Thanks to all those who offered advice on my original thread where I inquired as to whether I might not like a 4003 having never played one. I got a chance to play one at a local Sam Ash dealer two weeks ago and loved it. I had my heart set on a Jet Glo and thanks to one of our forum members (Thanks, Scott!) I was directed to Dave's Guitar Shop in Wisconsin where they had one left and at a good price. Bryan Butler at Dave's was great to deal with.
The only thing I see myself doing for now is changing the strings and removing the pickup guard. I can play just in front of it, but I think if it wasn't there I'd probably play right over the PU.
Quick question - do the strap locks on the 4003 happen to be locking Schallers? They look identical to the ones I installed on my Squier. It would be very convenient if I could just switch my strap over to the Ric.
Here's a pic:
