RIC does not have any stock. When instruments are QC'd and boxed, they ship them right out.
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Not everyone having this finish issue with their 2011 4003 JetGlo bought their bass from MF. Sepp didn't buy his from them and his is doing the exact same thing the two damaged basses I received were doing.
This is most definitely a finish issue that occurred at the factory. It has just taken this long for the defective finish to begin to pull away from the wood starting at the highest stress point... The tailpiece.
One of the owners with this problem on that other Rickenbacker forum was also having a similar problem at the neck joint and a few other places on the back of the neck.
If a company screws up, they need to make it right, and any customers being effected by the problem have every right to demand a fix or some form of restitution.
Blind loyalty to a company is a fools errand. But... That "do no wrong" opinion usually disappears the minute a problem like this happens TO THEM!
From an individual dealer with excellent feedback on EBay. If it's crappy, the dealer has a return period, plus there is Pay Pal protection.
For what it's worth, I work for a large e-tailer and all of our website product reviews have to be approved by us before posting. I know a lot of companies that only post good reviews or use sock puppets to make good reviews. Pretty standard in the business. Take all reviews and ratings with a massive grain of salt.
So the screw that runs into the back of one of my tuners has fallen out,and is now lost.Should I try and get a replacement screw,or just get a replacement tuner?
I'm sure I will survive. It's only a bass forum.
Some of them can be helpful, but some of the snobbery annoys me....
Same thing happened to one of mine, just take one out of another tuner and bring it to a local hardware store, you should be able to find another screw. I actually went a couple months without any screw at all, if the string is under tension the gear will stay in place.
Seriously? Your comments in light of all the facts I have put forward here over the last week are bordering on fanboyism dude! Get a clue!
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that you haven't bothered to read all my posts, or visited that other forum that Sepp pointed everyone too with over a half dozen reports of this problem from all over the place. Seems to be a very common practice here. (Not reading previous comments in a thread before posting redundant info, or opinions based on little or no information from the OP or others on the topic at hand) I suggest you take the time to educate yourself on all the facts surrounding this unusual case before posting any more opinions. Informed opinions beat the hell out of uninformed ones.
A few points of fact I have stated more than half a dozen times in this thread, but will say one more time...
Both of these 4003s were factory sealed. ie: They had not been sold prior to being sold to me.
Who's fault is it anyway?
Just too many people having this problem with basses produced during this period of time and purchased from a variety of sources for this to be a coincidence or limited to a single dealer's inventory. This is RIC's fault ultimately. They built the damn things right? There are car recalls all the time, and many of them are years after production. You gonna blame the car dealer or the customer for those problems too?
EDIT: And the age of the guitar shouldn't have anything to do with anything. If the instrument was made properly and normally, it should last decades in a factory sealed shipping carton within a RIC hardshell case, which is how both these basses were stored. MF told me that the warehouse where they keep their Rickenbacker guitars is climate controlled for both temp and humidity.
The bottom line is that RIC now has all my photos and the serial numbers. They were going to contact MF for any more reports of the problem in the past. I got the distinct impression after my phone conversation with the RIC service rep that they are starting to come to the conclusion that they have a serious problem on their hands, and it involves a significant number of 4003s in JetGlo produced in 2011. I will be surprised if they don't extend my finish warranty out a year from my 4003's delivery date to me. When I asked about that yesterday he said... "I will have to check, but I don't think that will be a problem in this case and under these unusual circumstances".
So.. We shall see what RIC comes up with. The ball is in their court.
Meanwhile MF has been incredibly good at trying to make this right. I can't remember a retailer going through this much effort to get me what I ultimately want and make me happy. Between the last price reduction and all the 2nd and Next Day UPS shipping, they have most likely not made a dime on this deal. More than likely they have lost several hundred dollars at this point, but they are still trying to make me happy! Even Amazon.com who are the kings of great customer service would not have gone this extra mile and actually sent me photos from their warehouse of the third bass guitar for my approval. They would have just said REFUND after the second bass was defective, and that would have been that.
Kind of ironic that these basses were made in the 80th anniversary year of the company.
GG7. Good luck with the next one!
I love my Ric but I hope that I never have to deal with them directly.
Great bass but from what I see-terrible service. That is a shame
I love my Ric but I hope that I never have to deal with them directly.
Great bass but from what I see-terrible service. That is a shame
This is what I like to hear,thanks guys.Bass will have to go another 2 weeks of uni before I can do that though.
They told me that they inspected the second one and that it had been factory sealed prior to that. The second bass did have fresh plastic tape on one end which the first one did not. It only had the brown factory tape on both ends and of course, those incredibly tough staples.
The bass inside looked untouched. You don't have to take the bass out of the case to inspect for this damage, as you have seen from my photos.
Thanks as always JLY!
The RIC rep I spoke with yesterday on the phone was VERY friendly and asked me a lot of questions and seemed sincerely concerned over the problem.
Wasn't the attitude I was expecting at all based on some of the posts I have read on here about the way RIC treats customers with a problem.
We shall see if they follow through when all is said and done.
Latest Tracking Info on 4003 #3
The Bass has arrived in California! Scheduled for delivery later today, so we shall know soon what the final verdict on this saga will be!
Stay tuned!
Whatever dude.
Guess you missed that part about me wanting one with the RED African Rosewood fingerboard? That is why I am still dealing with MF and not buying one from Wildwood where I just bought a 360/12 last week. They won't have a JetGlo for another month anyway, so currently not even an option.
Speaking of new arrivals...
My new 360/12 from Wildwood which I plan to open later today. I hope it plays and sounds as nice as my old 67 did! Its a Rickenbacker Thursday! 
Guess you missed that part about me wanting one with the RED African Rosewood fingerboard? That is why I am still dealing with MF and not buying one from Wildwood where I just bought a 360/12 last week. They won't have a JetGlo for another month anyway, so currently not even an option.
Speaking of new arrivals...
My new 360/12 from Wildwood which I plan to open later today. I hope it plays and sounds as nice as my old 67 did!
Its a Rickenbacker Thursday! 
Best of luck, GG!
Just more evidence that we should really probably deal with Wildwood or Pick of the Ricks if possible.
They will guarantee that your purchase is what you expect it to be with no hassle and set a good price as well.
I got my 4003 from MF in 2010 with no issues, but MF wouldn't know if there even was a bass in the case, as the box hadn't been opened since it was sealed at the factory.
The top dealers inspect their products before shipping them out.
Just more evidence that we should really probably deal with Wildwood or Pick of the Ricks if possible.
They will guarantee that your purchase is what you expect it to be with no hassle and set a good price as well.
I got my 4003 from MF in 2010 with no issues, but MF wouldn't know if there even was a bass in the case, as the box hadn't been opened since it was sealed at the factory.
The top dealers inspect their products before shipping them out.
Thanks man!
Most definitely! However, I've bought a ton of gear from MF recently as I refit my home studio with new gear, and with the exception of this 4003 sale, everything has been fine, factory sealed with no problems.
When I was buying the 360 last week, I talked to Troy about the 4003 situation and the deal with the change in fingerboard wood. It was the info I got from him that led me to pursue the exchanges with these 2011s at MF. Based on his info and that store's RIC experience, I learned that 2011 was the last year I would be likely be able to find one with the fingerboard wood I wanted.
He also told me that they didn't expect a 2013 4003 until the end of April. POTR doesn't have any either, so these stores are not really an option for me since I need the bass ASAP, and then there is the fingerboard issue on top of that.
The third and final 4003 is on the truck for delivery, so we should know in a few hours what I end up with.
Prior to this experience, I never personally had any problems with any of my older Rickenbacker guitars. My 72 was great and had no issues, cosmetically or electronically. Same with my 1967 360/12. Beautiful finish and a great neck.
I kick myself I sold both of those two great guitars, even though I made a huge profit on each when I did sell them. Especially the 67!
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