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do 4003 rickenbacker basses now have cream binding?

#21
TTA said:
I had my shop contact ric for clarification also… what i got was “design features have changed”


But if it truly a supply issue… i have a limited run collector “covid bass.” Score!!!

Also, if many complain about the changes… ric will swap back
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i mean, it’s possible but… this is ric we’re talking about here. famously slow in changing.

also, i think the majority of people actually like the new fretboard, and no one has said a word about the binding except for your thread and this one. same with the finish change, though i haven’t looked into that so maybe there’s talk about it. the hardcore rickenbacker purists are the ones who dislike the changes currently. fretboard and bridge.

and as for knobs… well, i was planning on buying the old kind off of chicago music exchange and just swapping them if i ever got a rickenbacker bass with the black knobs.
 
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#22
I can’t see supply chain issues affecting something like binding, you can buy white pvc or abs binding from a ton of retail vendors, but maybe not in the quantity they must burn through. The knobs I could see though, that’s probably a single source vendor for the chrome top ones, the black ones are virtually identical to Jazz bass knobs. I actually like the black ones better. I haven’t heard any complaints about the new bridge, other than the mute is still useless. They were trying to improve the fuction without changing the fundamental look, so I think that was at least partially successful. If you want to palm mute though, get a Hipshot.
 
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#23
TTA said:
I had my shop contact ric for clarification also… what i got was “design features have changed”


But if it truly a supply issue… i have a limited run collector “covid bass.” Score!!!

Also, if many complain about the changes… ric will swap back
Click to expand...
I sometimes wonder if Fender are going to do limited Corona runs.
 
#24
bon viesta said:
well you know, i saw yesterday a guy who contacted rickenbacker about the current use of black knobs. interestingly, rickenbacker replied not by saying “this is a new design feature”, but instead saying that because of covid’s effects on getting necessary supplies, black knobs will be used until further notice.
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Apparently the brushed metal inlays on the older ones started falling out in a few recent batches, which caused Ric to pull the plug on that vendor. The vintage ones look better anyhow.
 
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#26
bon viesta said:
this past year, and late 2020, rickenbacker has been making a whole bunch of model changes. i’ve been GASing for one, and i’m just trying to sort of get my bearings on what’s what with their current models so i can know what i’d be getting myself into.

so… applying to all models, i know there is no more fretboard finish. got it. also applying to all models, black knobs and an updated bridge. also got it. but i’ve heard stuff about cream binding? is the binding cream now, instead of it’s usual white?

here’s a few images i just got of someone’s bass (with all of the current updates, so it’s a very recent model) posted early last month, saying they just got it, and it seems to feature stark white binding.

but there’s also a thread a few months back talking about how their new jetglo 4003 has cream binding, and the comments say it’s the new norm.
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the "cream color" is the clearcoat over the white binding
 
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#27
Maybe it's just me, but I don't see much of a difference in the binding Ric has been using for years.

Here's a photo of a Snowglo from 2013 - you can definitely see the ivory color of the binding next to the white finish.
unnamed-3.jpg
 
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#28
Gilmourisgod said:
Real “cream” binding is that hideous “ Caucasian Baby Doll Flesh” color you see on some Gibsons. Almost a pink color. I’d call that Ric binding “ivory”, but if you order “cream” binding you might get either one, the term being flexible by vendor. It may not be the binding at all, but the clearcoat. I don’t know if it’s true, but supposedly they finally dropped that UV clearcoat that’s been peeling off for 10+ years. If the new clearcoat has any ambering effect, that might be what we are seeing. The old 60’s and 70’s clearcoat always yellowed like that over time, sometimes the binding looks bright yellow. I like it, the stark white binding looks good on a Jetglo, maybe not as good on transparent finishes like Fireglo. Or the Walnut basses. The heavy laquer on the board looked nice… for a while. It always eventually started separating away from the frets through inevitable difference in expansion/contraction. They couldn’t crown the frets because the finish “ramped” up the sides, so they filed the fret tops flat. Oddly, they carried that crappy flat fret filing onto the new unfinished boards because…. Ric. After decades of tiny, incremental changes, this counts as an avalanche. Now if they would just ditch that crappy double trussrod system in favor of a single modern DA rod……..
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Ric5 said:
the "cream color" is the clearcoat over the white binding
Click to expand...
i wondered the same. But my vendor spoke to them… and they confirmed the binding was indeed different. But devil is in the details. I always wondered if it was the finish.

I like the black knobs, and love the new bridge (easy intonation!!!). All in all, the changes are all great imho.


The only thing against the clearcoat theory is that white binding was there earlier in 2021. Unless it was a finish change. But my limited build 4003 from 2020 had cream binding also.

stock shortages in covid, or needing to change suppliers due to lack of supply, all makes sense to me. But did they run out of binding, or clearcoat? Either way… water under the bridge. I like my end product. But i hope it becomes a limited production “covid base”. >_<
 
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#29
TTA said:
i wondered the same. But my vendor spoke to them… and they confirmed the binding was indeed different. But devil is in the details. I always wondered if it was the finish.

I like the black knobs, and love the new bridge (easy intonation!!!). All in all, the changes are all great imho.


The only thing against the clearcoat theory is that white binding was there earlier in 2021. Unless it was a finish change. But my limited build 4003 from 2020 had cream binding also.

stock shortages in covid, or needing to change suppliers due to lack of supply, all makes sense to me. But did they run out of binding, or clearcoat? Either way… water under the bridge. I like my end product. But i hope it becomes a limited production “covid base”. >_<
Click to expand...

I have owned Ric basses from the 1960s to the 2000's and many had white binding with a yellowed clearcoat.

the supply chain answer makes a lot of sense.
 
#32
This stuff is what Allparts and most other vendors call "cream", and other vendors call "ivory". Stewmac calls the Baby-Doll Flesh stuff Cream, which I found out the hard way ordering some.
WnFWHVE.jpg

SAOSK6v.jpg

Cream Plastic Binding - StewMac

There's no way to mistake it for pure white like this. If there is another shade in between, I haven't seen it, which Is why I suspect it's a slight tint in the clearcoat. It's possible Ric had a custom-run made, or as other people said, ran low on the white and used something they had on hand. Ric is pretty opaque about design and material changes, they don't announce much, the V2 bridge being an exception.
ojQyVWc.jpg
 
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#33
bon viesta said:
this past year, and late 2020, rickenbacker has been making a whole bunch of model changes. i’ve been GASing for one, and i’m just trying to sort of get my bearings on what’s what with their current models so i can know what i’d be getting myself into.

so… applying to all models, i know there is no more fretboard finish. got it. also applying to all models, black knobs and an updated bridge. also got it. but i’ve heard stuff about cream binding? is the binding cream now, instead of it’s usual white?

here’s a few images i just got of someone’s bass (with all of the current updates, so it’s a very recent model) posted early last month, saying they just got it, and it seems to feature stark white binding.

but there’s also a thread a few months back talking about how their new jetglo 4003 has cream binding, and the comments say it’s the new norm.
Click to expand...
I'm a bit late to the party here, but as I've been researching the heck out of new Ric's for the last month or so, here's my $0.02:

It's difficult to tell on the first two photos, but that third photo (on the first page of this thread) features a "mate-black" finish... I wonder if that has something to do with the cream/non-white binding?

Regarding the fretboard finish, I've discovered two basses with sequential serial numbers that may provide some insight as to when the transition of gloss/oil boards happened:

27th week of 2021, Ric 4003s Fireglo
- SN 2127692 is gloss
- SN 2127693 is oiled

The handful of 4003 basses I've found still available with serial numbers prior to 2127 (Year/Week) all have had gloss boards.

That said, bon viesta, have you purchased your new Ric yet?
 
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#34
Gilmourisgod said:
This stuff is what Allparts and most other vendors call "cream", and other vendors call "ivory". Stewmac calls the Baby-Doll Flesh stuff Cream, which I found out the hard way ordering some.
View attachment 4527697
View attachment 4527698
Cream Plastic Binding - StewMac

There's no way to mistake it for pure white like this. If there is another shade in between, I haven't seen it, which Is why I suspect it's a slight tint in the clearcoat. It's possible Ric had a custom-run made, or as other people said, ran low on the white and used something they had on hand. Ric is pretty opaque about design and material changes, they don't announce much, the V2 bridge being an exception.
View attachment 4527699
Click to expand...
Mercy!
What's the story on "Hossenfeffer"?
 
#38
Jeff Scott said:
He made it down there? :woot: Truly, a small world. :D
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I grew up with Bonanza in the 60's here Jeff in Aust..I was 12 in 1963 and loved Lil Joe loll Mum bought me some toy six guns on a belt and a roll of caps for the cap guns..I was in seventh heaven..just like when I bought my first Ric in the late 70's...seventh heaven and it was a lot louder than a bunch of caps lolll
 
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#39
Its just a stupid alliteration thing: "Rick-en-back-er, Hoss-en-feff-er" , and I thought it would be a funny company name. Plus I always liked that Bugs Bunny episode.......So now I am the Owner, CEO, CFO, Secretary, Head of Production and Sole Employee of Hossenfeffer Guitars. Current total production =Three Basses. Dont rush me.
 
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#40
Gilmourisgod said:
Its just a stupid alliteration thing: "Rick-en-back-er, Hoss-en-feff-er" , and I thought it would be a funny company name. Plus I always liked that Bugs Bunny episode.......So now I am the Owner, CEO, CFO, Secretary, Head of Production and Sole Employee of Hossenfeffer Guitars. Current total production =Three Basses. Dont rush me.
Click to expand...
I always thought it was from laverne and shirley
 

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