NBD major fret sprout

[ahbradot]

Wow - that's not even a seasonal sprout.

Another of many reasons I won't direct purchase from GC on line. They do not inspect inspect instruments on receipt. Minor cosmetic defects go straight to the sales floor. Problem is fret-sprout - warped necks, irregular nut-slots, etc. are all viewed as minor cosmetic defects.

You have a valid point.
It's very rare to even see a Rickenbacker bass at GC.
Buying online was a great option because I live a few miles away from the GC Store.
If I receive another dud in the mail there is absolutely no risk on my end.
Their return policy is awesome and hassle free.
Hey manufacturers!
Are you listening?
There seems to be a lot of potential buyers here that are not exactly pleased with the QC these days across a lot of our favorite brands and or models.

Pay some talkbass guru here $30 an hour to happily inspect those basses before they go out the door to the warehouses and retailers by receiving a talkbass guru seal of approval

I'm stunned by the incredible knowledge and experience of some of the members here on talkbass.

 

[Pocket Dave]

You have a valid point.
It's very rare to even see a Rickenbacker bass at GC.
Buying online was a great option because I live a few miles away from the GC Store.
If I receive another dud in the mail there is absolutely no risk on my end.
Their return policy is awesome and hassle free.
Hey manufacturers!
Are you listening?
There seems to be a lot of potential buyers here that are not exactly pleased with the QC these days across a lot of our favorite brands and or models.

Pay some talkbass guru here $30 an hour to happily inspect those basses before they go out the door to the warehouses and retailers by receiving a talkbass guru seal of approval

I'm stunned by the incredible knowledge and experience of some of the members here on talkbass.

GC has a great reputation for returns with caveats. Based on their non-existent inspection-upon-receipt policy - it only returns defective instruments to the manufacturer upon receipt if the neck falls off - odds are you'll be taking at least one back to the store, often two or more. How much is your time worth?

In the US, roughly 10% of the population lives in rural areas over an hour from population centers where GC's are located. Dropping off at a store becomes a bigger issue than shipping it back, which GC does not cover on defective returns.

 

[sunbeast]

I owned a brand new 4003SW and played a few other walnut Rics in stores when I lived in Los Angeles, and they pretty much all had some degree of fret sprout. I never saw that on a standard 4003 for what it’s worth, only the ones with the oil-finished neck like these. Yours definitely looks worse on the first fret than mine was or any of the other I remember. I just filed the fret ends on mine.

 

[ahbradot]

In the US, roughly 10% of the population lives in rural areas over an hour from population centers where GC's are located. Dropping off at a store becomes a bigger issue than shipping it back, which GC does not cover on defective returns.

Sweetwater is an attractive alternative to GC because they pay for the shipping back. Sweetwater apparently does a very good job and there are a lot of satisfied customers. I am very pleased that they exist out there for us.

I would love to see manufacturers of musical equipment to do their very best to make sure the instrument is in perfect working order prior to leaving their factory.

Not many retail businesses are going to open boxes of equipment and test it before they sell it to a customer if it's coming straight from a warehouse. That inspection should've been done at the factory in the first place.
Whether it's Appliances, photography and video equipment, automotive parts, etc.

And from what I keep learning online is that these manufacturers sell a good portion of equipment to the retailer and it goes straight to a storage warehouse.
Item never even makes it to the store as it gets shipped directly to the customer from the warehouse when we buy online.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Sweetwater is an attractive alternative to GC because they pay for the shipping back. Sweetwater apparently does a very good job and there are a lot of satisfied customers. I am very pleased that they exist out there for us.

I would love to see manufacturers of musical equipment to do their very best to make sure the instrument is in perfect working order prior to leaving their factory.

Not many retail businesses are going to open boxes of equipment and test it before they sell it to a customer if it's coming straight from a warehouse. That inspection should've been done at the factory in the first place.
Whether it's Appliances, photography and video equipment, automotive parts, etc.

And from what I keep learning online is that these manufacturers sell a good portion of equipment to the retailer and it goes straight to a storage warehouse.
Item never even makes it to the store as it gets shipped directly to the customer from the warehouse when we buy online.

I have bought online from both GC and Sweetwater. I found that Sweetwater has an advantage in the variety of basses they stock, many more choices than GC. They also seem to have more available at the higher end of the market. Sweetwater weighs and takes pictures of whatever bass you buy from them before they ship it. You can at least see what you are getting. They at some point have to actually touch the bass and look at it to do that. Whether they do the whole 50 point inspection or not, who knows? GC basses I bought came from Musicians Supply warehouse, in manufacturer's box. I don't know whether anyone touched or inspected the basses but they came in good condition although one had been played and probably returned by another customer before I got it. There were signs of wear on the fretless fretboard. Both basses were probably set up to manufacturer standards though I had one of them set up by local tech to get a better action.

I did buy one case from GC that was the wrong case, was for guitar not bass, and they took it back at the store without question and gave me a full refund. I have not had to return anything I bought from Sweetwater.

So I would summarize by saying probably easier to return at GC but you have a better chance of getting what you want in the condition you want at Sweetwater. Prices are the same. You choose, what is more important to you?

 

[GKon]

That's the worst fret job I've ever seen.

 

[P. Aaron]

Such a nice looking bass, one wants to pick it up and to be thwarted by negligence finishing that wrecks even being able to play it, bummer.

I hope you score a nice one that works out for you.

 

[MrAB4003]

If I ever get a Ric like with fret sprout like that, I would consider de-fretting it and making it into a "4003FL". Actual factory 4003FLs have been discontinued for over 15 years now and fretless Rics are rare to begin with.

 

[sunbeast]

If I ever get a Ric like with fret sprout like that, I would consider de-fretting it and making it into a "4003FL". Actual factory 4003FLs have been discontinued for over 15 years now and fretless Rics are rare to begin with.

I don't think most Rics would be good candidates for defretting as they are neck-through and the fretboard to body angle from the factory is basically zero, meaning there is already minimal clearance at the bridge for downward action adjustment even with frets, and so you'd probably end up having to countersink the bridge to get enough downward adjustment if you took the frets out. I assume when Ric made fretless instruments at the factory that they must have compensated for the missing fret height by using a thicker piece of wood for the fretboard blank. Defretting is much less of a gamble on a bolt-on neck instrument because you can use a neck shim to adjust the neck angle/height to compensate for the missing frets.

 

[woodyng2]

When I saw the thread title, and was scrolling down the first 2 pictures, I was saying over and over and over to myself
“PLEASE don’t be a Rickenbacker”.
Very sorry to see this, those first couple of pictures were just heartbreaking. (And infuriating).
Especially because the bass is so beautiful in the oiled walnut version. Hope your next one is a good one!

 

[woodyng2]

Sunbeast- I didn’t really have any of those issues when I defretted my Cheyenne ii, but of course it had a more conventional bridge,
with a fair amount of adjustability. I’d be a bit more cautious about defretting a Rick with a maple fretboard.
(although I wouldn’t be the one doing the work anyway.)

 

[sunbeast]

Sunbeast- I didn’t really have any of those issues when I defretted my Cheyenne ii, but of course it had a more conventional bridge,
with a fair amount of adjustability. I’d be a bit more cautious about defretting a Rick with a maple fretboard.
(although I wouldn’t be the one doing the work anyway.)

Agreed that a maple fretboard is also generally too soft for a fretless unless you epoxy it or something. Yeah my 4004 is the one Ric I’ve owned that doesn’t require lowering the G string saddle nearly if not all the way down and could probably work as a fretless with that bridge. The factory 4003 bridges don’t get as low as the Hipshot Type A I have on my 4004, and there have been a number of people who have not been able to attain low enough action with the v2 Ric bridge even with frets. Even the Hipshot Ric bridge uses a thicker bottom plate than an A or B style bridge for some reason so can’t adjust as low.

 

[Chris Wilke]

I'd have doubts about the manufacturer's wood curing standards. If you bought one without fret sprout, I'd probably expect some to appear in the first couple years. Possibly neck bow/twist also. Maybe better to buy used and get one that's had time to settle in.

 

[BassDaddy77]

Wow. Just, wow. Michael Meyers is rumored to be using that bass in place of his machete for the next installment of "Halloween" lol. Lot of people on TB love to slag Fender and Gibson for poor QC, but that's gotta be up there with the worst I've ever seen. Perhaps Rickenbacker is making a run for the "QC Crown of Shame" these days. That's unbelievable, especially considering the price.

 

[BAG]

Looks like two manufacturing steps weren’t completed correctly AND no one QC’d the bass. (I assume they make sure that the bass works, the electrics function and they run their hands over the neck and sides, and make sure the neck isn’t a total buzz fest.) Problem at the factory there.

The first thing I do when I have any new (to me) instrument in my hands is run my hand down the sides of the neck to see how much, if any, the frets poke out and then check the relief. I'll then tune up and quickly check the intonation before playing something. It takes less than 2 minutes to do this.

It's very slack that this was not done as the last QC check at the factory before going into the box. If they are so slack that they miss something like this then what else are they too slap-happy to do correctly?

 

[Isaac_James]

Lastly, I'm not set on this exact style I just wanted the model with the "satin" neck finish.

Any know if I'm wrong, that perhaps the painted necks of the black Jetglo, etc. are also "satin" ??
Don't care for a sticky painted neck.

Thank you for any info and feedback!

Looks like you've already got a replacement on the way so this may be a moot point, but since it doesn't look like anyone answered this question, the walnut models are the only Ric basses currently in production that have the satin finish. The rest all have a glossy lacquer, and I'm with you on glossy finishes feeling sticky - I got a 4003W, which has the binding around the body and neck (so no fret sprout).

That is a really astonishing level of fret sprout. Someone at the factory really dropped the ball. I hope your new one is a much better example of a good Rickenbacker bass. They're really special.