• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Rick 4003 - do you love yours?

#21
The 4003 sound is probably my favorite bass tone/sound. Either that or a P Bass. The feel is a little different if you are used to playing Fenders or Fender style basses. Before I owned a 4003, I assumed that they sounded very clangy/high end grind type of sound, which they can absolutely do, but there's lot more to them than that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: eriky4003 and truand85
#23
I had a Mapleglo 4003. When I bought, the action and neck weren't in great condition. It had buzzing notes and
mile high action. I brought to where I bring my basses and had to have work done on it but it came back to me in amazing condition. The neck pickup always seemed weaker than the bridge pickup so I had a Nordstrom "Nordenbacker" pickup installed. That bass was incredible but then an opportunity presented itself where I could sell the Rickenbacker and buy an Alembic. I never looked back. Maybe down the line I will buy another one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: truand85
#24
truand85 said:
Might be weird but my palms are longer than my fingers so a chunky neck feels good inhand, I just get a better response.
Click to expand...
I've had 11 of them over the years (not all at once!) since '87. I could just be imagining things, or not, but each era I've owned seemed to have a slightly different feeling neck than each other. And none as chunky as the 4004 basses I owned. Honestly, unless it's a 2x4 chunk of wood for a neck, chunkiness doesn't bother me either. I just adapt at the time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jamro217, badinage and truand85
#26
Ric5 said:
I have a love hate relationship with Rickenbacker basses

I love the look and the sound. I have the bridge / tailpiece, I hate mechanical mutes, I hate pickup covers...
Click to expand...
Great point about the mechanical mutes. This is built into the bridge. A cool feature, but it absolutely tears my fingers apart trying to crank the mute up to position. Those knobs are super tight and very diffcult to turn. I have the newer brige on a 2019 version, so I don't have to deal with a lot of the intonation adjustment problems I read people complaing about. Adjustments are just as easy as any other bass now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: truand85
#27
Madvora12 said:
Great point about the mechanical mutes. This is built into the bridge. A cool feature, but it absolutely tears my fingers apart trying to crank the mute up to position. Those knobs are super tight and very diffcult to turn. I have the newer brige on a 2019 version, so I don't have to deal with a lot of the intonation adjustment problems I read people complaing about. Adjustments are just as easy as any other bass now.
Click to expand...

I find the new bridge equally cumbersome in that the obsolete mechanical mute is still there making palm muting almost impossible ...

The new 4003s5 has a really great bridge with the Schaller unit.

?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ebayimg.com%2Fimages%2Fg%2FLHEAAOSwPa9eTF1k%2Fs-l400.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: WillyW
#29
Most of the gripes around 4003 center on the ergonomics, which is definitely an issue to some on the bound models. The 4003s models address most of those gripes, but otherwise sound identical. The push/pull “vintage/modern” tone knob adds some additional tones. I like the extra bling of triangle markers and binding, but the S models do have a clean simplicity. 2020 and up have the V2 bridge, which doesn’t lift, and has better intonation adjustment. The mute device is nearly useless unless you spend a good bit of time fiddling with it. Not something easily adjusted on the fly or on stage. They sound nothing like a Precision to my ears. A very versatile bass that can cop a P tone, but not vice versa. Nothing else really sounds like a Ric, and you either like that tone or you don’t. They had trouble with peeling finish issues for years, and their finish warranty is worthless ( you eat 1 way shipping to CA for ANY warranty repairs), so buy from a reputable dealer like Wildwood who usually go to bat for you with Ric or just accept returns on the occasional lemon. All in all, a nicely made, unique sounding bass, but not for everyone. Play one if even remotely possible, most people either love them or hate them immediately.
 
  • Like
Reactions: foolforthecity, truand85 and ChickWithaRic
#30
40 year Fender guy here (almost exclusively P) that also had never played a Rick, but bought one last year. Took a long while to set up properly (twin truss rods are not fun), swapped the bridge for a Hip Shot, leveled and crowned the factory fret-job and recut the nut. Nice low action, looks super cool and lots of tone options, but I’m just not bonding with it at all… YMMV.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tanner5382 and truand85
#33
Christofferson said:
40 year Fender guy here (almost exclusively P) that also had never played a Rick, but bought one last year. Took a long while to set up properly (twin truss rods are not fun), swapped the bridge for a Hip Shot, leveled and crowned the factory fret-job and recut the nut. Nice low action, looks super cool and lots of tone options, but I’m just not bonding with it at all… YMMV.
Click to expand...

Did you try different strings?
 
#35
I still have my 4001 that I paid a whole $800 for in 2008. That was about the lower middle of the going price back then, and I did struggle at the time to raise the money. It's now a case queen, really. It doesn't even currently live at my house. We moved house in 2016 and we had a few weeks before some work was finished on our new home, so we stayed at my dad's place, and I left a few things behind. That was one of them.

Do I still love it? I don't know, I'm a loose woman and have found many four string suitors that have smoked my bacon and skinned my chicken since then. Sometimes, simultaneously. Did I ever really love it? Yes, I think at first I did, but they are anachronistic and iconoclastic time capsules with their very own extraordinary way of achieving the ordinary. Thing is, I need to keep it, so that I don't have to change my TB name.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ricky Rioli, Les Fret, basmansam and 2 others
#36
Yes. It’s not the string tension or tone so much as ergonomics (square edges with binding). I’ve got no real issues with a chunky neck (my 71 P is much fatter) or virtually no taper. Sitting down and playing seems a bit more comfortable, but standing up with strap just isn’t working for me.
 
#37
jxj said:
I own a 2021 in Jetglo. The ergonomics of the 4003 are so off for me. It's like wearing a tuxedo with a brand new pair of shoes, whereas a jazz bass feels like a pair of sweatpants and some flip flops.
Click to expand...
That's a really good way of putting it. A Jazz is my current go-to, in fact I began with a MIJ Jazz copy aged 12, and they are just "right".

I have always felt like the Ric was trying to get in my way, and make me do things the way IT wanted them to be done. That's not really a criticism, more an observation. I guess you can say, Rics have "personality". Like cats.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Relsom
#40
The typical range of Love it....Hate it common to all Ric threads. For reasons i dont understand, its a really polarizing instrument. A 1978 4001 was literally my first bass, and I remember my first teacher had a mid-70's P bass that, by comparison to my 4001, felt, played, and looked like a cheap POS to my eyes and ears, yet they are now desirable "vintage" instruments. Go figure. There's a bass out there for everyone, a P will never be mine, a Ric always will be, but like I said, more than almost any bass I can think of , Try before Buy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: truand85

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back