PRODUCED: 1991-2000
ORIGIN: USA
TYPE: Solidbody, twin cutaway, 4-string
BODY: Eastern rock maple wings
NECK: Maple neck-through, 20 fine frets
SCALE LENGTH: 851mm (33.5-inch)
FINGERBOARD: Vermillion, white pearl dot inlays
HARDWARE: Chromed upper magnet section of pickup, bridge/tailpiece, open gear tuners
PICKUPS: Single coil horseshoe unit and smaller ‘toast rack’ unit at neck position
CONTROLS: 2 Volume & 2 tone, 3-way pickup selector switch
FEATURES: Made in the image of Chris Squire’s own bass, white scratchplate with his signature on it
FINISHES: Cream lacquer
COMMENTS: Over the course of time the Rickenbacker 4001 lost much of its appeal following what are tantamount to poor design choices. It all centres on the loss of the horseshoe magnet with its distinctive ‘split’ in the chrome ‘cover’ above, which of course is actually part of the pickup itself.
Chris Squire’s 4001S bass was originally Fireglo finish but he stripped it on more than one occasion, so much so that the body ended up with very unique dimensions. But it always sounded fantastic on Yes albums and shows so the Signature CS model was much anticipated.
It is a stunning bass indeed and offers an opportunity to own something newer that is a faithful reproduction of the original but with the
Squire dimensions. Chris’ comment: "We did everything to duplicate my bass from the size, wood, finish, neck profile and even the windings and the mass of the metal on the pickup. It sounds really great but mine still has that certain something extra."
