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Rickenbacker 4003s
http://leftybassist.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10739
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Author:  Matt R. [ February 1st, 2021, 7:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Rickenbacker 4003s

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.

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Author:  Jeroen [ February 2nd, 2021, 2:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

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 8-)

Author:  Matt R. [ February 2nd, 2021, 5:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

Jeroen wrote:
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 8-)


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.

Author:  paulo [ February 2nd, 2021, 8:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

Matt R. wrote:
Jeroen wrote:
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 8-)


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

Author:  NoXX [ February 2nd, 2021, 10:40 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

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 :D

Author:  Matt R. [ February 2nd, 2021, 10:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

NoXX wrote:
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 :D



Ha, i can do that.

Author:  ch willie [ February 2nd, 2021, 2:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

O so wonderful!

Author:  superheavydeathmetal [ February 2nd, 2021, 2:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

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.

Author:  Matt R. [ February 2nd, 2021, 2:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

superheavydeathmetal wrote:
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.

Author:  Matt R. [ February 2nd, 2021, 2:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

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

Author:  superheavydeathmetal [ February 2nd, 2021, 3:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

Matt R. wrote:
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.

Matt R. wrote:
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.

Author:  Matt R. [ February 2nd, 2021, 3:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

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?

Author:  AzWhoFan [ February 3rd, 2021, 10:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

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.

Author:  AzWhoFan [ February 3rd, 2021, 10:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

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'.

Author:  superheavydeathmetal [ February 3rd, 2021, 10:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

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.

Author:  Matt R. [ February 3rd, 2021, 2:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

AzWhoFan wrote:
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.

Author:  tim [ February 3rd, 2021, 2:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

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...

Author:  Matt R. [ February 3rd, 2021, 2:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

tim wrote:
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.

Author:  dwibass [ February 4th, 2021, 3:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

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!

Author:  Jeroen [ February 4th, 2021, 4:50 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Rickenbacker 4003s

Matt R. wrote:
Side note- this bass has rekindled my love for heavier gauge strings.


33.25" scale may have something to do with that :)

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