I found a gutted one in a Memphis pawnshop in the late ‘90s. I guess the previous owner didn’t like the sound of it, because they replaced the original pickups with the Seymore Duncan Rick set that was popular for 4001 basses at the time. I love the different tones the J bass positions brought to the overall Rick sound. (Both the proper bridge, and the slightly north of usual neck positions yielded very interesting sound results.
I kept that as my sole bass for 11 years, finally selling it for $2k in 2007 to fund my first Cheyenne ii purchase. It has since been restored with the original pickups, and of course shot into the stratosphere pricewise. Around the mid 2010’s, The company did a couple of experimental one offs, dubbed 4002-S models, which I would’ve loved to get my hands on.
Outside of a few Rick enthusiasts, the only person I ever saw that used one was Geddy. And I couldn’t tell you if he used it on any particular recording.
Fantastic article! ❤️🤟
It also seems that they were going for something similar to the Gibson Les Paul Recording bass (Triumph),
with the low impedance pickups. Chris Squire used one, it’s a shame he never got a 4002.
I found a gutted one in a Memphis pawnshop in the late ‘90s. I guess the previous owner didn’t like the sound of it, because they replaced the original pickups with the Seymore Duncan Rick set that was popular for 4001 basses at the time. I love the different tones the J bass positions brought to the overall Rick sound. (Both the proper bridge, and the slightly north of usual neck positions yielded very interesting sound results.
I kept that as my sole bass for 11 years, finally selling it for $2k in 2007 to fund my first Cheyenne ii purchase. It has since been restored with the original pickups, and of course shot into the stratosphere pricewise. Around the mid 2010’s, The company did a couple of experimental one offs, dubbed 4002-S models, which I would’ve loved to get my hands on.
Outside of a few Rick enthusiasts, the only person I ever saw that used one was Geddy. And I couldn’t tell you if he used it on any particular recording.
Great article, Andy! You cracked the code on that one. Photos reminded me that I once had one! I should have held on to that 4002.