The gentleman and the mysterious bass. ;)

Model 4008 back with the eight Schaller M4 tuners.

An eight string bass introduced in the mid 1970's. The 1982 price list describes a 4008 as "Full scale bass with 8 strings, like 4001S". The bass on this photos has a bound neck and stereo outputs.

Andy Lewis has been a very elegant gentleman, I've asked him if i saw it well (an eight mechanics bass) and he answered me as simple as you can imagine. I've noticed last year in Amsterdam he was playing with that very strange bass. I know 5 strings, 6 strings and even 7 strings bass( John Entwistle was working on it). He used it on stage on "Echoes round the sun" and some other tunes. He will also use it on his next year forthcoming album. I Thought it was maybe just for the look. I know some bass player (a very few) who started music by the Cello tunes their bass like a Cello, a Low C (Very deep C?) and "the other strings in fifths" and I thought it was maybe to have more Octaves but here's the master's answer:

It's a Rickenbacker 4001/8 in Fireglo... comes out for Echoes Round The Sun with Weller and occasionally at other times for recording. It has eight strings, a bit like a Rickenbacker 12-string in bass form. It's tuned in octaves EADG like the bottom four strings of a twelve-string Rickenbacker. Low-High, Low-High etc. You'll be able to hear more of my eight string at work on my next album, due out next year.

All the best- Andy

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Andy on myspace