This popped up in my FB feed. US Luthier calls RIC for 4003S truss rods. Is told no longer made for that model. Looks an older 4003S.
4003S rods
4003S rods
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Rickenbacker getting slated again.....
- Thread starter Gunga Din
- Start date
Top marks to the good folk at RickySounds for getting it sorted. Splendid people to deal with. As for RIC... I've never had to deal with them, but this does seem par for the course. 
Sad, really, given the devotion of their customers.
Sad, really, given the devotion of their customers.
In my experience they are horrible to deal with. Some years back I bought a brand new 4003SW. Beautiful bass but...... the worst fretwork I have ever seen! Extremely sharps ends on both sides of the neck, to the point you could cut your hand. Some may say it was fret sprout due to it sitting in a warehouse, but on this bass it was far beyond that and also was a recent build. So I called Rickenbacker customer service about it and long story short, I never had such a bad experience on the phone. Down right rude and argumentative! I mean the fretwork on my $300 Harley Benton bass was a 1000 times better! Well because it was a beautiful bass I kept it and had to redress all the frets. Never again will I buy anything new from that company!
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I've never dealt with Rickenbacker but my 4003sw is killer with the single truss rod. I did have to set it up and the finish is not what I would expect for what I paid…
The dual truss rods are just 1/4" mild steel rod - you can get it at just about any hardware store. It's not common to need to replace them, but you can do so in about 20 minutes.
I may be wrong, but I don't believe that the new DA rods are field serviceable.
Also, it's important to state that Rickenbacker really got their act together around 2020 in terms of quality control. New instruments are better than they've ever been - I'd put either of mine against Fender or Gibson Custom shop. They're not at Collings, Heritage, or Eastman level, but for the price and uniqueness, still outstanding.
They even bursted the truss rod cavity on my 2020 satin autumnglo.
I may be wrong, but I don't believe that the new DA rods are field serviceable.
Also, it's important to state that Rickenbacker really got their act together around 2020 in terms of quality control. New instruments are better than they've ever been - I'd put either of mine against Fender or Gibson Custom shop. They're not at Collings, Heritage, or Eastman level, but for the price and uniqueness, still outstanding.
They even bursted the truss rod cavity on my 2020 satin autumnglo.
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Given I am in the midst of downsizing and decluttering I really should sell the set of truss rods that I bought in 1983. Or better yet, given them to one of my friends who have the two '73 4001 basses they bought from me.
Told this story a few times over the years: a man bought a 4003 brand new from an authorized dealer, had their receipt, and the dealer confirmed he bought it from them.
The instrument's neck developed a twist and needed service.
Because the owner had not filled out and mailed his warrant card, Rickenbacker would not service the instrument under warranty!
The instrument's neck developed a twist and needed service.
Because the owner had not filled out and mailed his warrant card, Rickenbacker would not service the instrument under warranty!
Top marks to the good folk at RickySounds for getting it sorted. Splendid people to deal with. As for RIC... I've never had to deal with them, but this does seem par for the course.
Can't tell which is sadder, Ric and their obnoxious CS and conga line of QC issues...or the Rickenbacker devotees who pay thru the nose for the priveledge of putting up with all of it.
Not all that surprised to hear this re Ric. G&L has been (at times) just as hard-nosed about warranty repairs. Played that ridiculous game with them before.
Aside rant:
What is it with some of these USA builders and their screwed-up CS and crap QA? It's laughable in this day and age. IME there's no mystery as to how and why G&L landed themselves in the dust bin of guitar history. Sorry fellow G&L fans, no sympathy here for G&L's self-induced demise. The only tragedy is that employees lost their jobs. But in the long run maybe it's best that they find new work elsewhere, and say good riddance to an employer who apparently couldn't give a rat's ass about them, anyway.
(Ah, I feel much better now. Rant over, please carry on.)
I have a newer Ric 4003 and love it, but I have to agree that their warranty program is next to useless.
When you buy your instrument, you get a card along with it that you have to fill out and mail back. I think they give you something like 10 days from the date of purchase (NOT the date of delivery) to get it back to them. So basically you have to fill it out IMMEDIATELY and then mail it to them. I think the card does have prepaid postage, for whatever that's worth.
Then, if something happens and it needs work, you can't just take it to a shop. They don't have Rickenbacker licensed techs, you have to ship it to the factory in California. On your own dime, this time. So unless the work you need done on it will cost more than the cost of sending your bass to the Rickenbacker factory, you're better off just taking it to a reputable local tech. It'll probably be faster work there anyway.
Anyway, my point here is not to discourage anyone who wants a Ric bass from getting one. If you get a well made one, they're pretty special instruments. Just make sure you buy from a dealer with a good return policy. Normally I'd say try the bass out before you buy it, but Ric basses sell fast enough that it's hard to find any on the shelves in brick and mortar shops.
What about the Magnusson-Moss Warranty Act? (Information from a ChatGPT search.)
FTC Regulations on Warranty Cards
The Act is implemented by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in:
16 C.F.R. § 700.7 – "Use of registration cards"
Key language (paraphrased for clarity):
- A warrantor cannot require return of a registration card as a condition of warranty coverage under a full warranty.
- Companies may request registration for marketing or proof-of-purchase purposes — but they must clearly state that failure to return the card does not void warranty rights.
In other words:
If you can prove purchase date another way (receipt, credit card statement, etc.), they generally cannot deny coverage just because you didn't mail the card.
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Seems like kind of a "Karen" rant.
For exactly the reasons that luthier points out, Rickenbacker conceded that their dual truss design was flawed / unreliable (and no doubt economic too), and switched their manufacturing to a single (dual-action) truss rod.
I don't think it's reasonable to continually chastise a company for not building their instruments in a more conventional way ; and then when they do eventually change their design to the accepted standard, to then berate them for not continuing to manufacture, and stock the old style parts - especially years after the fact.
I think it's somewhat reasonable to assume they might, maybe have a finite supply of surplus parts - but like pre-CBS Fender parts in 1966, once they're gone, they're gone.
I wasn't aware of this - maybe I didn't read the fine print closely enough, and it does say that in there?
I've experienced only a few companies that stated that I didn't need to return the card (but I needed to keep my receipt/proof of purchase). RIC wasn't one of them; they specifically stated that I must return the card. I don't know how they get away with it.
I lusted after one for decades. Tried a friend's 4001 and didn't like it at all - very disappointing. When the walnut ones came out - without the glossy neck and with a maple board - I took an expensive punt... and I couldn't be happier. That was 2015 and it's been my everyday, every gig, every jam night player ever since. Never had any problem with it, fortunately. If I remember correctly, the whole warranty card/registration business doesn't apply to the UK anyway!Can't tell which is sadder, Ric and their obnoxious CS and conga line of QC issues...or the Rickenbacker devotees who pay thru the nose for the priveledge of putting up with all of it.
I'm certainly a devotee of the instrument - how it looks, how it sounds and its ergonomics. Fabulous bit of kit. Shame about the attitude of the folks running the show, it seems.
I can't spend that sort of money on a bass nowadays, but if I was flush I'd have another on the rack in a heartbeat.
I snapped the truss rod on a 4005XC a few years ago. I bought it new and mailed in the warranty card. When the rod broke, I emailed them, got a polite response to send it in, I did, they sent me a new bass within two weeks. I did have to pay to ship it to them. They paid to ship the replacement.
The 4003S in the link is from the run from 1995 to 2002-ish , judging by the strap-button. Would it not be prudent for a company to keep replacement parts for a thirty year-old instrument (and possibly beyond) given that these instruments were built in a unique way?
