As a Ric owner myself i have a new 2015 4003 Maple Glo and i have 2004 Montezuma Brown, now both are excellent basses and sound fantastic the 2004 MB has the older type pickups while the 2015 has the hotter new adjustable pole piece pickups, the Monty to my ears has a richer or warmer sound to it being 12 years old , and the 2015 model has a brighter more lively sound to it, it may just be the character of each individual Bass, as they different piece's of wood, and the MB has Bubinga on the fret board, and the MG has a caribbean rosewood fret board. if it was a matter of only one bass i would keep the MB as it has that lived in warm/rich sound which sounds like a classic Ric tone, as the MG ages i am sure it will mellow and sound richer with time.