NBD Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglo!

[RedVee]

Well after over thirty years of should I buy or should I not I finally took the plunge and purchased a New Rickenbacker 4003.

The Bass itself has a beautiful finish which was my main worry and plays great with no set up needed which I am obviously happy about.

I intend to remove the talent inhibiting bridge pickup cover and install one of the Tube Ampology Cove Bezels to fill in the gaps caused by the removal of the cover.

The Bridge as we all know is not the best design so I will probably change it for a Hipshot, but for the moment I am going to leave the original on and see how it goes.

There was only one thing that was off with this Bass which seems to be quite common with the Bridge pickup being on a slight angle but that is easily fixed as I believe it is only glued onto the plate.

Same as every other 4003 the neck pickup was around 20% lower than the bridge pickup which I rectified by raising the neck pickup to maximum and lowering the bridge pickup to suit. I changed the stock Nickel Roundwounds with Thomastik Infeld Flatwounds and the Bass sounds really good........Well it sounds like a Ric if that floats your boat.

Happy Days!

 

Edited December 16, 2018 by RedVee

[martthebass]

Agree with all your changes but I’d hang fire on the bridge until you’ve got a few miles under the belt. I’d intended to make this change but after a few gigs with no issues with the standard I decided to keep it stock. Be aware that if it’s a new purchase and you remove the bridge you might have some warranty issues - it’s not unknown to have paint separation in this area.

[Cat Burrito]

Welcome to the Ric owners club. There's not a lot of Ric-love on these pages but I love my 4003s ruby red bass. I keep meaning to modify the pickup cover but it just seems such a faff. One day...

[Highfox]

Enjoy the Ric, a true classic looks to die for.

I'm in the camp of tried and failed with one

[RedVee]

5 hours ago, martthebass said:

Agree with all your changes but I’d hang fire on the bridge until you’ve got a few miles under the belt. I’d intended to make this change but after a few gigs with no issues with the standard I decided to keep it stock. Be aware that if it’s a new purchase and you remove the bridge you might have some warranty issues - it’s not unknown to have paint separation in this area.

Yes good points and I agree!......I don't really want to remove it as the intonation and neck are spot on at the moment with just a slight up bow which is my preference.

[RedVee]

42 minutes ago, Highfox said:

Enjoy the Ric, a true classic looks to die for.

I'm in the camp of tried and failed with one

The new ones are apparently better with no lifting of the tail and a more stable neck. But if it was the comfort aspect that put you off, well nothing has changed there unfortunately. I guess it is a Marmite thing with them, but having had mine for a couple of days I quite like it and have got used to the body binding, but I had to take off the bridge pup cover which was just in the way for my fingerstyle.

[Storky]

I just brought a new one as well! 😉(Fire-glow)

[Ricky 4000]

Lovely! 👍

 

[Skybone]

Only took me the best part of 20 years of prevaricating before I bought one. Superb bass, congrats on your purchase and enjoy it.

Though I would consider changing where you play it slightly. Instead of playing near the bridge, start playing by the neck pickup.

[Delberthot]

I bought one of the bridges a few years back for £65 and sold it on with my last Rick - They're £150+ now 😳

I also have one of the tube ampology bezels but will be removing it in the next couple of days if you're still looking for one

After a couple of months of ownership I realised that I don't need the neck pickup so have the pickup selector set to bridge only. I also changed the tuners for a set of ultralites which was terrifying as I had to increase the holes slightly. I have Fender flats on mine and love it.

I also use a Behringer BDI21 with my one. £17 on amazon

At first when I got it I thought I had made a terrible and costly mistake but after the few gigs getting used to the shape, adjusting the strap etc I've found myself using it more than my Musicman. I really love playing it and the sound.

I was never going for the Geddy Lee / Chris Squire chainsaw/grindy/overdriven sound. I just wanted a Rick and it does sound really good

[Cosmo Valdemar]

On 17/12/2018 at 15:48, Highfox said:

Enjoy the Ric, a true classic looks to die for.

I'm in the camp of tried and failed with one

I'm in the camp of tried and failed with six and desperately want another.

[Ricky 4000]

I wonder if anybody has ever actually taken a woodworking plane to a Ric' body, to create a "Fender style" forearm relief? 😲

edit: It would have to be an unbound body of course - otherwise that'd be gross. 

Edited December 19, 2018 by Ricky 4000

[LewisK1975]

17 minutes ago, Ricky 4000 said:

I wonder if anybody has ever actually taken a woodworking plane to a Ric' body, to create a "Fender style" forearm relief? 😲

edit: It would have to be an unbound body of course - otherwise that'd be gross. 

I wonder why Rickenbacker don't do it anyway?

[Ricky 4000]

11 minutes ago, LewisK1975 said:

I wonder why Rickenbacker don't do it anyway?

Because, for a joke - somebody once told John Hall that it was Fender' interlectual property. 😁

 

 

*any spelling errors in this post are deliberate, for comedic effect.

Edited December 19, 2018 by Ricky 4000

[Delberthot]

3 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

I'm in the camp of tried and failed with six and desperately want another.

I was at 3 fakers, 3 4003s and a 4000 until I decided to have one last go. Buying it new was a way of forcing me to make it work as I would lose out if I tried to sell it immediately.

At first I was disappointed and thought that I had made a mistake but a few gigs later and a couple of mods and I absolutely love it. Granted you shouldn't really have to mod a bass that retails for over £2000 but it worked.

[stewblack]

Congratulations to the OP on owning such a stunning instrument. I have a Ric copy which is old and a little temperamental, but then so am I, so I try not to judge.

The only thing I can say about the body shape is that, for me at least, it is perfectly comfortable to play standing and yet perfectly awkward to play while sitting. Unless I just sit awkwardly. 

[Bob Lord]

OP, did you get the treble bezel? If so, how did you like it?

[RedVee]

53 minutes ago, Bob Lord said:

OP, did you get the treble bezel? If so, how did you like it?

Yes I got the Cove Smooth Chrome which has an indentation thumb rest. I also straightened the Bridge pickup. It looks and sounds great, I am glad I finally purchased one.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2018 by RedVee

[BrunoBass]

Congratulations. After thirty plus years of wanting one I finally got one recently. 

[ezbass]

18 minutes ago, BrunoBass said:

Congratulations. After thirty plus years of wanting one I finally got one recently. 

You know the rules, photos or it didn’t happen  

[BrunoBass]

Just now, ezbass said:

You know the rules, photos or it didn’t happen  

Check out my NBD post, just going up now 😁