New 4003 MID is here!

[Grey]

JetGlo is kind of like a modern art exhibit of how fingerprints collect on glossy black surfaces.

[johnallg]

That is not tail lift. This is tail lift:

BridgeLift2.jpg

That's both tragic and fascinating.

Remember, that is a 5-string, and that the strings on it for quite a while when Gary got the bass were high tension. I got a 4003S BT with LaBella flats on it (also high tension) for three years when I acquired it and it had about 1/4" of lift. Gary (owner of that photo bass) posted a procedure to straighten out the tailpiece again and after following his procedure and getting mine flat again, I put the 2 extra holes in it to hold it down.

[doctorwho]

Gary,

Nice! A 5 string Blackstar! What are the production numbers on those?? ...

IIRC, John Hall has said that there were 7 to 9 in the Blackstar run of 200.

... That tail lift looked like the tail piece could have doubled for a bottle opener!! ...

[beatlefan]

....good choice on the JG

I had a MID 4003 and wasn't very fond of the color in person. I'd much rather have an Azure blue (I know, I know...there are 2 on the 'bay right now)

[morrow]

Looks like the jetglo arrived at Colin's , and this one seems to be a keeper . Not sure if he was inspired to do the happy dance though .

I have seen photos of the new bass .

[rickenbrother]

Well hopefully no news is good news!

[colin]

Looks like the jetglo arrived at Colin's , and this one seems to be a keeper . Not sure if he was inspired to do the happy dance though .

I have seen photos of the new bass .

There may have been a little bit of joyful wiggling! I'll get a photo up here later when I finish setting up and put the TRC back on. I'm very happy that I decided to swap the unhappy MID.

Stay tuned!

[incubus2432]

Excellent news......congrats!

[colin]

OK boys and girls, here it is:

The new JG beside the somewhat less new FG

The new JG is here! and I'm extremely pleased. That MID just had bad mojo; the JG feels great! Everything is straight and solid.

It's a 2010, and it's quite a lot like my 2010 FG. It feels a little lighter, but I haven't weighed them yet. The neck feels about the same. At first I had a bit of trouble with clearance with the truss rod nuts (addressed in another thread) but that was easily fixed by chipping away a bit of wood and finish under the nuts.

So, in summary, it's all good! Thanks again so much to everyone on the board who offered advice and support.

I should also put in a plug for Musician's Friend. They were really good about doing the exchange. Their customer service people are really on the ball. Incidentally I noticed they have 4001C64s listed for sale on their site...

[Brother Firefingers]

I'm going to ad my .02 here, for what it's worth:

While not always an option, NOTHING beats going into a physical brick-and-mortar store, taking instruments down off the wall, and playing them. I like Gibson Les Pauls; you'd think one LP would be as good as another. WRONG. You can play 20 of the same brand and model of instrument, and a couple will stand out as being exceptional, while a handfull will be average at best. Same with a USA Strat, or any mass-produced instrument, even of the quality of a Rickenbacker.

Quality control is simply not what it used to be in manufacturing. In the 70's and 80's if you bought USA you almost always got a winner. Not so anymore; a coin toss at best.

[colin]

While not always an option, NOTHING beats going into a physical brick-and-mortar store, taking instruments down off the wall, and playing them.

A very good point. Ricks are hard/impossible to find around these parts, so it was either take a chance or go without. It all worked out well for me in the end.

[Grey]

While not always an option, NOTHING beats going into a physical brick-and-mortar store, taking instruments down off the wall, and playing them.

In my opinion, having a new guitar fresh from the factory beats buying a guitar in a music store that 30 some odd people at the very least have had their grubby hands all over, playing it and mistreating it.

Quality control is simply not what it used to be in manufacturing. In the 70's and 80's if you bought USA you almost always got a winner. Not so anymore; a coin toss at best.

And this is just wrong. New Rickenbackers are better than the Vintage ones. Yeah, i've gone and said it. They're made better, and the quality control is extremely consistent. Guitars made by hand have a certain charm, but they also have things like crooked pickguards that were placed on the body and "eyeballed".

[Ivan3000]

I'm going to ad my .02 here, for what it's worth:

While not always an option, NOTHING beats going into a physical brick-and-mortar store, taking instruments down off the wall, and playing them. I like Gibson Les Pauls; you'd think one LP would be as good as another. WRONG. You can play 20 of the same brand and model of instrument, and a couple will stand out as being exceptional, while a handfull will be average at best. Same with a USA Strat, or any mass-produced instrument, even of the quality of a Rickenbacker.

Quality control is simply not what it used to be in manufacturing. In the 70's and 80's if you bought USA you almost always got a winner. Not so anymore; a coin toss at best.

Fender Basses are EXACTLY like that, IMO. But once you get a good one, its awesome!

[coolhandjjl]

Quality control is simply not what it used to be in manufacturing. In the 70's and 80's if you bought USA you almost always got a winner. Not so anymore; a coin toss at best.

I always felt the opposite, mid/late 70's and well into the 80's seemed like US manufacturing's darkest days.

[rickenbrother]

In my opinion, having a new guitar fresh from the factory beats buying a guitar in a music store that 30 some odd people at the very least have had their grubby hands all over, playing it and mistreating it.

I agree and if you're not happy with what you get at first, exchange it. like Colin did in this case. Ever see the crud on some "new" guitars in music stores? I have no idea what schifoso played a guitar before me in a music store.