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Jaymi
Pink Bass Man
- Feb 11, 2008
- 6,813
- 490
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Ampeg , Jaydee, Kalium
GG7. This is more than a shame. I would suspect MF has list more than a few customers due to how you have been treated. Unless they gave me a big refund- enough to have the bass refinished-I would return it. I would not give them a 3rd opportunity and if you do...fool me once, fool me twice ...
You mentioned that you really live the look of the Bubinga. I am not a Ric expert my my board is gorgeous. I am having issue posting pics but if you pm me your email address I will send you photos of my Ruby Red.
When I was looking for mine, neither Wildwood nor POTR could give me any type of time frame (and POTR already had a waiting list for that color) So I waited and continued to check their sites daily. Wiildwood did get a JetGlow but I held out and within 3 weeks Wildwoid posted a Ruby Red and I ordered her the same day. So it may not take as long as you think.
Personally, I would just wait and get one from Wildwood or POTR...you may pay a little more however you won't have the drama you have had to go thru with MF,
Good Luck!
You mentioned that you really live the look of the Bubinga. I am not a Ric expert my my board is gorgeous. I am having issue posting pics but if you pm me your email address I will send you photos of my Ruby Red.
When I was looking for mine, neither Wildwood nor POTR could give me any type of time frame (and POTR already had a waiting list for that color) So I waited and continued to check their sites daily. Wiildwood did get a JetGlow but I held out and within 3 weeks Wildwoid posted a Ruby Red and I ordered her the same day. So it may not take as long as you think.
Personally, I would just wait and get one from Wildwood or POTR...you may pay a little more however you won't have the drama you have had to go thru with MF,
Good Luck!
Thanks man! PM with email sent!
I heard back from MF a little while ago and my new contact informed me that they just got done inspecting all of their remaining 4003 JetGlo stock and found NO damage! I really don't think they are BSing me here. They were armed with my photos and knew what to look for.
I am still waiting to confirm if these are also 2011 basses or newer ones. But if these are undamaged 2011 units over there at their warehouse, then this finish issue is happening while the bass is in transit with UPS.
Perhaps with these screwed up JetGlos, even small drops in temp down close to that magic 55 degrees F during transport may be enough to cause these defective ones to start cracking at the bridge really quickly AFTER they leave the MF warehouse?
I don't know.
Won't know more details on the remaining stock's production dates until tomorrow morning when my new contact gets back into the office.
Will keep everyone posted.
Thanks for all the compassion everyone! I appreciate it! As Rick owners and lovers, I know you truly feel for what I am going through with this mess.
Why me?
Believe me! I am not doing this on MF's account. I am trying to get one of the last NEW Bubinga 4003s ever made!
If I didn't personally HATE that way the new brown rosewood boards look on a JetGlo I would just be waiting on Wildwood. As I mentioned a few times... I bought a 360/12 from them last week which will be here tomorrow.
Also... I was going through the photos of the first bass and found that I had a shot of the side of the box with the serial number.
It was:
Ser #1119448
Today's damaged bass: Ser #1119419
These were definitely made on the same day.
Every time I see an update from GG7, I cringe recalling my similar misadventures with Zzounds: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=937743
I just don't trust these big box resellers when it comes to maintaining good RIC merchandise. Or maybe, it's RIC's QC that's in question... as much as I LOVE the FG I bought from PotR, I still had to spend $150 to get the dang frets leveled due to some high ones!!
How's this for irony: I just bought a USED (Level 2 B-Stock) Precision V from MF (got it yesterday). It came in amazing, passible for new condition, with a stamp on the box and a card stating that it was inspected prior to shipment... imagine if GG7's NEW Rick got the same TLC as my USED P bass!! Ridiculous.
On a lighter note, I had my first jam session with my Rick since I had the frets leveled and setup with LaBellas... AH-MAZING. Played through an old house Peavy stack at a rehearsal space in NYC. Cut like a knife!
Anyway, good luck GG7!
I just don't trust these big box resellers when it comes to maintaining good RIC merchandise. Or maybe, it's RIC's QC that's in question... as much as I LOVE the FG I bought from PotR, I still had to spend $150 to get the dang frets leveled due to some high ones!!
How's this for irony: I just bought a USED (Level 2 B-Stock) Precision V from MF (got it yesterday). It came in amazing, passible for new condition, with a stamp on the box and a card stating that it was inspected prior to shipment... imagine if GG7's NEW Rick got the same TLC as my USED P bass!! Ridiculous.
On a lighter note, I had my first jam session with my Rick since I had the frets leveled and setup with LaBellas... AH-MAZING. Played through an old house Peavy stack at a rehearsal space in NYC. Cut like a knife!
Anyway, good luck GG7!
LOL! Hey Srirachaglo!
Cool! Congrats on the fretjob working out so well! Also on the new Fender from MF! MF is swearing up and down that this second bass WAS inspected prior to shipping it! That is what worries me now. This would definitely point to the finish damage occurring during the UPS journey!I just got done reading the first couple pages of your bad Ric thread. I could tell you were having the same feelings as me, but at least your Ric's finish wasn't falling off in your hand if you touched it too hard!
This one today had a very high action as well but nothing like your photos. I would say that the E string was about a half inch off the fretboard, which looked to me like a truss rod adjustment would definitely be required to bring it into line and lower that action down to the 3-4 32nd range. Don't think the bridge saddles could come down low enough to fix what I saw on this bass, but that would not have bothered me.
I had an appointment to take this bass down to the city along with the deluxe J Bass for setups. I have been having some buzzing problems with the J Bass on the "D" string that just started recently that I can't seem to fix on my own. The action on that bass was nearly perfect out of the box, but I live at close to 5000 feet here, so altitude and pressure differences could be slowly changing it. Want to get the frets checked for leveling like you just did etc.
Anyways... If they would sell me this F'ed up bass here for $300.00 I would buy it, and just stick a piece of black duct tape over the cracks and be done with it, but not for close to a grand!
Close to dealer cost is a great deal for a new 4003 to be sure, but this is a "severely" damaged 4003, and the price should reflect that fact.
I would prefer to get another undamaged one with the Bubinga board and maybe a couple hundred in MF store credit for the added hassle of today, which it sounded like they were going to do.
If you add up all the shipping that has gone on so far with this one sale, MF has probably lost a couple hundred bucks at this point on this deal and we are not done yet. All the shipping was 2nd day air, but the timing of the departures and arrivals was always close to the weekend, so it took several days longer than it would have on other days of the week.
Thats what I get for ordering the first one on a Thursday!
I am going to ask them what they would sell me this one for, just to see. If they have done the math on this deal, I might get this for under 5 bills! Worth a shot!
This reminds me. . . a guy posted at rickresource that he bought a 350 Rickenbacker guitar for a grand, as a "level 4 restock," whatever that means, from MF. These normally retail for about $2,400. They are the full-scaled version of John Lennon's iconic Beatle rick. He got an enormous discount. So anyway, we were all curious about what this guitar would look like when it was shipped. I was thinking a snapped headstock or worse.
NGD comes, and the guitar is pristine and flawless. Ya never know.
GG7, the likelyhood of your post over at the RIC forum being "excepted" is very low. They simply don't like folks airing dirty laundry on that forum. I found out the hard way!
There's a reason why it take so long to get an account and get your ideas/thoughts posted.
I really can't tell you how badly I feel for yah, other than to say that having been through a similar experience buying a RIC from an on-line retailer, I know your pain.
Best of luck with what ever happens...
Fishheadjoe
There's a reason why it take so long to get an account and get your ideas/thoughts posted.
I really can't tell you how badly I feel for yah, other than to say that having been through a similar experience buying a RIC from an on-line retailer, I know your pain.
Best of luck with what ever happens...
Fishheadjoe
Uh Oh. I just bought a 2013 Ric 4003 in Fireglo on line yesterday. Now I'm starting to get nervous. I've never owned a US made bass or guitar for that matter that had any kind of finish issue other than a Gibson Les Paul Standard back in the mid 80's. The finish started pealing off at the heel of the neck on it. I'll let everyone know how mine turns out when I receive it.
Jeez!
2011 must have been a bad year for RIC, trying out some finish experiments or something.
No issues with my 2010 and the 2012 basses don't seem to have any issues.
It would be nice if we could get the actual production dates narrowed down from 2011 that were having problems, but the odds of RIC admitting a problem are slim.
I like the company for a lot of things, but it seems owning up to finish defects is not one of them, going back to the binding bleed on earlier Midnite Blue basses.
Can't understand why MF will inspect other instruments and not Ricks.
The last time I remember someone here being promised that they would inspect the bass before shipping a third replacement (during the MID sale) they still got it messed up.
2011 must have been a bad year for RIC, trying out some finish experiments or something.
No issues with my 2010 and the 2012 basses don't seem to have any issues.
It would be nice if we could get the actual production dates narrowed down from 2011 that were having problems, but the odds of RIC admitting a problem are slim.
I like the company for a lot of things, but it seems owning up to finish defects is not one of them, going back to the binding bleed on earlier Midnite Blue basses.
Can't understand why MF will inspect other instruments and not Ricks.
The last time I remember someone here being promised that they would inspect the bass before shipping a third replacement (during the MID sale) they still got it messed up.
Hey Joe!
I was wondering about that myself! They still haven't approved my account for posting either. I used the same user ID as I did here. Could it be that they have been lurking in this thread and know what I am planning to do?
The latest from MF this morning...
They are going to open the remaining JetGlos they have in stock and take photos of each one and email them to me along with their serial numbers. This will allow me to pick the one I like best.
It will also document the condition of the finish at the tailpiece, so if this third bass arrives with the same cracks, we will then know when the damage is occurring.
They are sending this third bass via UPS Red Label next day, so I should have it by the weekend. Only possible hitch is if it takes too long to get the photos taken, sent to me and then for me to make my choice.
Although this has been a very stressful experience, I can't give MF anything but high marks for the way they have handled this so far. I am convinced that this problem sits squarely in Rickenbacker's court and I can't blame MF for this, especially since it is looking very likely that the cracks are developing during the UPS shipping process.
Will keep you guys posted.
Based on the two serial numbers I had and Sepp's bass, the bad batch extended through at least THREE WEEKS worth of production. Thats a lot of 4003s!
Appears to be a JetGlo finish issue and the other finishes were not effected. This would tend to indicate a defective JetGlo finish formulation or a bad spray job, and not related to a bad or uneven tailpiece. It could be that a less than 100% perfect tailpiece cast is all it takes to crack these poorly finished JetGlos?
I don't know if that's it. These have been in storage at MF for a while... maybe something about their storage conditions? I mean, why is it we're only hearing about the problem from an MF source and two years past the production date?
I think I read that MF buys huge amounts of Ric basses at a time and then slowly releases them onto the market, instead of steadily acquiring them. Probably a result of the RIC backlog. But it may also explain the issues some of their basses have with finishes getting all messed up.
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