NBD - Rickenbacker 4003 - Mapleglo

[Gizmot]

I have a ‘79 4001 that I bought new in mapleglo that I love. My grandsons will have to fight over which one of them will get it since I’ll never sell it. I have other Rics and all of them have been very satisfying. Enjoy!

 

[Jeff Scott]

I have a set of TI Jazz Flats on my 4003W. They've been on about 15 months now and have finally settled in. I have mulitple basses and rotate playing time equally so it takes a little longer to break strings in for me. They have a good sound and may be the best feeling strings I've ever played but due to the lower tension and low set up, they sort of bottom out for me when I need to dig in.


For the price of these strings, I didn't want to give up on them but I'm still not sure they're for me. I should just have to adjust the action a bit and then hopefully the issue resolves.

Enjoy your new bass, it's beautiful. For me I was originally looking at a Fireglo but played a Mapleglo first and just loved it. Then I decided I really wanted the maple board and went with the Walnut. Great bass but admittedly, it doesn't make me feel the same way that Mapleglo did when I played it.

Raise the action a bit; given the TI's low tension they will still feel great and you shouldn't have that "bottoming out". If you are a heavy-handed player, maybe not, though.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Man, the more I play it, the more I love it! I’m always surprised by how many different sounds you can get out of a Ric. Also, any recommendations for flatwounds?

TI Jazz Flats! Not inexpensive but they feel and sound wonderful on Ricks. TIs last for many years (decades for some players) so the price is a bargain in the long run. I have a set on my 4004L and fretless Martin Keith Elfin 5. In the past I have had TI JFs on various other basses (7ender - '03 AV '62 Jazz Bass, and Ricks - '98 4001V63, February '67 4005WB).

Here is the 4005WB being modeled by Gil.

Thank you for the input. I guess I have to at least try Pyramids on this bass.

When I got the 4001V63 in '05 it had Pyramid Flats on it. To me, they felt very stiff so they got replaced shortly after receiving the bass.

 

[JumboJett35]

Raise the action a bit; given the TI's low tension they will still feel great and you shouldn't have that "bottoming out". If you are a heavy-handed player, maybe not, though.

I'm not sure I consider myself heavy handed. I definitely like and am used to LaBella flats which are a bit stiffer. TI Jazz Flats are lower tension and definitely the lightest strings I've played. Bottoming out only becomes an issue when I play metal. This is the only bass I have that issue. Also the only bass I have TI Jazz Flats on.

 

[denton57]

Raising the action with TI’s will do wonders. They’re so flexible that you won’t even notice a difference in playability but will be able to dig in

 

[Root 5]

Hi All!

I have sort of been on a run lately. I had owned two other Rickenbackers in the past and neither of them stayed long. I have been intrigued by the recent changes that Rickenbacker recently made (single truss rod, skunk stripe, new bridge, pickup cover) and wanted to check one out. I checked inventory and it looked like the Guitar Center not to far from me had one in stock. I assumed it would have been out and possibly abused...but I was wrong! It was still downstairs and sealed in the box. We opened it and it was perfect right out of the box (nice job Ric)!!

It plays and sounds fantastic. Bass is light and the neck is pretty thin. Here are some pics.




View attachment 7364889View attachment 7364891View attachment 7364892View attachment 7364893

Real purty!

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

Nice score! I have a 2023 Jetglo 4003S and it’s incredible, it’s become my #1! If I had to keep one, that would be it! I really like the new neck profile, it’s still pretty wide in comparison of older Ricks but way more shallow, so now it doesn’t feel like a rounded off 2x4

 

[One Way]

BigDrew your 4003 looks very similar to mine when I brought it home 2 years ago. As you play it and experiment with pickup, tone control, and volume control settings, you will discover many different tones available to you in just one bass! May it bring you joy for years to come.

 

[Crusher47]

Very nice, Congrats!

 

[Pet Sounds]

TI Jazz Flats! Not inexpensive but they feel and sound wonderful on Ricks. TIs last for many years (decades for some players) so the price is a bargain in the long run. I have a set on my 4004L and fretless Martin Keith Elfin 5. In the past I have had TI JFs on various other basses (7ender - '03 AV '62 Jazz Bass, and Ricks - '98 4001V63, February '67 4005WB).

Here is the 4005WB being modeled by Gil.

View attachment 7365407

When I got the 4001V63 in '05 it had Pyramid Flats on it. To me, they felt very stiff so they got replaced shortly after receiving the bass.

I just put some TIs on my Mapleglo 4003S and love the results! I was a little concerned about comments here regarding "floppiness," but they feel and sound great to me.

 

[woodyng2]

I just put some TIs on my Mapleglo 4003S and love the results! I was a little concerned about comments here regarding "floppiness," but they feel and sound great to me.

That description kept me from trying them for many years. Now they’re my preferred flatwounds.

 

[Relsom]

Nice! Curious, what does it weigh in at? All the maples I've seen over the last year or 2 have been well over 9 pounds.

 

[BigDrew]

Nice! Curious, what does it weigh in at? All the maples I've seen over the last year or 2 have been well over 9 pounds.

9.3 on the bathroom scale.