Ric 4003 NBD Redux

[RJHall]

Okay, so it's not technically new bass day as I'm a month late posting this, but this 2012 Rickie here deserves to be seen by all. I helped open a brand new business last month and I've been too consumed to create this thread until now. Admittedly, there was quite a bit of drama leading up to this acquisition, but thanks to the communal knowledge of the TalkBass community, I found Chris at Pick of the Ricks who hand-picked this fine Rick (say that 10 times fast) for me. There were only 2 4003s left at PotR (both Fireglo) when I found out about that fine establishment, so I had Chris get me a deal on the one with the brightest fingerboard (closest to the old 4001s/4003s) and the best neck for setting up with flats. He delivered, and set up with my customizations: TI flats, Hipshot bridge, and treble bezel. She plays like a dream. I absolutely LOVE the creamy and plunky tones I can get out of this bass. If you read my drama thread you'll see FG wasn't my first choice, but I'm really glad I ended up with it (if you can't tell from my handle). It just roars through my 15" cab. I don't even notice too much single-coil hum! Before taking these pics, I was experimenting with a piece of dish sponge for a mute... a-mazing. Got the Macca thing nailed down. Love the feel, love the balance. Heck, I even love the neck thickness, which I was worried about after reading forum posts about new 4003s... but you can't believe everything you read!

Thanks again for everyone who supported this purchase!!

 

[RJHall]

Some more glam shots showing the detail in this amazing finish...

 

[willsellout]

I'm glad you found a Ric you connect with (not something always easy to do). I love my 2012 Ruby Red. I just strung it up BEAD and I barely had to do anything to it. Very stable, very playable. I hope this one serves you well!

 

[ggoat!!!]

Having over 20 Ricks, most purchased brand new since the 80's, I can absolutely unequivocally state that Rick's current basses are produced from the factory with THE BEST QUALITY CONTROL AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL they have EVER had.

My Ricks are mostly 90's 4003's, quite a few fireglo's (one flame/curly maple), a mapleglo, a few jetglo's, a '78 white/black binding 4001 with a Kahler, a fretless '02 fireglo, a 5 string 4003, a lefty blue/black bound 4003, a couple NOS seagreen's, a couple NOS 4003 blueboy's, and a couple 4003 blueburst's along with an '86 lefty mapleglo V63, an amazing '99 figured maple V63, and a Univox Rick copy for good measure...oh and an '09 dark fireglo 4001C64, and also 2 2011 jetglo's and a fireglo from the latest MF MID $1100 sale...and the 1st of 5 "Special Green" 2011 seagreen 4001C64's from PickoftheRicks.

The OLDER ones ALL have some finish and quality-control issues, some since new, some have gotten worse over time (even just sitting NOS in their cases). Some attention-to-detail issues are bad, some nit-picky. But ALL of the older ones have SOMETHING...

However...

I was literally STUNNED when I purchased a new jetglo a little over a year ago. I mean STUNNED at the quality level. I immediately bought two more...another jetglo and a fireglo. The fireglo was so amazing it should be placed in a museum...and it is a run-of-the-mill 4003. Nothing "special" about it...it's just the level of quality in the paintwork, fretboard wood grain and thick finish, and attention to detail that makes even someone like me who is accustomed to rare Ricks go "WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

My point is...of ALL my Ricks, the latest ones that I purchased from Musician's Friend during that MID blowout sale have been without question the absolute BEST of the bunch regarding attention to detail and finish quality. The nutwork is superb; attention to detail in the nooks and crannies is perfect (the exception being the end of the fretboard at the neck heel), the binding and tape-off is absolutely precision perfection, the inlays and finish on the fretboard impeccable, the neck to body joints finished properly with no lift or lack of finish. The only problem I have seen is finish lifting and bubbling around the bridges that I am told is being addressed...

Quality-wise, the new Ricks are definitely the BEST they have EVER produced.

 

[FunkHead]

Having over 20 Ricks, most purchased brand new since the 80's, I can absolutely unequivocally state that Rick's current basses are produced from the factory with THE BEST QUALITY CONTROL AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL they have EVER had.

My Ricks are mostly 90's 4003's, quite a few fireglo's (one flame/curly maple), a mapleglo, a few jetglo's, a '78 white/black binding 4001 with a Kahler, a fretless '02 fireglo, a 5 string 4003, a lefty blue/black bound 4003, a couple NOS seagreen's, a couple NOS 4003 blueboy's, and a couple 4003 blueburst's along with an '86 lefty mapleglo V63, an amazing '99 figured maple V63, and a Univox Rick copy for good measure...oh and an '09 dark fireglo 4001C64, and also 2 2011 jetglo's and a fireglo from the latest MF MID $1100 sale...and the 1st of 5 "Special Green" 2011 seagreen 4001C64's from PickoftheRicks.

The OLDER ones ALL have some finish and quality-control issues, some since new, some have gotten worse over time (even just sitting NOS in their cases). Some attention-to-detail issues are bad, some nit-picky. But ALL of the older ones have SOMETHING...

However...

I was literally STUNNED when I purchased a new jetglo a little over a year ago. I mean STUNNED at the quality level. I immediately bought two more...another jetglo and a fireglo. The fireglo was so amazing it should be placed in a museum...and it is a run-of-the-mill 4003. Nothing "special" about it...it's just the level of quality in the paintwork, fretboard wood grain and thick finish, and attention to detail that makes even someone like me who is accustomed to rare Ricks go "WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

My point is...of ALL my Ricks, the latest ones that I purchased from Musician's Friend during that MID blowout sale have been without question the absolute BEST of the bunch regarding attention to detail and finish quality. The nutwork is superb; attention to detail in the nooks and crannies is perfect (the exception being the end of the fretboard at the neck heel), the binding and tape-off is absolutely precision perfection, the inlays and finish on the fretboard impeccable, the neck to body joints finished properly with no lift or lack of finish. The only problem I have seen is finish lifting and bubbling around the bridges that I am told is being addressed...

Quality-wise, the new Ricks are definitely the BEST they have EVER produced.

Awesome to hear this. My 2012 MapleGlo is Near perfect also. I almost sold it to fund a JetGlo purchase but I decided the MG was more my favourite. Wish I could afford to have both.

 

[ggoat!!!]

Awesome to hear this. My 2012 MapleGlo is Near perfect also. I almost sold it to fund a JetGlo purchase but I decided the MG was more my favourite. Wish I could afford to have both.

Stick with the mapleglo. My experience and research has indicated (by no means absolute however) that the mapleglo and fireglo finishes are much LESS prone to the finish lifting issue at the bridge. I read of several bridge finish lifting issues with the midnight blue basses, and have seen first hand a few instances on jetglo basses. I have never seen it on recent mapleglo or fireglo basses, including my own. I don't know why, but that has been my experience.

 

[FunkHead]

Congrats on a beautiful Bass!! The wait paid off.

Okay, so it's not technically new bass day as I'm a month late posting this, but this 2012 Rickie here deserves to be seen by all. I helped open a brand new business last month and I've been too consumed to create this thread until now. Admittedly, there was quite a bit of drama leading up to this acquisition, but thanks to the communal knowledge of the TalkBass community, I found Chris at Pick of the Ricks who hand-picked this fine Rick (say that 10 times fast) for me. There were only 2 4003s left at PotR (both Fireglo) when I found out about that fine establishment, so I had Chris get me a deal on the one with the brightest fingerboard (closest to the old 4001s/4003s) and the best neck for setting up with flats. He delivered, and set up with my customizations: TI flats, Hipshot bridge, and treble bezel. She plays like a dream. I absolutely LOVE the creamy and plunky tones I can get out of this bass. If you read my drama thread you'll see FG wasn't my first choice, but I'm really glad I ended up with it (if you can't tell from my handle). It just roars through my 15" cab. I don't even notice too much single-coil hum! Before taking these pics, I was experimenting with a piece of dish sponge for a mute... a-mazing. Got the Macca thing nailed down. Love the feel, love the balance. Heck, I even love the neck thickness, which I was worried about after reading forum posts about new 4003s... but you can't believe everything you read!

Thanks again for everyone who supported this purchase!!

 

[JackTheRipper]

Having over 20 Ricks, most purchased brand new since the 80's, I can absolutely unequivocally state that Rick's current basses are produced from the factory with THE BEST QUALITY CONTROL AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL they have EVER had.

That may very well be, but not everything that's coming out of the RIC factory is good. I have a 1977 4001 I bought used in 1979 and have 3 other 4003's that I bought new: a 2010 MidBlue, 2011 JetGlo and 2012 Ruby.

My 2010 MidBlue and 2011 JetGlo are perfect. My 2012 Ruby came from the factory with an issue with the binding. I've sent it back to the RIC factory for warranty repair twice and it still is not quite right. After the repairs its now just a tweak to the binding that most people would probably never notice. But the original issue was pretty obvious:

I asked to send it back again for warranty repair, but was refused. RIC said that the bass went through 3 levels of inspection and was found to be within the factory standards for fit and finish. Disappointing on many levels.

Now, I'm not just bashing RIC or all RICs. I *love* these basses, but my experience with the 2012 Ruby sucks. It does play and sound great though.

My point is...of ALL my Ricks, the latest ones that I purchased from Musician's Friend during that MID blowout sale have been without question the absolute BEST of the bunch regarding attention to detail and finish quality. The nutwork is superb; attention to detail in the nooks and crannies is perfect (the exception being the end of the fretboard at the neck heel), the binding and tape-off is absolutely precision perfection, the inlays and finish on the fretboard impeccable, the neck to body joints finished properly with no lift or lack of finish. The only problem I have seen is finish lifting and bubbling around the bridges that I am told is being addressed...

Quality-wise, the new Ricks are definitely the BEST they have EVER produced.

Glad you got some good ones.

--jack

 

[Gardan]

I bought my Ric at a store in this metro. They had 5 to choose from ( 4003 ) 2 fire , 1 maple , 1 ruby , 1 jet. I wanted the maple but there was a finger print of wood stain under the finishing, the jet had a dimple on the front. One fire had a off orange ish color. And the other fire ( flawless ) came home with me. $1800 . I didn't make it to the ruby

 

[soxhats]

Congrats! Loving my 2012 ruby.

 

[EagleMoon]

My 2011 Mapleglo is the nicest Ric I've ever played. I've owned a few, and this one is definitely the nicest. Best neck, lightest weight and everything seems to be perfect on it.