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LATEST MF MID BLUE RIC SALE

#242
ximaipa said:
Greetings: I need some help regarding how the contents of a Ric 4003 ship ... I did the MidBlue Ric sale and after being told they were in stock was later told a year and half wait. After several calls and tons of mis-information, a couple of bait and switch tries, MF agreed to send me a Fireglo at the same price. Last night I received the bass and first thing I noticed it was the Ric "glass" box that had been opened and then taped for shipment. The bass case had some marks on it making it appear it had been taken in and out of the box a few times. When I opened the case first thing I noticed was some fingerprints all over the bass and the white protective paper around the bass out of place. The plastic bag with with the cloth, allen wrenches and paperwork was not sealed. The allen wrenches paper bag was not stapled and had a foul piece of tape holding the contents in. It's apparent the bass has been opened and played with, probably a return. Registration card says a 02/11 manufacture date. Also two marks on the pup cover that look like they were made, not orginal part of the chrome process. The G and D strings buzz like no tomorrow. I've bought $150.00 basses setup from the factory better then this. So, my question is, does the allen wrench paper envelope come stapled, does the goodie bag come sealed or taped, should there be fingerprints and marks on the bass? I feel that I've gotten a return instead of a new bass and would appreciate any thoughts on what I should do? Thanks!
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I ordered and received my FG about a month ago... it arrived in a non-descript box. I opened the box to find the case and bass were not double boxed. Hmm, I thought, others who received their bass indicated that it was double boxed in the original RIC box.
I opened the case and my initial impressions were that it looked fine... but after careful scruitiny, I noticed a smug of black paint on the inside of the lower horn, under the clear coat. I also noticed that there was a drop of black paint, about the size of a fret marker, on the bottom of the bass, right beside the output jack.
You know, I could probably have lived with that, but after messing with the tone knobs, I diwscovered that they did absolutely nothing!
So, I began to believe that I had been shipped someone else's return!
I contacted Music 123 and we made arrangments for me to return the bass. They were at the time, very pro-actvie in their service. As I live in Canada, I would be required to pay brokerage as well as taxes at the border... I was prepared for that. They insisted that I would not have to pay any further fees on the replacement as it was a warrantee replacement...
Well, the warehouse failed to mark the replacement bass as such and to make matters worse, they indicated that the price I paid for the "replacement" was full ... $1999.99.
So, being the pro-active guy I am, I got in touch with UPS as soon as I received a tracking number and sure enough, there was a fee of $250.00 heading my way.
I contacted Music 123 and they were very appologetic and told me that they would contact UPS to have my money returned.
I waited two weeks and contacted Music 123. They then told me that they were having problems with UPS in getting my money back, so they were going to eat the $250.00 and credit my VISA account.
At the time of writing, I am waiting for that credit.
The new bass is prefect from a finish perspective and funny enough, the tone controls work!
I am however taking it in tomorrow for a full set up and fret level, because the frets are up and down like a toilet seat on the D and G strings, up to about the 7th fret.
I also think that the nut is cut too high on the same strings... and if I hit the G string with any amount of might, I get a clanking sound coming from the G string saddle.
A warrantee claim to RIC is simply not in the cards for me as I just don't want to wait for RIC, nor do I want any further grief with this bass... so my guy will get it good and I can hopefully put this less than stellar experience behind me!
FIshheadjoe
 
#243
I just got an updated back order notice from MF on my MID. Unlike previous ones that say my order will ship when it's available this one says

Musician's Friend said:
Additional quantities are on order and we expect them soon. Your order will receive priority upon receipt in the warehouse, and we expect to be able to ship your order within 30 days. We apologize for the delay
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Looks like a NBD is in my near future!
 
#246
cassius987 said:
I think I played that bass when I checked out a 2030 you were selling.

Do you favor the treble pickup on those basses? The neck pickup is so far back, I'd find it hard to tame if you were an aggressive player.
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Good question ...

On the MB 4004c 4-2-5 I usually favor the bridge pickup. It is a custom Sergio 15k ohm single coil pickup. But when I solo the neck pickup I get a nice tone that is like a 4005 and a EBO. A real woody bass tone that is cool.

The neck pickup is a 6 pole guitar high gain with steel bar accross all the poles to extend the width of the magnetic field to be wider than the string spacing.

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b%20076.jpg
 
#247
My new 4003 had a small cosmetic flaw. I contacted Rickenbacker about it and I got no response at all. So I polished the chrome pickup cover and the spot went away.

2011%204003%20012.jpg


I still haven't figured out what I will do with this bass. Right now it is wall art in my family room.

2011%204003%20020.jpg
 
#248
john turner said:
oh, and just to let you guys know, martinmcfly is a previously banned [DEL]loser[/DEL] user who has come back under no less than 7 different user names.

from the nature of his posts, and then his pleading posts via the help desk to be let back, he sounds like he's a 15 year old freebasing ritalin. so apologies - i imagine he's gonna come running through a few more posts/threads shrieking like beavis on fire, just bear with us :).
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Link Removed
 
#249
For a bass over 1.5k, I would have raised hell that it was not perfect. I dont know, but quality should increase with price. If not, what are we paying for? I for one know how difficult it is to sell something that is not almost cosmetically perfect.

Also, why would a company sell a bass that needs fret leveling for such a price is beyond me. I guess leveling is subjective, but we all know what feels right.

This thread has really stopped me from looking at new rics and just searching for a good used one that I know will be fine the first time around, and I can really enjoy the honeymoon period.
 
#254
All, just to let you know, I too purchased a Midnight Blue 4003 during the MF sale back in early August. The bass I received played and sounded great, but had a few minor finish cracks around the bridge and one on the back of the headstock. These were difficult to see unless you were looking very closely. In addition, 3 of the bridge saddles were cut so that the strings barely passed over the polepieces on the treble pickup. I considered living with the finish issues and having Ric just send me replacement saddles which I could have cut to my liking (which they had also agreed to do), but after a few weeks decided that I was not comfortable with a new bass having these issues, however minor, and contacted Ric Customer Support. They were helpful and had me send the bass back, which they COMPLETELY refinished, in addition to correcting the saddle issues. The new finish is absolutely flawless and I am very, very happy with the bass. Yes, it would have been nice if I received a perfect bass and didn't have to spend the $40 bucks to send it back to Ric, but by this time MF was out of Midnight Blue 4003's and I didn't want to wait until 2013 for a replacement. And, given the AMAZING sale price of the bass, spending the money to ship it back was bearable. Bottom line, Ric recognized the issue and made it right - no questions asked. They did OK by me, and hopefully are correcting the QC issues many of us experienced. I am happy with the customer service they provided to make things right.
 
#255
diptixon said:
In addition, 3 of the bridge saddles were cut so that the strings barely passed over the polepieces on the treble pickup.
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It's awesome that you got your issues resolved. You'll love the bass, I know I love mine!

Just fyi, the bridge saddles aren't adjusted by "cutting" them. There are screws on the bridge that will raise and lower the bridge to the proper height over the pickup. That's a very common adjustment on most basses, and part of a simple setup.

Enjoy!
 

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