Am I somewhere in the dark on this, or is this actually happening? http://www.rickenbacker.com/model.asp?model=4003S
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WHAT??? Rickenbacker 4003S!?
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That looks pretty cool. I prefer inlays to dots but the rounded body will definitely make it more comfortable for a lot of people on the fence.
QUOTE: " It’s no wonder we’ve received a steady demand of requests to bring this back."
Well I just looked around and found 2 basses I need to sell to get one of these 
The thing I didnt like about the walnut model was pearl inlays on the maple board looked weird to me, I think the no binding and black dots suits it better. I want to get one and add a black guard and TRC.
The thing I didnt like about the walnut model was pearl inlays on the maple board looked weird to me, I think the no binding and black dots suits it better. I want to get one and add a black guard and TRC.
Well I know I'll definitely be checking the Ric display at NAMM next week.
Oh my I was just looking at the fireglo ( my last favorite color) and didnt fathom to think about the S in all those other colors. I kinda just want one of each , a black one would be killer looking , or maplego, maybe a MID or ruby....yeah I gotta say this is my first gas attack since the new Fender AV lines. All others basses I have bought since have been due to trading and getting good deals but for the first time in a long time I want a keeper.
Please post to the thread what you see!
How fun would it be to just take the pickguard / pickup / harness off and keep it for originality while dropping on a 4000 guard from Pickguardian with a Vol/Tonestyler/output jack and having a brand-new 4000? Oh man...
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Yawn.
I hope the quality control has improved...but I doubt it. Remember THESE gems from last year?
I hope the quality control has improved...but I doubt it. Remember THESE gems from last year?
Those looked terrible, for sure didnt forget about that. I got 3 4003's in 2011, 1 was terrible and had to return it, 1 was mediocre and I kept it and shouldn't have and then sold it and then the one I still have was excellent, if I buy one online I will make sure there is a great return policy and be prepared to possibly have to return a few.
Converting one to a 4000 is another great idea, I think this is a big step for Rickenbacker compared to the few years they just built essentially 4003's
Converting one to a 4000 is another great idea, I think this is a big step for Rickenbacker compared to the few years they just built essentially 4003's
That is a shame that quality has been lacking. But perhaps things were slipping through due to the product line development and shop reorganization...? I'm pretty surprised that those issues passed so readily.
Yeah, seeing the W's come about was exciting, but it didn't float me after the first hour of looking at it
. Then came the OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive 4001S (Invalid Link Removed)... which makes me think that these 4003S models have been intended for quite a while...
Man, when is the RIC site going to update with a brand-new 4000 as an entry-level budget bass and a 4005 as a tour-de-force? *Haha, please don't hate me for asking for a dead horse flogging, err, 4005*
Yeah, seeing the W's come about was exciting, but it didn't float me after the first hour of looking at it
. Then came the OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive 4001S (Invalid Link Removed)... which makes me think that these 4003S models have been intended for quite a while...Man, when is the RIC site going to update with a brand-new 4000 as an entry-level budget bass and a 4005 as a tour-de-force? *Haha, please don't hate me for asking for a dead horse flogging, err, 4005*
And, don't forget the Guitar Center 4001S failed fiasco with nearly EVERY one of them sporting HORRIBLY crooked off-center pickups, bridges, and pickguards. These inexcusable quality issues were so horrendous that John Hall himself literally quit the RickResource forum when people started questioning how such an expen$ive (and BEAUTIFULLY selected curly maple bodied) instrument could actually be built so haphazardly with no attention to detail. Of course, the customers were blamed, as were the "off angle pictures." He claimed he was being "disrespected," took his ball and went home (to the official Rickenbacker forum, which has been DEAD for seemingly ever due to his actions).
Speaking of being disrespected, it's actually the ever-so-surely decreasing Rick fanbase which has been "disrespected" by offering such ridiculous "quality" for so much money and then complaining that it's the customer's fault for being soooo picky as to expect the pickups to actually line up with the neck. There are only SO many die-hard Rick fans out there (as an owner of 27 of them, I still qualify), but as evidenced by the dearth of activity on ALL the Rick forums, offending all of us who AREN'T fanboys seems to finally be hitting Rick on the bottom line...hence the return of the S model, and the ever increasing amount of special models being sent to Japan that WE can't get here...since we apparently aren't worthy of them according to Mr. Hall. The thing is, however, is that I'm sure the Japanese have the SAME quality concerns with Rickenbacker that we have here but since Mr. Hall doesn't read the Japanese Rick forums he is blissfully unaware and thus happy to give them all the fancy things that we here in the USA have craved for years (i.e., checkerboard binding). As a way of "giving it to those ungrateful disrespecting b*stards," I'm sure Mr. Hall takes utmost comfort in knowing how most of us long-term Rick fans feel about being denied the options we've asked for for DECADES. Such denial is most probably done on purpose...just to p*ss us off. Dangle that carrot.
But, I digress...the pics speak for themselves. Check that alignment...look at that patchwork on the end of the fretboard...look at the gaps visible under the pickguard...all can be yours for almost $4000.
Again...yawn.
Speaking of being disrespected, it's actually the ever-so-surely decreasing Rick fanbase which has been "disrespected" by offering such ridiculous "quality" for so much money and then complaining that it's the customer's fault for being soooo picky as to expect the pickups to actually line up with the neck. There are only SO many die-hard Rick fans out there (as an owner of 27 of them, I still qualify), but as evidenced by the dearth of activity on ALL the Rick forums, offending all of us who AREN'T fanboys seems to finally be hitting Rick on the bottom line...hence the return of the S model, and the ever increasing amount of special models being sent to Japan that WE can't get here...since we apparently aren't worthy of them according to Mr. Hall. The thing is, however, is that I'm sure the Japanese have the SAME quality concerns with Rickenbacker that we have here but since Mr. Hall doesn't read the Japanese Rick forums he is blissfully unaware and thus happy to give them all the fancy things that we here in the USA have craved for years (i.e., checkerboard binding). As a way of "giving it to those ungrateful disrespecting b*stards," I'm sure Mr. Hall takes utmost comfort in knowing how most of us long-term Rick fans feel about being denied the options we've asked for for DECADES. Such denial is most probably done on purpose...just to p*ss us off. Dangle that carrot.
But, I digress...the pics speak for themselves. Check that alignment...look at that patchwork on the end of the fretboard...look at the gaps visible under the pickguard...all can be yours for almost $4000.
Again...yawn.
That I didn't know! I am a luthier and spread my interest in music equipment VERY widely, so I am able to observe the pros / cons of all instruments objectively. Hell, my Orville Thunderbird is an amazing piece of aesthetic beauty, but an absolute glass flower. I appreciate it's strengths, but will not turn a blind eye to it's atrocious engineering. As with my Ric's as well, and Fender's, and Peavey's and...
So in short I am not a fanatical owner, but am always highly interested in new products from a company specializing in stubborn, stagnant design. And in taking an unbiased view, I can clearly see the company is being lead by a fanatic. Sometimes it's OK. Bob Elrick is a great fanatic. Bill Fitzmaurice is my favorite.
John, though... I certainly don't want to buy from him sometimes.Agreed.
Agreed. Have you seen the consistently amazing instruments Fender Japan has been making since... FOREVER?! That is a very interesting point ^^^
Agreed. Man, in the age of the CNC it is NOT hard AT ALL to establish product versatility. It's friggin' wood. Just saying (as a CNC laser/mill tech).
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My favorite part about all that was Hall insisting that if any bridges or pickups were off-center it's because wood is organic and thus the bridges or pickups must have moved after construction due to the wood expanding or contracting. Seriously. This guy wants us to believe that frigging wood is like molasses or something, and stuff is just going to drift around inside it.
W.
T.
F.
