Rickenbacker 4003s

[Matt R.]

New addition. I'm really happy with this one. The neck is true, and the redesigned bridge actually can be properly intonated. Of course it sounds amazing. That was never an issue (for me anyway) with RIC.

[Jeroen]

Congrats, that looks killer! I owned a regular 4003 but could never get along with the wonky ergonomics of the bound body edges and the rather square feeling neck. I bet I would feel much more at home on a new 4003s!
I love how lefties are still getting the deluxe hardcase instead of the regular one

[Matt R.]

Congrats, that looks killer! I owned a regular 4003 but could never get along with the wonky ergonomics of the bound body edges and the rather square feeling neck. I bet I would feel much more at home on a new 4003s!
I love how lefties are still getting the deluxe hardcase instead of the regular one

The ergonomics are definitely better on this model, more like a Fender or what have you.
But the case- it must be called “deluxe” because of all the extra weight. It’s ridiculously heavy. Also, the case is actually too long for the bass. It slides around and you’d actually have to pack something at the end of the body or the headstock to make it a snug fit. That’s bad news, especially for an instrument with an angled headstock. The case looks cool and is super sturdy, but it’s still garbage.

[paulo]

Congrats, that looks killer! I owned a regular 4003 but could never get along with the wonky ergonomics of the bound body edges and the rather square feeling neck. I bet I would feel much more at home on a new 4003s!
I love how lefties are still getting the deluxe hardcase instead of the regular one

The ergonomics are definitely better on this model, more like a Fender or what have you.
But the case- it must be called “deluxe” because of all the extra weight. It’s ridiculously heavy. Also, the case is actually too long for the bass. It slides around and you’d actually have to pack something at the end of the body or the headstock to make it a snug fit. That’s bad news, especially for an instrument with an angled headstock. The case looks cool and is super sturdy, but it’s still garbage.

Congrats!
That looks awesome!
Here's something that may help it fit snug into the case:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/HQ-ISSUE-Rifle ... 1198.m1985

[NoXX]

Wow- looks great Matt! Another killer addition to your stable. Is it time for a 2021 bass family portrait of your collection? I’ve lost track of the awesomeness

[Matt R.]

Wow- looks great Matt! Another killer addition to your stable. Is it time for a 2021 bass family portrait of your collection? I’ve lost track of the awesomeness

Ha, i can do that.

[ch willie]

O so wonderful!

[superheavydeathmetal]

That's awesome, man! Congratulations! I love Ricks! I keep going back and forth about whether I prefer the 4003 or the 4003S. Either way, I definitely prefer stereo.

If you don't like the backward-wired pots and don't feel like fixing it yourself, Aceonbass on TalkBass makes wiring harnesses for Ricks. He uses optimized pot and capacitor values as well, and can also include the push/pull "vintage/modern" switch like the new Ricks have.

For those who may not know, that switch turns on/off a capacitor (C3) that is in series with the bridge pickup that the early Ricks had.

[Matt R.]

That's awesome, man! Congratulations! I love Ricks! I keep going back and forth about whether I prefer the 4003 or the 4003S. Either way, I definitely prefer stereo.

If you don't like the backward-wired pots and don't feel like fixing it yourself, Aceonbass on TalkBass makes wiring harnesses for Ricks. He uses optimized pot and capacitor values as well, and can also include the push/pull "vintage/modern" switch like the new Ricks have.

For those who may not know, that switch turns on/off a capacitor (C3) that is in series with the bridge pickup that the early Ricks had.

Strangely enough, they didn’t wire mine backwards. It has lefty pots and they have taper.

[Matt R.]

I couldn’t resist emailing the guy for a quote though. Ha

[superheavydeathmetal]

Strangely enough, they didn’t wire mine backwards. It has lefty pots and they have taper.

That's awesome! Good on RIC! There are a lot of medium/high-end manufacturers who don't do that.

I couldn’t resist emailing the guy for a quote though. Ha

Nice! I have one of his harnesses in one of my Ricks, and I am very happy with it.

[Matt R.]

He was saying that some basses don’t have quite a deep enough control cavity and may have to be hit with a dremel. Did you have that issue with yours? And what model is your RIC?

[AzWhoFan]

I wonder if the silver cases got a re-design? My 20 year old 4003V63 fits as snug as a bug in a rug in its' silver case.

[AzWhoFan]

And lefty pots/harness is quite a surprise! That doesn't fit with John Hall's philosophy of 'we've been building them this way for 40 years'.

[superheavydeathmetal]

I put an Aceonbass harness in a 4001V63, and it went right in with no issues! This was several years ago. He may use different pots, now.

[Matt R.]

And lefty pots/harness is quite a surprise! That doesn't fit with John Hall's philosophy of 'we've been building them this way for 40 years'.

There’s definitely *some* taper, so I assume they are lefty (and it’s counterclockwise to turn up). There’s a point near the end that they will just sort of switch off so they aren’t perfect.
But I’m gonna do one of these new harnesses anyway. The selector switch is a tad weird.
Wouldn’t be a RIC if you didn’t have to do a bunch of shit to it to make it perfect.

[tim]

Man, that's awesome. My Ric curiosity is coming back. Not GASy enough for the price, but it kinda makes me wish I'd hung on to the one I had a little longer. Eh, maybe someday...

[Matt R.]

Man, that's awesome. My Ric curiosity is coming back. Not GASy enough for the price, but it kinda makes me wish I'd hung on to the one I had a little longer. Eh, maybe someday...

Act on that curiosity ASAP. But just make sure you buy from a dealer and it has warranty and a return policy.

Side note- this bass has rekindled my love for heavier gauge strings.

[dwibass]

Who doesn't love Ric's? Seems like a lot of lefties have them in their stables, the new bridge looks great. Congrats Matt, gorgeous instrument!

[Jeroen]

Side note- this bass has rekindled my love for heavier gauge strings.

33.25" scale may have something to do with that