Should I return this Rickenbacker??

[DiabolusInMusic]

If that is too much for you, I don't think you'll ever be happy with a Rick. Literally every single Rick my local L&M brought in had finish issues. This one is one of the better examples if that is the biggest flaw.

Buy a used one and accept the flaws as is if you really want a Rick.

 

[tzohn]

There is a human doing binding, and humans don't really ever do a perfect job.

The certainly can, otherwise they couldn't build tools or machines that do perfect job.

 

[bolophonic]

I came back today to take a 2nd l@@k at the photos. The more I look at it, the less it bothers me. I'd ask for some $ back and call it mine. There is a human doing binding, and humans don't really ever do a perfect job. It just depends how far you want to magnify things. That binding is 'off' but not terribly so. Sweetwater should have given you a 'heads-up', and a $ deal though.
I have 2 RIC 6 string guitars and 1 12 string. I've had them for at least a decade and have had no issues of any kind, with any of them, to date. RIC is not so bad, IMO. Original, in both sound and l@@k.

I’ve spent more than half my career as a skilled laborer in custom wholesale manufacturing. It is obvious every time I open one of these threads that 99.99999% of the people responding have never made a single attempt to build something with their hands in their life.

 

[moshibass]

There is a human doing binding, and humans don't really ever do a perfect job.

Well I have to say, they did a perfect job on the binding for the other side. So it shouldn't be too much to ask of them, but I am certainly leaning toward accepting some money back like you said rather than completely returning it.

 

[dkelley]

Only read the op. Just wanted to say, although I'm sure it's been discussed to death. I'm SHOCKED that Rick uses PAINTED binding. My late 70s japanese les paul (an extremely well made guitar, but worth only $350 CAD when my brother bought it for me used in 1986) has real binding. My 1991 japanese (/usa) RG770 has real binding, not painted. My $400 japanese banjo has real binding. My cheap 20th century german mandolin has real inlaid purfling.

Rick PAINTS IT ON?

EDIT: note that I just read that someone on first page said that rick does not paint it on. Well ok, that's a relief. But it sure does look painted, doesn't it? bizarre.....

EDIT 2: OP, just saying, what a beautiful instrument

 

[moshibass]

Only read the op. Just wanted to say, although I'm sure it's been discussed to death. I'm SHOCKED that Rick uses PAINTED binding. My late 70s japanese les paul (and extremely well made guitar, but worth only $350 when my brother bought it for me used in 1986) has real binding. My 1991 japanese (/usa) RG770 has real binding, not painted. My $400 japanese banjo has real binding. My cheap 20th century german mandolin has real inlaid purfling.

Rick PAINTS IT ON?

Maybe I should edit the original post. It looked painted on because of the screw up, but it is indeed real binding.

 

[dkelley]

Maybe I should edit the original post. It looked painted on because of the screw up, but it is indeed real binding.

if you can, but if you can't edit it... those of us that were a little slow on the uptake eventually read the whole thread

 

[stringthrough]

Return any and all Ricks. They have the right sound for some tunes but they're engineered and built like cr*p.

Don't bother correcting me or changing my mind, this is my strongly held opinion.

 

[moshibass]

if you can, but if you can't edit it... those of us that were a little slow on the uptake eventually read the whole thread

Yeah, too late to edit. I just hate to be the one spreading misinformation. I seriously thought it was painted by the way the brown and white were swirled together, and the extra dab of white on the side by the nut. Also, the beneath the binding on the side of the neck there is a stripe of fretboard still visible. I always expected the binding to go all the way down to the neck wood and completely hide the fretboard on the sides, so that also made me think it was painted. I suppose that's just how they designed it, but it's definitely real binding.

 

[rickwick7600]

I'll just add my experience with buying a new Ric online. This was from Wildwood as so many have suggested here. Mine was a special edition 4003 Montezuma Amberglo purchased in 2018 and it had pretty serious flaws. Cosmetically, the top horn edge as well as part of the bottom edge had a great deal of "orangepeel" paint blemishes to where you can actually see small spots of wood in some places. An even more serious flaw, however, is that the middle of the fretboard had a pretty obvious hump or high point which contributed to a great deal of "back buzz" (fret buzz behind the fretted notes). For those curious, I consulted with the famed Paul W. to help diagnose the problem. I had Joey V. (great dude) try to set it up to eliminate the issue, but it still wasn't really going away. Eventually, with some higher tension strings and my slow/gradual/patient setups, I have managed to make this a far less noticeable problem.
Now, after carrying on about all this, what's my point? Buying online is an enormous risk. Ric does have some serious QC issues, and even highly reputable dealers such as Wildwood will miss stuff from time to time. Mine was a limited edition, so after speaking to the nice folks at Wildwood, there really wasn't much they could do. Therefore, I decided to keep this overall beautiful instrument and learned to cope with these issues. Over 3 years later, I still love this thing.

 

[FunkHead]

I'll just add my experience with buying a new Ric online. This was from Wildwood as so many have suggested here. Mine was a special edition 4003 Montezuma Amberglo purchased in 2018 and it had pretty serious flaws. Cosmetically, the top horn edge as well as part of the bottom edge had a great deal of "orangepeel" paint blemishes to where you can actually see small spots of wood in some places. An even more serious flaw, however, is that the middle of the fretboard had a pretty obvious hump or high point which contributed to a great deal of "back buzz" (fret buzz behind the fretted notes). For those curious, I consulted with the famed Paul W. to help diagnose the problem. I had Joey V. (great dude) try to set it up to eliminate the issue, but it still wasn't really going away. Eventually, with some higher tension strings and my slow/gradual/patient setups, I have managed to make this a far less noticeable problem.
Now, after carrying on about all this, what's my point? Buying online is an enormous risk. Ric does have some serious QC issues, and even highly reputable dealers such as Wildwood will miss stuff from time to time. Mine was a limited edition, so after speaking to the nice folks at Wildwood, there really wasn't much they could do. Therefore, I decided to keep this overall beautiful instrument and learned to cope with these issues. Over 3 years later, I still love this thing.
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Man what a nitpicker. JK, That's pretty bad and should have never left the Shop.

 

[Runlikegregg]

it's funny how people want hand made stuff or decry machine made but then can't take an inconsistency or anomaly.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I’ve built (2) Ric clones by hand, (search for “Hossenfeffer Build” if interested) does that put me in the .01% entitled to gripe? I managed to pull off a better (IMO) binding job my first try, and the people at Ric have been doing it for years in most cases. It’s demanding, fussy detail work, done mostly by highly skilled women who have the patience for it, and it’s done by hand. To err is human, but the worker who botched that one knew it, impossible not to, and passed it along anyway, where it was also missed during final inspection. The notion that the customer should eat something like $150 to ship a bass with such a defect back to CA for a fully justified warranty claim is just crappy business practice, no way to polish that turd. Love the bass, loathe the company.

My first binding job, ever.

My second binding job, ever. If I can do this, Ric can do it better, all day, every day.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

Had a Ric when I was young. I replaced it almost 50 years later. I was so disappointed I did return it.

 

[dkelley]

Yeah, too late to edit. I just hate to be the one spreading misinformation. I seriously thought it was painted by the way the brown and white were swirled together, and the extra dab of white on the side by the nut. Also, the beneath the binding on the side of the neck there is a stripe of fretboard still visible. I always expected the binding to go all the way down to the neck wood and completely hide the fretboard on the sides, so that also made me think it was painted. I suppose that's just how they designed it, but it's definitely real binding.

I totally would have come to the same conclusion that you did from the photos in the OP. No worries

 

[bobyoung53]

So I just purchased a Fireglo Rickenbacker 4003 from Sweetwater. It plays great and functions perfectly. While the finish and craftsmanship overall is fantastic... there is one cosmetic flaw that (especially for a bass in the >$2000 range) I simply can't un-notice.

On either side of the fretboard, there is a white painted binding. Between the nut and the first fret, there is a flaw in the paint. Instead of being a sharp line, it looks rough as if it was either not masked properly or maybe not enough paint was applied.

I realize that it is sort of minor defect and nobody has noticed it until I specifically point it out, but it kind of irks me every time I see it... it looks like the kind of flaw that I'd find on a cheap student bass. Also, it's impossible to fix because it's covered with a clear gloss finish.

I've noticed there are already multiple threads about Rickenbacker's quality control on issues like this. I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle to go through the return process and play the Ric lottery just to possibly end up with an instrument with a worse problem. On top of this, I had to wait a months after pre ordering to even receive this bass, who knows when another would be available. Is this a significant defect? What would you do? View attachment 4333583 View attachment 4333584 View attachment 4333586

It looks to me like either the binding is pulling away a little bit or the glue they use to attach the binding got smeared onto the fretboard a little which is more likely the case. If the binding is pulling away I would return it but if a little glue got smeared on the fretboard I doubt I would return it, but only you can make that decision, your first ding may be worse than that.

 

[electracoyote]

For what it's worth, Sweetwater definitely did unbox it. Prior to shipping the bass they emailed me some very well taken photos of it. No close ups of the blemished area unfortunately...

Like I said, some may unbox it, but how thoroughly they inspect remains suspect. Your bass is a case in point.

 

[tzohn]

Handmade in 1:12 scale

 

[bobyoung53]

Handmade in 1:12 scale



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I couldn't handle those crooked candles though.

 

[p12bassnut]

Inform your sales rep and send pics. Ask for a discount due to the blemish.