces a fret wire that better withstands the wear from round-wound strings (fast fret wear was a common complaint for many years, and Rickenbacker strived to address the issue). The pickups are also higher in output, and the bridge pickup, a so-called "horseshoe" pickup, was entirely remodelled, featuring a more conventional design, although the "horseshoe", albeit removable is still part of the construction, for aesthetic purposes. More recent 4003 models also feature a push-pull switch on one of the tone knobs, which diminishes the output of the pickups, to more closely resemble the original 4001 tone. Other features remained similar to its forebear.
Rickenbacker has in recent years also produced a five-string model, featuring a more conventional bridge system, smaller Schaller machine heads and distinctive, asymmetrical pickups. It retains the Rickenbacker's signature 33" scale length, an unusual design for a five-string instrument. Between the years 1993 and 2018 Rickenbacker also manufactured a streamlined model, named the 4004, that used the 4001's trademark shape but featured smaller pickups, a simplified control layout, a more conventional bridge system and eschewed the use of aesthetic details such as binding or a pickguard.
Notable players
Barry Adamson of Magazine (also in Buzzcocks, Visage and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)
Becky Baldwin of Fury, touring bassist for Mercyful Fate
Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr.
John Bentley of Squeeze
Cliff Burton of Metallica
Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath
Jon Camp of Renaissance
Peter Cetera of Chicago
Al Cisneros of Sleep and OM
Stu Cook of Creedence Clearwater Revival, with a 4001 featured prominently on the Bayou Country album cover photograph
Paul D'Amour of Tool
John Deacon of Queen
Joey DeMaio of Manowar
Julie Doiron of Eric's Trip
John Entwistle of The Who
Bruce Foxton of The Jam
Simon Gallup of The Cure
Matt Gatera of The Seagulls
Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees
Roger Glover of Deep Purple, Rainbow and Episode Six
Martin Gordon of Sparks and Radio Stars
Graham Gouldman of 10cc
Paul Gray of The Damned, Eddie & The Hot Rods and UFO
Bob Hardy of Franz Ferdinand
Haruko Haruhara, fictional character from the anime series FLCL
Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple, Trapeze, and Black Country Communion
Rick James
Tony James of Generation X
Inge Johansson of Against Me!
Simon Johns of Stereolab
Jesse F. Keeler of Death From Above 1979 and MSTRKRFT
Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead
Dušan Kojić of Šarlo akrobata and Disciplina kičme
Göran Lagerberg of Tages and Kebnekajse
Audun Laading of Her's
Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather
Geddy Lee of Rush
Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy
Dan Maines of Clutch
Glen Matlock of Sex Pistols
Paul McCartney of Wings and The Beatles
Randy Meisner of Eagles and Poco
Mike Mills of R.E.M.
Mario Mutis of Los Jaivas
Prescott Niles of the Knack
Chuck Panozzo of Styx
Charles Michael Parks Jr. of All Them Witches
David Paton of Pilot and The Alan Parsons Project
Tracy Pew of The Birthday Party
Fabio Pignatelli of Goblin
Scott Pilgrim, fictional character from the Scott Pilgrim series
Prakash John
Pete Quaife of The Kinks
Scott Reeder of Kyuss
Heidi Rodewald of Wednesday Week and Passing Strange
Kira Roessler of Black Flag
Mike Rutherford of Genesis
Don Schiff
Timothy B. Schmit of Eagles and Poco
Paul Simonon of The Clash
Jim Smith of Cardiacs
Chris Squire of Yes
Tommy Stinson of The Replacements (and formerly Guns ‘N Roses)
Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear
Dougie Thomson of Supertramp
Pete Trewavas of Marillion
Fred Turner of Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Martin Turner of Wishbone Ash
Ben Wahamki of The Lumineers
Andy Warren
Roger Waters of Pink Floyd
Josephine Wiggs of The Breeders
Paul Wilson of Snow Patrol
Chris Wolstenholme of Muse
Buddy Zabala of the Pinoy band Eraserheads
References
External links
Rickenbacker International Corporation
Bass guitars
4001
1961 musical instruments
The Beatles' musical instruments