Came Back from the Dark Side

[coolhandjjl]

My first Ric is a 2009 4003 MG. I was looking at ways to make the bass 'mine' so I swapped in a black TRC (from a Laredo mod) and a black pickguard (from Pickguardian). I thought it looked cool. But after a while, it seemed to be missing something. I put back on both the original white TRC and pickguard (after grinding down the second hump). It looks more like the classic Ric now. The maple is not as golden as vintage Rics, but low lighting may help that. It certainly helps the way I look.

But alas, still no checkered binding. I'll have to wait until it gets damaged or worn and have it added during a re-fin.

[woodyng]

well-maple looks good with either color!

[aceonbass]

John, there's actually a lot of material on the '97-up guards that you Dremmel off to get the vintage shape. I was surprised how much.

[coolhandjjl]

John, there's actually a lot of material on the '97-up guards that you Dremmel off to get the vintage shape. I was surprised how much.

I had a 1993 guard to use as a template and I taped off a target line. Yeah, it took a bit of time, I do not have a Dremel, just sanding blocks and assorted grits. I actually started off by taping the sandpaper onto and lapped over the edge of a work surface and rubbing the guard on it.

[aceonbass]

The Dremmel is my favorite hand tool. Great for sculpting metal and plastic. It takes about 5-10 minutes to re-shape a guard and 5-10 more to sand and polish the edges.

[MaplegloMatt]

John, I kinda did the same thing. I bought a MG/BT '89 4003. I know there is alot of love here for black trim on Mapleglo but I wanted the classic look also. So I swapped over the white/chrome. Love it. I also am thankful for the older finish which is ambering nicely. Honestly if I had to buy a new 4003 I'd probably go for Fireglo now that the newer finish doesn't amber as much on Mapleglo....well maybe.

[incubus2432]

Maple and black hardware and plastic looks great but with white binding it just looks incomplete (IMO). Just a black plastic swap with chrome hardware/white binding is a great disservice.

[MaplegloMatt]

Yup, I agree on the binding thing. I think it should match the plastic parts. I forgot to mention my bass is a 4003S, so binding wasn't an issue.