New Rickenbacker quality?

[TakePride]

Soooo this may just be my OCD kicking in but I thought I would share.

I was browsing Sweetwater’s current stock of Rickenbacker basses today. This caught my eye.

It appears that on some of the instruments the center walnut strip on the 3 piece necks is not centered. It just does not look right to me. I am sure they are still fine basses, but I would be hesitant to purchase one like this.

You can view the instrument pictured here:
Rickenbacker 4003 Stereo Bass Guitar - Fireglo

This prompted me to start looking through other photos. It seems like some are symmetrical and others are not.

Not trying to stir anything up, just an observation.

Thanks

 

[Jeff Scott]

Looks fine to me.

 

[rockinrayduke]

Looks good.

 

[krall]

Looks centered to me!

 

[steve_ss]

The stripe looks fine to me too. I want to know the 'special price' for this demo bass. I'd be more worried about the scratches and missing finish. Also, a bunch of 2024 models are coming out from the Ric factory now (see reverb for several dealers). Have they made any changes to the neck profile? 2023 necks were reported to be a little thinner and some really liked it a lot.

 

[One Way]

Looks fine to me. The quality of my 2023 4003 is excellent.

 

[callofcthulhu]

I mean....I see it....and if you're gonna be paying ~$2k for an instrument you should absolutely make sure you're happy with it in every conceivable way.

But I would absolutely file this in the same category as "there's a knot in the figuring that looks kind of like a butthole" or "the burst transitions too quickly from orange to gold." Like if it bothers you, it bothers you. But that's a "you" problem, not a "quality" problem.

 

[godofthunder59]

Look at the top of the headstock, the center laminated strip is centered. It only looks off center at the point where the headstock is transitioning to the neck. Nothing to see here, all is well.

 

[Spidey2112]

The shape of the volute affects the light reflecting off the finish, making it seem off-center.

 

[iiipopes]

Look at the top of the headstock, the center laminated strip is centered. It only looks off center at the point where the headstock is transitioning to the neck. Nothing to see here, all is well.

I have a 4002 (yes, "2," not "1" or "3"). Because of the different contouring of each side of the headstock, it is an optical illusion as to being "off center." Look at the bass neck as a whole and think about it: that stripe cannot be crooked or offset, or they could not put the bass together. RIC now uses CNC machines to match and align the neck laminates perfectly.

 

[Silky Johnson]

I just got a late 2023 4003sw, the quality is very good, I guess only room for improvement is there's a little bit of glue visible at the neck joint, but not too bad

 

[BobKos]

I agree that the stripe is not centered. I also agree that I would be reluctant to buy that particular bass. I wouldn't say that it is a defect per say, but I spend my money on stuff I want and I wouldn't want that 'feature' on my bass. If this thread read like "I found this Ric on Reverb should I buy it?" there would be 20 people pointing out the asymetric stripe and insisting the demerit should be worth a $500 discount.

 

[Tracii]

The strings are not centered on the fretboard, that's why. The string divider between the A and D on the bridge is right above the stripe, so it's dead center. It's just the misalignment of the strings - which is a far bigger problem in my book, to be honest...

 

[StereoPlayer]

Look at the bridge area. The strip is in the center of the bridge.
The whole thing, overall, is acceptable by me.

 

[toothguy]

I'm not seeing either.

 

[Spidey2112]

I'm not seeing either.

It's possible, you're still asleep.

 

[foolforthecity]

“…meet the new Ric, same as the old Ric…”.

Nothing to see here, folks, move along

 

[StereoPlayer]

There’s nothing wrong with that bass.
If it’s centered at the bridge…the all is ok. It’s a neck thru bass.

 

[IronLung1986]

That is definitely not right. I'm surprised many here don't see it or seem to mind. If you look at the full pics on Sweetwater and look at the one that shows the neck heel...I would not buy that bass. Something went wrong there and it shouldn't have passed QC.

 

[Paul Boyer]

The new bridges have roller saddles and the A and D strings are over toward the G string side a bit, but overall it looks good. Also, if the camera is not centered on the bass, the aspect of the strings to the body is going to look off to one side or another. Overall, you won't notice any of this when you're playing it, and neither will your audience.