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NBD - Rickenbacker 4003

#25
New to Rickenbacker basses. I purchased a 4003 made in April of 2021.
NBD - Rickenbacker 4003
I've searched for info on adjusting the mute but can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. It only seems to mute the A string and a bit of the D, and I really have to crank the mute knobs pretty hard to even get that. I thought I'd try to remove the bridge to adjust it, but that's a mystery to me as well. Are the screws for removing the bridge under the saddles?

I probably won't use the mute much (if ever since I have a P with flats) but I'm curious what is wrong with it.
 
#26
Wildwood has earned a reputation as the best place to buy a new Ric, I haven't heard a bad word on them yet. Nice bass, lovely fingerboard on that one too. If you ever get the chance, try the Ric-O-Sound with two amps, that's a lot more viable these days with Class D amps and neodymium speakers, that tone Crushes All Comers. I don't know where the One Trick Pony BS came from, these are highly versatile basses, and nothing else can match that treble clank on tap, or a fat thump with flats.
 
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#27
Gilmourisgod said:
Wildwood has earned a reputation as the best place to buy a new Ric, I haven't heard a bad word on them yet. Nice bass, lovely fingerboard on that one too. If you ever get the chance, try the Ric-O-Sound with two amps, that's a lot more viable these days with Class D amps and neodymium speakers, that tone Crushes All Comers. I don't know where the One Trick Pony BS came from, these are highly versatile basses, and nothing else can match that treble clank on tap, or a fat thump with flats.
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Thanks, it looks pretty sweet to me. I plan to try the ric-o-sound out at some point with an old Line 6 Pedalboard that has two inputs and allows routing them to different amp models. I never cared much for the amp models in that old board but I'll dig it out and give it another go. I used to use those dual inputs when I had a NS/Stick that had a stereo output and routed the top 4 strings separate from the bottom 4.

I have accidentally plugged into the ric-o-sound input with a mono cable a few times. I'm having a difficult time telling the inputs apart when trying to plug in blind. They are difficult to feel. The NS/Stick had a single input and detected if you had a TRS plug automatically.

I also had a Line 6 modeling bass for a while that allowed me to change pedalboard settings from the bass itself. It was a cool idea but I couldn't ever quite get the sounds I was looking for. IIRC I bought that Line 6 (it was used and not too expensive) BECAUSE it advertised that it modeled a Rickenbacker accurately... not even close :)
 
#28
ThingsAbove said:
I've considered a Rickenbacker bass to be a bucket list item... cross one bucket item off the list.

I purchased from Brian at Wildwood Guitars and it was a great experience. It came setup beautifully and was even in tune (albeit a step down for shipping).

I debated between a couple of natural finish 4003s and a Fireglo they had in stock but ultimately decided I've missed having a unpainted, natural wood bass. Plus this one had a more figured fretboard which I'm enjoying.

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I had only played a Ric in a Mars Music Store many years before and it was not a positive experience because the neck felt like the fat end of a Louisville Slugger. Many years later, I've migrated to beefier necks to the point where now the "deep" neck on the 4003 feels just about perfect to me. I also recently purchased a Yamaha BB435 and while I think it is a great instrument (gigged it this weekend) the shallow neck profile isn't as natural for me. I feel like I'm playing a classical guitar and keep my thumb behind the neck "just so". When I use a big'ole fat neck like the 4003 I seem to naturally grab it rather than finesse it and it just works.

View attachment 4278668

I've never played a Ric one outside a store. My musical references for the Ric are 70's prog rockers that had the more trebly tone of the 4001, so my expectations for using it in the type of music I normally play were rather low. I could not have been more wrong. I am blown away by it's sound. To me it is certainly NOT a one trick pony. I'm still exploring all the combinations I can get out of those two pickups but this bass is not staying at the house.

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Nice wood grain on the headstock and a nice cut on the back of the neck...

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I will need to adjust how I hold my right arm due to the binding.

In short. I'm pleasantly surprised; maybe because my expectations were more to own an icon rather high expectations for its actual usefulness to my style of music. Admittedly not a great reason to buy an instrument, but expectations and reality are frequently vastly different.
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I just ordered the Fireglo you mentioned from Wildwood. Thank you for posting that they had one. They dont have it on their website and I emailed Bruce and he gave me a great price out the door. It wont ship until friday and with the long weekend I have to wait a little longer than i would like, but I started looking for one last July so a few more days wont matter.
 
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#29
Bassclef46 said:
I just ordered the Fireglo you mentioned from Wildwood. Thank you for posting that they had one. They dont have it on their website and I emailed Bruce and he gave me a great price out the door. It wont ship until friday and with the long weekend I have to wait a little longer than i would like, but I started looking for one last July so a few more days wont matter.
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Great. I'm glad you were able to snag one. I really debated whether to choose Fireglo or Mapleglo. They both look so good.
 

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