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4003/4004 - Ric

G

G2K

Guest
Jul 21, 2008
153
0
Simcoe County, ON. CA.
#1
Any comments from those who know
Electronics
Pick Ups - SC vs HB (hiss, switching)
Would an outboard pre-amp be required?
Neck maintenance and intonation (tuning)
Any other thoughts?
I've always wanted one and may have a chance. Problem; can't try before I buy.
Thanks in advance.
 
#2
I have both. They're very different. 4004 is dead silent, massive sounding. 4003 is what you think of when you think Ric clank. Single coils do make noise, I don't think it's too bad though. Best case get both, (I know, $$). One thing I will say about the 4004 is, I hate the pick up selector switch. It needs rewiring to a VVT set up, but I haven't done it yet, and it's fine on either or pick up, just not both. Massive low end. 4004 rocks hard.
 
#3
G2K said:
Any comments from those who know
Electronics
Pick Ups - SC vs HB (hiss, switching)
Would an outboard pre-amp be required?
Neck maintenance and intonation (tuning)
Any other thoughts?
I've always wanted one and may have a chance. Problem; can't try before I buy.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

I have one of each, but my 4004 does not have original RIC pickups in it, so I wont comment on that.
The 4003 SC pickups, while I have heard others complain about noise they experience using them, I have never had any problems.
Necks. These are always a little bit of a mystrey to most people. Adjusting the truss rods should only be needed if the neck has developed some issue because of climate, or a change in string tension. RIC necks are designed to be dead straight, and in most cases can be made that way with little careful adjustments. 4003 neck tends to be a bit thinner than the 4004. Both are nice. Not highly taperd, more like a P, rather than a J, for example.
Intonation. The 4003 suffers from a very old outdated design, and CAN be intonated, but is ususally a bit of a struggle to get done. Once done, you should be good. The 4004 ABM bridge design is a new modern unit, with up/down, back/forth, and side/to side and is very wasy to adjust.
The 4003 will always be a classic bass, great sound and great looks. I love them. The 4004 is a new modern bass, with the classic look, but the body is more comfortable, ajustments are made easier, and have a more generic sound overall. The 4003, is not for everyone, and some of them are reported to have QC issues. My new 08 had 2 issues. Dead E string, that I had to adjust pickup screw hieght to even out, and the bridge mute that would not touch all 4 strings. The 4004 is probably a little more what a modern bassist would expect from a bass out of the box.
I guess you could always hit the RRF forum for more opinions.
It's unfortunite that you cannot play each for a comparison. That would be really helpful. Perhaps there are some here in the forum near you that you could take a test drive.
Good Luck.
 

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