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Rickenbacker finish issue (Resolved by RIC)

#41
Love the looks and sound of Rics... the QC and support, not so much.
Maybe it's a policy designed for a rapid degradation of the instrument for a natural relic finish.
 
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#42
Spectrum said:
By putting enough dings and scratches in the bass to quit worrying about it?

I wish I had an answer. To be honest my bass had some weird flaws in it to begin with which is why I think it was on sale. If I had to buy another I'd want to see it in person first or buy through PotR or something like that.
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Haha, fair enough!

Wildwood examined it before it went out, and I scoured every square inch when I first received it and the bubble was no where in sight. I don't think it was anyone's 'fault', I don't I know how anyone could see that coming.
 
#43
here's a my old 1968 4001

Rimg1285.jpg
 
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#45
NObody likes being a pain in the ass, but it usually works. So many companies these days skate on the perception that customers will just give up up if they make it difficult enough by putting you on perpetual hold, or requiring lengthy warranty registration, or all the other shady techniques companies use to discourage customer complaints. If you are still within warranty, jump on it quick so they don't run the clock out on you. You paid good money for this bass, you deserve to get what you paid for. I've seen plenty of flawless Rics, and calling it "mojo" when they drop the ball is just shooting yourself in the foot.
 
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#47
Wolfenstein666 said:
One of the best posts I've seen on TB was along the lines of 'first thing I do when I get a new bass is pull it out, strap it on, walk around the house till I find a doorframe and just jam the headstock right into that sucker. Get the first one out of the way. '


Smart man.
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That's the spirit.

FWIW, I've owned five Ric 4003's and two of them developed this little surprise. Another had tail lift that stabilized but still bugged me and I replaced the bridge with a Hipshot.

After reading how common some of these issues are, I still couldn't fall out of love, all is forgiven, and I am so happy with the way my Rics look, play, and sound.

Right or wrong, for better or worse, until hell freezes over and the company changes the way they do things, that's the sacrifice and compromise that true Ric lovers have to make.

And if it helps, no one has ever come up to me and said, "Wow, I can see that finish flaw from out here in the audience." I get it: You know it's there. But take heart in knowing you may be one of the few who ever notice.
 
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#48
Most recent Ric sighting at GC, they had three identical Jetglo in stock, one absolutely black-glass gleaming perfection, one with the aforementioned flaking finish around the bridge, one with a severely bowed neck and mile-high action, presumably fixable with a serious trussrod adjustment and complete setup. Not much of a representative sample, but it does give pause....
POTR has a good rep for CS, have you tried emailing photos to them? Maybe a two-track approach copied to both Ric and POTR in order.?
 
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#49
Gilmourisgod said:
Most recent Ric sighting at GC, they had three identical Jetglo in stock, one absolutely black-glass gleaming perfection, one with the aforementioned flaking finish around the bridge, one with a severely bowed neck and mile-high action, presumably fixable with a serious trussrod adjustment and complete setup. Not much of a representative sample, but it does give pause....
POTR has a good rep for CS, have you tried emailing photos to them? Maybe a two-track approach copied to both Ric and POTR in order.?
Click to expand...

I'll do a three track and try them, WW and Ric. This all just came to my attention tonight, so I'll be doing my due diligence tomorrow.

Thank you very much for the advice, it's much appreciated.
 
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#50
CBRXJ said:
I'm fighting the urge to look at my 4003 with my glasses on....ok i did it and didn't see see any flaws.
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I did that too. I mean not with glasses but yeah, i looked mine over too. Also looked up my serial. It was made in may of last year and no marks. Again my sympathies OP. I would be really bummed. Let us know how they respond.
 
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#51
I've defended Rickebacker on these pages quite a few times. WHY?

Because they've never let me down! The workmanship on the two I have is exemplary. I've had one of them for nearly 40 years and it sounds feels, plays and looks fantastic.
 
#53
My Ric has 2 flaws straight from the factory. One small and one not so small.

I left the bridge pickup shield on for the first 4 months that I owned it, untill one day I decided enough is enough and took it off. I discovered at that moment, to my dismay, that the plastic mounting piece that the pickup is mounted to is actually cracked and that the pickup sits crookedly. I let out a few explicatives and decided that, since it sounds great, I may as well just suck it up. Afterall, my face is a bit crooked and I'm still lovable.

I also can't stand dealing with shipping stuff back and forth and talking to customer service people.
 
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#55
No hate - I have a 4003S that I really dig, but I did notice that the finish is not very durable - as in, I tapped a screwdriver by accident on the surface of the body while removing the pup cover as most players do - and noticed a tiny ding from that little tap. I don't know why they don't invest a little more time / money in the finishing situation. I've used Marty Bell for a few refins and he uses a fairly thin, yet durable finish - I think it's some sort of poly, but don't know the details. My thought is, if I ever really jack up the finish on my RIC, I'll just send it down to Marty! I also got rid of that lousy stock bridge (IMO) and got the Hipshot replacement, which sits pretty flat on there - can't imagine I'll get any finish issues around the bridge because it doesn't have any sharp edges at all.
 
#60
Bass'd on a true story said:
My Ric has 2 flaws straight from the factory. One small and one not so small.

I left the bridge pickup shield on for the first 4 months that I owned it, untill one day I decided enough is enough and took it off. I discovered at that moment, to my dismay, that the plastic mounting piece that the pickup is mounted to is actually cracked and that the pickup sits crookedly. I let out a few explicatives and decided that, since it sounds great, I may as well just suck it up. Afterall, my face is a bit crooked and I'm still lovable.

I also can't stand dealing with shipping stuff back and forth and talking to customer service people.
Click to expand...

I was told that they are supposed to be crooked.
 
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