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What's wrong with the Rickenbacker 4003?
- Thread starter trothwell
- Start date
I had the 4003S mapleglo. Had none of those issues but my matte black 4003 (with ric-o-sound) started forming some very very small air bubbles after a time but it's the one I kept and sold the other. The matte black rubs and marks up easily because you're essentially polishing it when playing it. Only downside. I'd recommend jetglo if you don't go with mapleglo but both will have sticky necks. The matte black neck is silky smooth.
Congrats! Not 100% positive but very likely a single, especially if it has a skunk stripe. Looking forward to pics!
Black shows fingerprints like crazy,whether matte or glossy.
I’ve always loved mapleglo, but a 3rd option if you can find one would be a satin finish maple.
No skunk stripe on this guy. I'm digging it, but I'm disappointed that the bridge pickup is not level at all and th E string books and distorts. Going to do some surgery this weekend to correct it.
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I am mulling over whether to sell my 4003; my sentimentality towards it is wearing thin.
My bass is a 2002 model (week 49). I wonder if any Ric experts on here can tell me if 2002 is a particularly 'good' or 'bad' year for these basses?
My bass is a 2002 model (week 49). I wonder if any Ric experts on here can tell me if 2002 is a particularly 'good' or 'bad' year for these basses?
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Hey! I got a 4003 on order from Sweetwater it won't be here until June though. Curious to see if it has the double truss rods or not. I'm no stranger to those as there are two of them in my six string bass.
E string books? Can you elaborate? Where you buy it from? Is it something that can be easily corrected or would it need to go back to Ric to be corrected?
Rats! Borders was a great store. For music, too. And, free concerts; I saw Janis Ian, Al Kooper, Steve Hackett, and others I don't recall at the moment.Border’s, unfortunately. Limited edition until 2011.
As with any bass, it all comes down to personal preference. One player will love them, another will hate them, then all the ones that fall somewhere in between.
For me, I have always loved the look and tone of a Ric, but all I had ever laid hands on were 4003 models. I never liked the way the neck felt. The neck profile was far too 'chunky' for me and I hated it. Playing for any real length of time made the joint at the base of my left thumb ache. So I decided I would just never own one.
Then I had people tell me that the 4001 necks had a much thinner profile. Well, let me tell you, they aren't just laying around here in SW Missouri, so actually trying a 4001 was not really an option. I toyed with the idea of getting a 4003 and having a luthier shave the neck down, but never really gave it much consideration.
I ended up buying a kit bass that was Ric-shaped. I put it all together and it had a lovely neck profile. I put in the Seymour Duncan Ric replacement pickups and wired it with dual outputs and was content...even though that bass weighs a whopping 11lbs.
I found a guy that built custom Ric-shaped basses and ordered one built with a 4001 neck profile. Took forever, but I got it and it looks and sounds and feels incredible. It is basically a 4003 with a thinner neck profile and custom color.
However, while waiting for that bass to arrive (took almost 6 months to the day from the time I custom ordered it), the unthinkable happened: I walked into a pawn shop and found a real 4001.
I ended up getting a really great deal on it and the neck is absolutely amazing in it. While the custom one I had done has a thinner neck profile, that profile is NOT as thin as a real 4001. Close, but not the same. This thing is amazing!
So, all that to say that my only beef with the 4003 is that I hate the neck profile and it makes my hand hurt to play it for more than about 20 minutes. Other than that, I love them.
For me, I have always loved the look and tone of a Ric, but all I had ever laid hands on were 4003 models. I never liked the way the neck felt. The neck profile was far too 'chunky' for me and I hated it. Playing for any real length of time made the joint at the base of my left thumb ache. So I decided I would just never own one.
Then I had people tell me that the 4001 necks had a much thinner profile. Well, let me tell you, they aren't just laying around here in SW Missouri, so actually trying a 4001 was not really an option. I toyed with the idea of getting a 4003 and having a luthier shave the neck down, but never really gave it much consideration.
I ended up buying a kit bass that was Ric-shaped. I put it all together and it had a lovely neck profile. I put in the Seymour Duncan Ric replacement pickups and wired it with dual outputs and was content...even though that bass weighs a whopping 11lbs.
I found a guy that built custom Ric-shaped basses and ordered one built with a 4001 neck profile. Took forever, but I got it and it looks and sounds and feels incredible. It is basically a 4003 with a thinner neck profile and custom color.
However, while waiting for that bass to arrive (took almost 6 months to the day from the time I custom ordered it), the unthinkable happened: I walked into a pawn shop and found a real 4001.
I ended up getting a really great deal on it and the neck is absolutely amazing in it. While the custom one I had done has a thinner neck profile, that profile is NOT as thin as a real 4001. Close, but not the same. This thing is amazing!
So, all that to say that my only beef with the 4003 is that I hate the neck profile and it makes my hand hurt to play it for more than about 20 minutes. Other than that, I love them.
Congrats on finding the 4001, and That blue bass looks amazing.As with any bass, it all comes down to personal preference. One player will love them, another will hate them, then all the ones that fall somewhere in between.
For me, I have always loved the look and tone of a Ric, but all I had ever laid hands on were 4003 models. I never liked the way the neck felt. The neck profile was far too 'chunky' for me and I hated it. Playing for any real length of time made the joint at the base of my left thumb ache. So I decided I would just never own one.
Then I had people tell me that the 4001 necks had a much thinner profile. Well, let me tell you, they aren't just laying around here in SW Missouri, so actually trying a 4001 was not really an option. I toyed with the idea of getting a 4003 and having a luthier shave the neck down, but never really gave it much consideration.
I ended up buying a kit bass that was Ric-shaped. I put it all together and it had a lovely neck profile. I put in the Seymour Duncan Ric replacement pickups and wired it with dual outputs and was content...even though that bass weighs a whopping 11lbs.
View attachment 4986696
I found a guy that built custom Ric-shaped basses and ordered one built with a 4001 neck profile. Took forever, but I got it and it looks and sounds and feels incredible. It is basically a 4003 with a thinner neck profile and custom color.
View attachment 4986700
However, while waiting for that bass to arrive (took almost 6 months to the day from the time I custom ordered it), the unthinkable happened: I walked into a pawn shop and found a real 4001.
I ended up getting a really great deal on it and the neck is absolutely amazing in it. While the custom one I had done has a thinner neck profile, that profile is NOT as thin as a real 4001. Close, but not the same. This thing is amazing!
View attachment 4986707
So, all that to say that my only beef with the 4003 is that I hate the neck profile and it makes my hand hurt to play it for more than about 20 minutes. Other than that, I love them.
11 pounds for the first one would be a bigger deal breaker than a chunky neck, for me.
Yeah, the 11lb bass sits on a stand in my living room next to my chair and pretty much is only played sitting down.
That it has poly on it like the rest of the body so it can be grabby but not a big deal usually once you start playing often it gets smoother anyway unless you sweat a lot.
No epoxy by the way on fretboard. It's no longer lacquered. My matte black however has a satin lacquered fretboard.
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Sorry about the typo guys! When I was trying to say, is that with my bass was delivered, all is well, but the trouble bridge pick up is slanted to a degree that a dramatically makes the E string louder and distort. I've downloaded the trouble pick up schematic, and I am going to have a go at fixing it myself. If I get cold feet, I'll wait and get a professional to do it. I am taking the chrome cover off of the pup anyway, and have to take the whole assembly apart to do it, as I'm sure you all know. otherwise, this thing is a beauty.
Ya know those two big screws, the ones on either side of the pickup? They are for adjusting the height of it. User adjustable to get the balance the way you want/need it it to be.
Ricks look great - in my opinion, they’re probably the best looking basses ever. Just beautiful. They sound great, too. Wonderful, in fact.
Cons, for me - the bridge and tailpiece assembly is just a poor piece of design. And what’s with that double truss rod malarkey? The pickup cover adds to the looks but renders the bass almost unplayable, for me personally. And they seem overpriced to me, in the sense that I can buy a bass I much prefer for a lot less money.
So, it’s a real love/hate relationship for me and Rics.
Disclosure - I owned one for a few years, then sold it for the same price I’d paid for it new. I now own four “lawsuit” Rics - walnut, blue, fireglo, black - mainly for looks alone.
Cons, for me - the bridge and tailpiece assembly is just a poor piece of design. And what’s with that double truss rod malarkey? The pickup cover adds to the looks but renders the bass almost unplayable, for me personally. And they seem overpriced to me, in the sense that I can buy a bass I much prefer for a lot less money.
So, it’s a real love/hate relationship for me and Rics.
Disclosure - I owned one for a few years, then sold it for the same price I’d paid for it new. I now own four “lawsuit” Rics - walnut, blue, fireglo, black - mainly for looks alone.
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Chatting with my Sweetwater rep today i asked if the new 4003 models are dual or single truss rod, and he said dual. He confirmed this since someone else asked him about it just last week the same question. Had to go out to the warehouse to confirm it.
Looks like the stock SW has is still dual, but Ric has started making singles again? Mine is on order for June 2023, so Ric says. Im sure it will be longer based what others have said to me.
Looks like the stock SW has is still dual, but Ric has started making singles again? Mine is on order for June 2023, so Ric says. Im sure it will be longer based what others have said to me.
