WHAT??? Rickenbacker 4003S!?

[Paul Boyer]

Hey Paul -
Another note on the B Series basses is that the necks were HUGE - big, fat & clubby.
The store I worked at in the early 80's was one of the top Ricky dealers in the country at the time. When the B Series was introduced ('84 or '85,) we sponsored a booth at Beatlefest in L.A. that year. Charlie Malyska (the So. Cal. Rick rep at the time) and I brought down all 5 models (including a Fireglo & Mapleglo bass) to display at the show and take orders (we sold 1 guitar.)

I was down at the offices/showroom several times during those years, and all of the B model basses I saw had the same fat necks.

That could well be, but they may have been 4001V63 models by then. That model started in 1984. The tell tale differences include the "reissue Horseshoe" pickup, ½" spacing on the Toaster-top pickup (to the fingerboard), and the acrylic back-painted long truss-rod cover. The 4001SB and 4003SB are pretty rare (those that can be identified as such). Don't know enough about the guitars, but I think 1984 also saw the changeover from the abortive B models to the newer, more accurate V models.

 

[nixdad]

Hey Paul -
It was this exact series as pictured in the flier below. None of the models were accurate, but hey, they were "associated" with The Beatles, right!?!

This is probably the ad you remember: Note that the bass shown is a lefty 4001SB. The skunk stripe in the headstock, but not in the body, indicates the set-neck construction of the late (mid-1972 on) 4001S.

 

[RockDoc]

These Ricks look great! A question for those of you who've played several of the new 4003s basses -- are the necks consistent from bass to bass in terms of profile, or is there a lot of variation (as was the case on the old 4001 and 4003 basses)? How thin (front to back, not width at the nut) are these (several folks have described them in this thread as thick but not clubby)? Thanks!

 

[guy n. cognito]

These Ricks look great! A question for those of you who've played several of the new 4003s basses -- are the necks consistent from bass to bass in terms of profile, or is there a lot of variation (as was the case on the old 4001 and 4003 basses)? How thin (front to back, not width at the nut) are these (several folks have described them in this thread as thick but not clubby)? Thanks!

There seems to be a lot of "hand shaping" with RIC. There are actually three brand new ones at my local shop that all have slightly different profiles.

 

[stacker]

Are they thinner than the baseball bat ones from around a decade ago?

 

[jmattis]

Hey there- I know it's been a long time since this post, but is this your bass? Do you have another shot of the body, maybe from straight on? I picked up a 4003S a few months ago and am toying with the idea of rounding off the lower bout a bit more where my arm contacts it. It looks like that's exactly what was done to this one.

Hmmm ... This would make a good 5 string bass ... Also I could round the edges like this one here ...

View attachment 2356037