Rickenbacker neck stuck?

I would just raise the bridge a little bit. Then snug up the truss rod nuts.
If you really really want more relief than that, then get strings with more tension.
Ric necks are really designed to be flat.

 

That's a myth. There is nothing inherently different about a Ric neck than any other neck that has a truss rod, other than the Ric has 2. Ric's are no more able to defy the laws of physics than any other brand.

Loosen the strings, then loosen the truss rods completely. Then turn the truss rod nuts until they just barely begin to snug up. Tune the bass and check the relief. If there still is a backbow, there is nothing the truss rod can do to help you. If, on the other hand, you get too much relief go ahead and do the usual procedure to take out some relief.

If you are in the position of having some backbow with no tension on the rods and the instrument at pitch you will need to look to remedial measures to correct the problem. There are different approaches that can be tried depending on the severity of the problem. For those I would look to employ a qualified tech/luthier.

 

The OEM strings are very low tension. The neck is very strong and holding flat. As long as there’s no back bow, you can get it set up pretty well.
Higher tension strings will definitely help.
Best of luck with it.

 

4001 or 4003?

 

that is odd.... I'd double check it isn't your nut causing the issues if it's just the first few frets

 

Did you buy it new and did you send in the warranty registration card?

 

FWIW, I had a similar experience as mine settled into it's place. I gave it as much relief as possible without rattling the truss rods and threw a set of Chromes on it. Over about a week, it began to move and I just kept tweaking the setup a little at a time. It's been about two weeks since I put the Chromes on and it's stabilized.

This morning, I gave it a full-on setup including filing the nut slots to my liking, bridge alignment and finally intonation. After the way it was delivered to me, I'm surprised how well the instrument plays now. I think what's notable is that yours was "good" for a year. That baffles me. Was there a significant change in climate where it stays? Good luck!