Production of 4001/4003 bass

[rickenbottom]

Not sure i'm in the proper category for this question being a new guy in this forum. I was just wondering when did production end of the 4001 and production begin of 4003. My understanding is that there was about a three year overlap in the early eighties. I ask this because back in 1982 I bought a RIC from Steves Music in Toronto and about a year and a half later in 1983-84 like an IDIOT sold it and got out of music altogether. Well here we are 2012 bought a brand new 2011 in Jan. 2012 4003 in jetglo. I was wondering if the bass I had in 1982 would have been a 4001 or a 4003 or could it have been either because I cant recall 30 years ago even 30 days ago hahaha.

[jps]

Did it have the shedua strip down the middle of the neck/body? If so, it was a 4001, if not, then it was a 4003. That would be the easiest thing to go by.

[heinpete]

Did it have the shedua strip down the middle of the neck/body? If so, it was a 4001, if not, then it was a 4003. That would be the easiest thing to go by.

...if it wasn't jetglo back then?
But what could be seen even trough jetglo: The early 4003 had a split pick guard and two extra screws on the tailpiece.

[bassduke49]

Jeff's right (as usual ). RIC "stopped" MAKING the 4001 basses in 1980 when they introduced the 4003. But that doesn't mean that they stopped SELLING 4001. At that time, RIC had quite a bit of leftover inventory of 4001, 4001S and 4001FL, so they continued to advertise them in brochures and price lists, saying that they came with, and were appropriate for, flat-wound strings; the 4003 appropriate for round-wound strings (which at that time usually had higher tension). So if you had purchased a "new" bass in the early '80s, it could have been either. Do you remember if it had a one-piece pickguard or a "split" pickguard? The two-piece guard was used on the early 4003 basses to make it easier to get at the truss rod adjustment nuts at the body end of the neck. This went on until late '85 or early '86 when the truss rod arrangement was changed to more typical rods with nuts on both ends (versus the folded "hairpin" rods in the 4001) with the adjusters once again at the headstock.

[cassius987]

Did it have the shedua strip down the middle of the neck/body? If so, it was a 4001, if not, then it was a 4003. That would be the easiest thing to go by.

...if it wasn't jetglo back then?

I've always been able to see the shedua strip through the finish under the right lighting, including JG instruments. Similarly I can see if a neck is two-piece or one-piece even through solid finish... there's always a little bit of "telegraphing" where the wood meets up.

[jps]

Did it have the shedua strip down the middle of the neck/body? If so, it was a 4001, if not, then it was a 4003. That would be the easiest thing to go by.

...if it wasn't jetglo back then?

I've always been able to see the shedua strip through the finish under the right lighting, including JG instruments. Similarly I can see if a neck is two-piece or one-piece even through solid finish... there's always a little bit of "telegraphing" where the wood meets up.

+1! You can usually see witness lines where the different woods meet, depending on the angle you look at the finish. Even an opaque one.