Ric 4003 NBD Letdown

[thiocyclist]

Brand new lefty Rics are currently selling for $1900 at the absolute lowest I've found.

If anyone finds something lower, PM me please... I might be willing to give them another go if the shop knows what their doing and is willing to look it over for me.

Did you try Wildwood? They ask a lot, lot less than that for righties.

 

[thiocyclist]

Mine just arrived. I'm letting it come to temp as it was about 40 degrees outside.

Supposedly it's not that important to wait.

 

[audiomitch]

Supposedly it's not that important to wait.

+1

That's what I've heard too.

 

[soxhats]

Guilty as charged. I'm only human, and their prices are hard to beat

I got the third to the last!

 

[254 stringer]

Wildwood has 4 MG lefties right now.

 

[Pbass4003]

All of the basses that the OP sent back as defective I could have fixed in a very short time in my basement workshop.

It is amazing how well a Rick plays when the nut is lowered.

Why do I think your idea of "fix" would involve sending it back to me with a 5th string? LOL

 

[Ric5]

Why do I think your idea of "fix" would involve sending it back to me with a 5th string? LOL

hahaha ... that is good ...

Actually I was not talking about fixing a bass for you ... I was thinking about the new 2011 Jetglo 4003 I bought. I bought it really cheap, gave it a good setup, fixed the nut, removed the bridge pickup cover, and set the intonation. I hung it on the wall for 6 months and sold it for a nice profit. The next owner get a real player of a bass. All the work I did was not advanced. a moderately skilled bass tech could do the same.

 

[FunkHead]

I've yet to pay over a grand for any of the 5 Rics I've owned. 2 of which I still own. Sounds like you're either not looking in the right places or not waiting for a decent deal.

My offer stands

 

[Rickenbassist]

All of the basses that the OP sent back as defective I could have fixed in a very short time in my basement workshop.

It is amazing how well a Rick plays when the nut is lowered.

Its interesting how the earlier Rics (before 97) have that weird high nut like that. The body shaped changed too around that time.

 

[willsellout]

Supposedly it's not that important to wait.

I waited a couple hours more out of necessity than anything else. Although I did take a peek when I unboxed it, then went right back to cooking dinner.

I just took it out and it's a stunning bass in person and I found a couple little things but nothing major. The finish is nearly flawless if it weren't for the chip of paint underneath the bridge pickup chrome surround. I took off the pickup cover and installed a treble bezel, and that's where I noticed it. The nut is cut perfectly.

The setup from Wildwood was spot on, it plays amazingly well and it sounds just as good as it looks. It arrived from Colorado to Seattle, WA in tune and with a nearly flat neck. I'm always impressed with Ric's ability to do this.

I can't recommend Wildwood enough. This should probably go in the Rick thread and not this one...sorry about that.

 

[soxhats]

I waited a couple hours more out of necessity than anything else. Although I did take a peek when I unboxed it, then went right back to cooking dinner.

I just took it out and it's a stunning bass in person and I found a couple little things but nothing major. The finish is nearly flawless if it weren't for the chip of paint underneath the bridge pickup chrome surround. I took off the pickup cover and installed a treble bezel, and that's where I noticed it. The nut is cut perfectly.

The setup from Wildwood was spot on, it plays amazingly well and it sounds just as good as it looks. It arrived from Colorado to Seattle, WA in tune and with a nearly flat neck. I'm always impressed with Ric's ability to do this.

I can't recommend Wildwood enough. This should probably go in the Rick thread and not this one...sorry about that.

I sent Steve at Wildwood the link to my recent NBD thread, which contained lots of nice comments about them (including from me), and he was super-appreciative.

 

[boristhespider9]

The prices you can find now are about where they should be for a Ric; roughly 1500.00 give or take, depending on who you go through.

Agreed. I paid around that for mine. Still came with a defective bridge. Still was a boat anchor. Still wasn't that playable. Still looked cool as heck. Still sent it back.

 

[willsellout]

Agreed. I paid around that for mine. Still came with a defective bridge. Still was a boat anchor. Still wasn't that playable. Still looked cool as heck. Still sent it back.

I've never seen a Ric over 10 pounds. What do you consider a boat anchor?

 

[superdick2112]

I can't recommend Wildwood enough....

+1000

Good people there - I purchased all 5 of my Rics from them!

 

[thiocyclist]

I've never seen a Ric over 10 pounds. What do you consider a boat anchor?

+1

I think I've run across a couple 4001s that hit or barely exceeded 10 pounds.

 

[Ric5]

Its interesting how the earlier Rics (before 97) have that weird high nut like that. The body shaped changed too around that time.

Actually the highest nut that I have seen was the 2012 4003 that I worked on ...

 

[Rickenbassist]

Actually the highest nut that I have seen was the 2012 4003 that I worked on ...

I meant in comparison to the basses produced before 97. They made neck profile changes, materials changes, the fret wire was larger, the pickups were being overwound around 96, the headstock was reshaped and the body was thinned down, and the nut was made of a completely different material and not color matched to the instrument

 

[gadgetgirl]

Why don't you buy the bass you liked at Sam Ash if they price matched? Ask them to throw in a good padded gig bag and set up your bass with all of your stuff --at no charge- since you'd be paying tax there...

 

[MKA]

All of the basses that the OP sent back as defective I could have fixed in a very short time in my basement workshop.

It is amazing how well a Rick plays when the nut is lowered.

Reading this thread I think it is amazing how a brand new so called "quality" bass needs this much work to play well.

 

[Pbass4003]

Why don't you buy the bass you liked at Sam Ash if they price matched? Ask them to throw in a good padded gig bag and set up your bass with all of your stuff --at no charge- since you'd be paying tax there...

Good idea, just I didn't want JG or FG + my money was still tied up with Zzzounds at the time I went in to Sam Ash last weekend. But I am warming up to Fireglo (no pun intended). So I'm either going to grab the new FG at Sam Ash or the last FG at PotR if I get another lemon from Zounds. I'm hoping third time is a charm though...