*Official* MF MID Rickenbacker Sale thread

[Toastfuzz]

So I think I may be sending mine back to MF for a replacement.

Spent all weekend trying to get the action perfect, and I've gotten to the end of my abilities, I'm taking it to a local shop to get their opinion after work.

I have gotten the neck perfectly straight on both truss rods, once confirming this I started playing with the string height. To get rid of the buzz on the 2nd-3rd frets on the A and D strings, I have to set the action far too high for my liking... looking at the bass held upright and sideways, you can see that the neck is not perfectly parallel with the body, it has relief that comes from an angle right at the neck/body join. I can only attribute this to being left in the wrong conditions for too long (the yellowing on my binding seemed worse than most people's, and this might be another side effect.)

The local shop always has 1 or 2 4003's in stock, so hopefully they know a thing or two. I'm going to lay it out for them, this is a brand new bass and if they can fix the neck without any serious work, I'd rather pay them than deal with a return... but if its beyond their ability, I'm going to try to swap it out with MF for replacement.

Opinions?

 

[Quickie]

So I think I may be sending mine back to MF for a replacement.

Spent all weekend trying to get the action perfect, and I've gotten to the end of my abilities, I'm taking it to a local shop to get their opinion after work.

I have gotten the neck perfectly straight on both truss rods, once confirming this I started playing with the string height. To get rid of the buzz on the 2nd-3rd frets on the A and D strings, I have to set the action far too high for my liking... looking at the bass held upright and sideways, you can see that the neck is not perfectly parallel with the body, it has relief that comes from an angle right at the neck/body join. I can only attribute this to being left in the wrong conditions for too long (the yellowing on my binding seemed worse than most people's, and this might be another side effect.)

The local shop always has 1 or 2 4003's in stock, so hopefully they know a thing or two. I'm going to lay it out for them, this is a brand new bass and if they can fix the neck without any serious work, I'd rather pay them than deal with a return... but if its beyond their ability, I'm going to try to swap it out with MF for replacement.

Opinions?

Sorry to hear that fuzz. Why not send it to Rickenbacker if you need work done? It should be covered.

Mine arrived Fiday, got the Pickguardian options Staurday, installed it this morning, took it to rehearsal this afternoon. After I adjust the action a bit lower and make sure the intonation is just so, this will be a goto instrument. Nice bass!

Not a big fan of that aftermarket Pick guard but it sure is a beautiful bass. I love Rics. Wish I could of gotten in on this sale.

 

[Toastfuzz]

Sorry to hear that fuzz. Why not send it to Rickenbacker if you need work done? It should be covered.

Just a general principle that since its a new bass, I'd rather not have to work on it... just replace it with another new bass that has no problems. I'd be worried about getting it fixed right out of the gate, and seeing problems down the road anyway.

If the local guy can fix it, then all good, I'll be in my joy and playing on it for the rest of the night. If not, I'd rather ship it to MF to get replaced than ship it to Ric to get worked on and maybe fixed.

 

[Quickie]

Before you buy check the warranty ... It begins with the date of manufacture. This means the finsh is already out of waranty.

Warranty Information

And midnight blue is the color they have the most problems with.

Ahhh...this may explain the sale a bit?

Just a general principle that since its a new bass, I'd rather not have to work on it... just replace it with another new bass that has no problems. I'd be worried about getting it fixed right out of the gate, and seeing problems down the road anyway.

If the local guy can fix it, then all good, I'll be in my joy and playing on it for the rest of the night. If not, I'd rather ship it to MF to get replaced than ship it to Ric to get worked on and maybe fixed.

Fair enough Fuzz. I wish you well in getting it taken care of. Years ago (2005) I bought a MapleGlo from AMS and had A very quiet a string on it. I filled down the saddle a bit and it cleared up. That was the year before they came with the newer adjustable pup poles.

 

[StereoPlayer]

Just ordered one from MF! They said they had "about a dozen left" FYI

 

[Quickie]

Just ordered one from MF! They said they had "about a dozen left" FYI

Way to get in under the wire. Congrats.

 

[Toastfuzz]

Just ordered one from MF! They said they had "about a dozen left" FYI

Hey boss, thanks for the heads up on only having a dozen left. I just gave their customer service a call... once again Musicians Friend knocks it out of the park with customer service. I explained the situation with mine, he set up an exchange so one of the MID 4003's are being set aside and I have a postage-paid label on the way to my email. A quick explanation of the problem was all that was needed, I got no grief on the return and they were more than willing to make it right. I figure even if 1 out of 10 that are shipped has a goofy issue, theres a low chance of getting another one... as long as the replacement is good to go, I won't have any complaints... the refreshingly excellent customer service made up for any initial disappointment. And the Ric I have sounds so good, I'm already in love with the tone, just not willing to put up with the high action, especially if it can be easily remedied with a replacement.

 

[kevinmoore73]

Spent all weekend trying to get the action perfect, and I've gotten to the end of my abilities, I'm taking it to a local shop to get their opinion after work.

I have gotten the neck perfectly straight on both truss rods, once confirming this I started playing with the string height. To get rid of the buzz on the 2nd-3rd frets on the A and D strings, I have to set the action far too high for my liking... looking at the bass held upright and sideways, you can see that the neck is not perfectly parallel with the body, it has relief that comes from an angle right at the neck/body join. I can only attribute this to being left in the wrong conditions for too long (the yellowing on my binding seemed worse than most people's, and this might be another side effect.)

You just described my bass and my weekend's experience with it perfectly. I'm sure I could pay someone to sort it out, but for a new $1K+ bass, I feel I shouldn't have to do that. Mine is on its way back to MF now.

 

[Quickie]

MF is going to have a few questionable basses to resell to other customers. Hopefully they will go as "scratch and dent" and not re-boxed as new.

 

[Mr wiggl3s]

What does MID mean?

 

[kevinmoore73]

What does MID mean?

RIC color code for "Midnight Blue"

 

[electracoyote]

So I think I may be sending mine back to MF for a replacement.

Spent all weekend trying to get the action perfect, and I've gotten to the end of my abilities, I'm taking it to a local shop to get their opinion after work.

I have gotten the neck perfectly straight on both truss rods, once confirming this I started playing with the string height. To get rid of the buzz on the 2nd-3rd frets on the A and D strings, I have to set the action far too high for my liking... looking at the bass held upright and sideways, you can see that the neck is not perfectly parallel with the body, it has relief that comes from an angle right at the neck/body join. I can only attribute this to being left in the wrong conditions for too long (the yellowing on my binding seemed worse than most people's, and this might be another side effect.)

The local shop always has 1 or 2 4003's in stock, so hopefully they know a thing or two. I'm going to lay it out for them, this is a brand new bass and if they can fix the neck without any serious work, I'd rather pay them than deal with a return... but if its beyond their ability, I'm going to try to swap it out with MF for replacement.

Opinions?

Have you checked the nut slot depth?

And @ kevinmoore: Price of the bass has little to do with the fact they almost always need to be adjusted to taste. I've spent way more than $1K and still had to tweak a guitar to perfection. It's par for the course in my experience (currently owning over 100 guitars and basses).

 

[OnlyJerry]

Ahhhhhhhhhhh. The waiting is unbearable. Won't have mine until next wednesday at the best. Praying to god that it doesn't have any unfixable issues, since they probably don't have the same policies for international customers as they have for domestic ones.

 

[kevinmoore73]

Price of the bass has little to do with the fact they almost always need to be adjusted to taste. I've spent way more than $1K and still had to tweak a guitar to perfection. It's par for the course in my experience (currently owning over 100 guitars and basses).

I am aware, but I make a distinction between tweaks/adjustments and fret filing. I would expect poor fret work on a an inexpensive bass. I would not expect it on a Ric.

At the end of the day, I had the bass in question in my hands and I did not determine it to be worth the price I paid. The combination of other Rics and other people will result in other outcomes.

 

[Toastfuzz]

Have you checked the nut slot depth?

And @ kevinmoore: Price of the bass has little to do with the fact they almost always need to be adjusted to taste. I've spent way more than $1K and still had to tweak a guitar to perfection. It's par for the course in my experience (currently owning over 100 guitars and basses).

I did, at first thats what I was planning to do, because I thought that it was only my E string that had the high action. So I went about setting it up and raising the action until the A and D strings sounded good, and even then they were way off the fretboard at the 12th.

Using a steel straight edge I can see that the neck is now set perfectly flat... I laid the bass down and assured the body was level, and you could see plainly that the neck comes up at a slight angle from the joint. Theres no way that I know of to adjust that out, I know there are ways to fix that but to my knowledge thats getting yourself into an extensive repair, and being that I can simply ship the thing back to MF for replacement, I'll take the easy route.

 

[Toastfuzz]

I am aware, but I make a distinction between tweaks/adjustments and fret filing. I would expect poor fret work on a an inexpensive bass. I would not expect it on a Ric.

At the end of the day, I had the bass in question in my hands and I did not determine it to be worth the price I paid. The combination of other Rics and other people will result in other outcomes.

So are you shooting for a replacement? Or did you just return it?

 

[BigBigGuy44]

Mine is "On the truck for delivery today". I'll vote in the poll once I get it.

 

[msb]

Uh , Toastfuzz , Rics are neck through basses . Not set neck basses . The body wings are glued to the neck .

 

[MtJam]

Just got mine and opened the box. Very minor cracks in case near the feet; I'm not going to worry about that since those plasto cases always seem to do that eventually. I was concerned about the bass waiting inside though. Held my breath, opened the case, and all was well! Initial reaction--even cooler bass than I expected. I like the feel of the neck, bass balances well and is a comfortable weight, sounds pretty good during a 5-minute run through my SVT. Never thought I would have a Rickenbacker, but I'm glad to be joining the club. Thanks to the guy who alerted me to this sale on the website. I'll check back in later and vote in the poll once I've spent more time with it. Hope everyone else is enjoying their new basses!

 

[Aceonbass]

That slight flexing you're seeing upward of the neck where it joins the body is common, and not usually a problem. I believe it's caused by the large route there for the neck pickup. I've seen no evidence that the neck willever move any more over time.