RIC is aware of what's being said on the forums, but they sell to dealers, not directly to the public. And I'm almost certain that the 4003s/5 was discontinued because dealers were not ordering them.
Paul's exchange with Tommy T. is the same information we have already seen here and on the newsgroup directly from John Hall.
Guys, I'm not putting anyone down for wanting what you want. Just remember that those of us on this forum don't represent the buying public as a whole. If hundreds of people had been out there placing orders with dealers for 4003s/5s and 4003s/8s, they wouldn't have been discontinued. Likewise with the new stuff. By and large dealers are ordering what they know will sell ASAP.
4003s/5 on eBay Alert!
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
The more a manufacturer spends on advertising and scmoozing with the dealers, the more their krap gets put in the stores, the mass buying public does not know what it really wants, it wants what it sees, and who is the biggest dealer going now? GC perhaps? I walk out faster than I walk in lately, they certainly don't have anything I would want, unless it's vintage and they want an arm and a leg for it. They certainly don't have any Rics around Boston, and that is a big market, there are four of them here. These big chains have WAY too much power, they have the power to dictate peoples' tastes, especially younger players who don't really know what has come before these sterile sounding monstrosities that are being sold for way too much money to people who don't know any better (and the plywood Squires). Before the big chains, if you couldn't find a certain bass in one place you could look and find one somewhere else, not anymore. This country is being taken over by the mega corporations and we don't have to look any further than the music business to see these monopolies acting as mouthpieces for the BIG manufacturers. I don't even think the sales people who are in it like it anymore than we do, they are captives also, but they have to eat.
So what does Ric do?, Buy and schmooze their way into the inner circle of big spending, big dollar companies that are dominant now? If they do that they would have to also become really big and sacrifice quality like the other formerly good manufacturers had to do. I see no other way around it with the climate the way it is in this country now. I think John Hall has made the choice he had to make, either sell out and get big, or stay the course. They got real big in the late 70's too, and suffered for it, I don't think he wants to repeat the mistake others made before him.
So what does Ric do?, Buy and schmooze their way into the inner circle of big spending, big dollar companies that are dominant now? If they do that they would have to also become really big and sacrifice quality like the other formerly good manufacturers had to do. I see no other way around it with the climate the way it is in this country now. I think John Hall has made the choice he had to make, either sell out and get big, or stay the course. They got real big in the late 70's too, and suffered for it, I don't think he wants to repeat the mistake others made before him.
