4003 Turquoise Questions/New to this forum

nick · Post by **nick** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:38 am

Hello-
I am new to this forum,just wanted to ask a question for my first post here-
I just got a 2002 4003,Turquoise ,which is even more unbelievable looking in real life than any picture I've seen to date- I guess I am just trying to figure out how long Rickenbacker have offered this finish for 4003s, and also if anyone knows how many they make compared to other finishes, and how long they might continue to offer it-Also (sorry) wondering about its availability on other guitars,if it's congruous with its availability on the 4003-I just gotta say it's about the most beautiful guitar I have ever seen,and it plays every bit as well as my 1973 4001- I love it, and I'm just curious about the color-any info would help-
Thanks-
Nick Bielli

P.S.-
Paul Yan, if you are reading this, thank you for the link to this forum, I have been lurking for a couple weeks, just had some account speedbumps to get through before I could post-Thanks-

jnbass · Post by **jnbass** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 9:49 am

welcome Nick!

you, like myself, have been enlightened by Paul "RIC" Yan.

ya might wanna check out Mike Parks page. He has a finish timeline that you could use.

Enjoy!

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 10:07 am

Nick,
Welcome to the Forum! According to the Finish Time Line at Mike Parks' web site (http://www.the-music-connection.com/ricinfo.htm#fin), the current Turquoise finish was first offered in 1991. There was a Turquoise Blue offered from 1954 to 1957 as well.

I agree that TUR is an incredible color. Here's a (badly exposed) picture of my Feb 1997 4003FL:

I also have a 1996 360 TUR, but its color seems a bit more blue and more metallic than that on the 4003FL. There are rumors of 'sparkling turquoise' as a minor variant in the color, but I've seen nothing 'official' about that.

You can check the occurance of TUR on the Finish Analysis page:

http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/mccorp/finish.html

where 1.14% of the registered guitars are Turquoise. I'd call that an atypical finish.

lshaia · Post by **lshaia** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 11:53 am

Welcome, Nick, and congratulations on having the good taste to select Ric's finest color option for your 4003(I have a turquoise 4003 also, a June '02). I love the way the fretboard color complements the body, very classy.

Gary has given you much better information than I could about the popularity of the finish; my unscientific analysis tells me that you don't see many on e-bay and Mike Parks calls it "seldom seen".

It looks great on other Rics as well:
Here is a 330 in "blue green"
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2567993959&category=41439

Here is a 650 in turquoise:
http://www.gbase.com/gearlist/guitar_picture.asp?guitar=510877

My personal favorite, Peter Williams' 360V64/12:
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/attachment.php?s=258cb83075b9b992910a74d39c968cfa&postid=5416682

Just can't get enough.

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 2:06 pm

Welcome Nick, If I hadn't come across the 4003 fireglow I just got, I was going to buy a new turquoise. I think its an extremely cool finish.

bosco64 · Post by **bosco64** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 2:24 pm

Here's another Turquoise 4003, but this one has a toaster!

http://www.classicaxe.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=inve.showItemDetails&itemID=1092

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 2:37 pm

I love the look my 660/12 Turquoise. It's got the gold pickguard and nameplate, which I feel would look great on other models in turquoise (330, 4003, etc).
I'm tempted (but too broke) to start a turquoise only collection!

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 4:06 pm

Welcome aboard Nick. At first when I saw the turquiose Ricks in pictures I didn't like them. When I finally saw one in person at a NAMM show 2 years ago I suddenly changed my opinion about the color. I think it's pretty cool.

Paul Yan is a great guy and he's sort of like the mayor of the forum.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 4:17 pm

Welcome aboard, Nick!

I'm so glad that you're finally a member of the "RIC family" here. Yes, Turquoise is indeed one of the rarer Rickenbacker finishes since the modern version was introduced in '91 and you don't see too many around.

Jared, thanks for the kind words!

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Mon Oct 27, 2003 4:21 pm

Joey,
Man, you're making me flush up, haha!
By the way, just let me know if you need more of the black saddle screws. I have "restocked" some.

nick · Post by **nick** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 9:46 am

Thanks everyone for the speedy replies-I'll check those links ASAP-really looking forward to having new stuff to look at on the web (this forum specifically),I'm about out of surfing ideas.
Any 4003S8 players out there? I'm having a crisis-to keep or to sell....anyone care to enlighten me? I haven't gotten the use out of it that I had expected-I love it,but am unable to fit it in with my bands like I had hoped,though I am set to record with it in two weeks-wanting to hear about common problems,etc...what a dilemma!!!
Thanks again for thefinish-related replies,everyone-
Nick Bielli

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 9:52 am

you should definately sell it to me ... and a at a very good price ... I've only got 5 Ric's and no 8 stringers

nick · Post by **nick** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 10:13 am

Jeff-
Thank you for responding!! Still in a state of flux/crisis over this....everytime I think I'm gonna sell it, I play it and tell myself to "quit thinking like that"....and then I play it in one of my bands, and then I wanna sell it again (is it me or the dirty looks I get from my bandmates?I dunno..)...it's a mapleglo-what a beaut...One of my bands is a little Southern/Stones-y sounding,all mid-tempo stuff,I can really capitalize on the sustain at the speed this band generally plays at. My main band is loud & fast, the 8's not really appropriate-I had actually considered getting a lefty nut & saddles for it and flipping the strings (like every other 8 string in the universe),but whoever it was that I talked to at Rickenbacker about those parts actually talked me out of it..I play with a pick and it's so much easier to have the octave string on top ( I've owned a Dean Rhapsody 8, it was easier to play due to that string configuration,but it overall was pretty much a heap of ****-I traded it for an Epiphone Allen Woody semi-hollow before the Dean completely lost its value)-but I am glad I left the Rick as was,I don't think I'd ever be able to sell it if I had altered it like that-that is, if I ever again access that dark,dark recess of my psyche that will actually sell it...

.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 10:25 am

I do want to get an 8 string someday ... but I am not sure how much I would play it ... but then again I used to be a die hard 4 stringer and who disliked 5 string basses ... but now I am the opposite ... I have no use for 4 string basses ... I love that low b ...

Anyway I was thinking of getting an 8 string bass Ric or Dean or something and stringing it low B or tuning it D G C F ...

They don't make the 4003s8 anymore so if you list it on ebay it will sell ...

nick · Post by **nick** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 10:47 am

The whole time I owned my Dean I was wishing I'd held out for an old Hamer-The positive things about the Dean were the pickups (which were great,and the bass recorded incredibly well) and the super-comfy neck-but overall I thought the bass was a novelty, as I had already gotten my Rick 8 by the time I bought the Dean.It was an impulse buy for sure.