Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Colonel Sanders wrote: For Paul, I think the 4003 bodywings were made skinny again in 2008 according to the answer I got on the RIC forum. That would fit with my observations.

... from my experience the 4003 bodywings and horns of the cut aways have undergone two changes back to skinny. One around 1996 when CNC was introduced and then further skinny 2008 together with the reintroduction of the FWI. I personally found the last "skinny-change" too much of a good thing ...and it also mismatches the bulbous headstock and the bulbous hump-pick guard IMHO. So I would not call it "improvement" rather a short fall of the sum of changes.


IMHO the perfect 4003 would be with 2-piece neck (even if it is missing the skunk stripe), 1997 body shape and cut away, walnut headstock wings, but on the pre-1996 headstock (not so bulbous), pre 1997 pick guard (hump-less but rather the more symetrically ordered knobs of the current pick guard), the dented bridge PU surround, new higain PU, neck toaster, vintage circuit, the amber fireglo finish, the FWIs and of course the CB!

godber wrote:More details here.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20652&hilit=+4001+1977

Thanks, Mark. Long story short, that data is from the RR homepage and has several inaccuracies and is way out of date. It's one of the driving reasons behind my book effort to tell the story as accurately as possible. That said, there still will be a lot of information we just won't know for sure as company records have not been made "public."

bassduke49 wrote:

godber wrote:More details here.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=20652&hilit=+4001+1977

Thanks, Mark. Long story short, that data is from the RR homepage and has several inaccuracies and is way out of date. It's one of the driving reasons behind my book effort to tell the story as accurately as possible. That said, there still will be a lot of information we just won't know for sure as company records have not been made "public."

Understood Paul. It's an unenviable task you have undertaken and one which is likely to cause much debate when published too! Good luck with it. We are well overdue for a new Rick book - you can count me in for a purchase.

Oh, how could I forget this. 1985: bass-cut capacitor removed from the tone circuit. Evil cap!

Excellent, Ilan! Wasn't sure if that happened during the 4003 reign or before!

Minor detail.. how bout the model number eliminated from the TRC...
sometime around Nov./Dec. 1984.

badeggs wrote:Pots went from 250k/500k to all 330k, don't know when...

I believe they were all 250k at one point as well. I believe this was late 1990s/early 2000s but I could be mistaken.

cassius987 wrote:

badeggs wrote:Pots went from 250k/500k to all 330k, don't know when...

I believe they were all 250k at one point as well. I believe this was late 1990s/early 2000s but I could be mistaken.

My Nov. 2004 had all 250k pots.

heinpete wrote:

Colonel Sanders wrote: For Paul, I think the 4003 bodywings were made skinny again in 2008 according to the answer I got on the RIC forum. That would fit with my observations.

... from my experience the 4003 bodywings and horns of the cut aways have undergone two changes back to skinny. One around 1996 when CNC was introduced and then further skinny 2008 together with the reintroduction of the FWI. I personally found the last "skinny-change" too much of a good thing ...and it also mismatches the bulbous headstock and the bulbous hump-pick guard IMHO. So I would not call it "improvement" rather a short fall of the sum of changes.


IMHO the perfect 4003 would be with 2-piece neck (even if it is missing the skunk stripe), 1997 body shape and cut away, walnut headstock wings, but on the pre-1996 headstock (not so bulbous), pre 1997 pick guard (hump-less but rather the more symetrically ordered knobs of the current pick guard), the dented bridge PU surround, new higain PU, neck toaster, vintage circuit, the amber fireglo finish, the FWIs and of course the CB!

I really like the last skinny change on the Mapleglo. Not as much with the Jetglo or other colors.