New 4003 MID is here!

[Clint]

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.

Clearly our Brother Firefingers didn't buy a new car, guitar or small appliance for a good 20 year span.

[jdawe]

I have no idea what schifoso played a guitar before me in a music store.

Indeed! When I got my 620-12 from POTR last spring I discovered that a bunch of you guys had been playing it at MARF. Icky!!!

Seriously, I think there's a tradeoff -- while a guitar fresh from the factory won't have been mishandled in the store, you run the risk of it being abused by the yahoos from UPS or the post office. I have enough confidence in RIC's quality control that I'd happily buy a Rick sight unseen, knowing that in the unlikely event of a problem it can be addressed by the dealer or the factory. I'd be much more hesitant to buy an import without having a chance to play it first.

[beatlefan]

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".

I tend to agree with this......but if RIC would add checkered binding to their basses they would be perfect......

[jdogric12]

QC on average is definitely far better. But don't throw the baby out with the bath water. There is a reason people pay big bucks for good vintage guitars!

[Clint]

That may be true, but too often the reason people are paying big bucks for old guitars have nothing to do with the sound, playability or overall quality of the guitar itself. I also would not call any production guitar that came out of a factory during the 1970s or '80s a vintage piece. Sometimes an old guitar is just an old guitar.

[Kopfjaeger]

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".

I tend to agree with this......but if RIC would add checkered binding to their basses they would be perfect......

OK, I'm going to say it before another checkered binding nut says it. Mmmmm, checkered binding!!!!

Where's that drooling emoticon??

Sepp

[electrofaro]

There is a reason people pay big bucks for good vintage guitars!

To pose with something expensive - like modern rubbish art by vandal Banksy!

[rickenbrother]

I'd take a brand new 4003 or 4004 over any vintage Rick any day for gigging purposes. Some people play big bucks for a vintage instrument because of it's mojo or they think it sounds/plays better...that's cool, that their opinion. But some people pay big bucks for a vintage instrument just to have a trophy.

[jdogric12]

I also would not call any production guitar that came out of a factory during the 1970s or '80s a vintage piece. Sometimes an old guitar is just an old guitar.

That's a pretty broad brush. How about my 4002, or my old 362? Just old guitars? I played both on the same show once.

[Ivan3000]

I like Banksy!

Jdog, I never knew you had a 4002 or a 362 for that matter, thats sweet!

[Clint]

Sometimes an old guitar can become a vintage piece and sometimes they'll just stay old guitars. Vintage really doesn't mean anything. I don't think it has anything to do with how rare an instrument is, how it sounds, how well it plays or even its condition. As far as I can tell, the only thing that matters is the guitar's desirability. And that comes from the model's association with a famous player. So except for us Ric nuts, I don't think you're going to find much interest in a 4002 or a 362, besides the novelty factor, in the broader guitar community. But I could be wrong, look at Fenders and Gibsons from the 1970s, I remember when you couldn't give those away.

[ajish4]

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.

[coolhandjjl]

....OK, I'm going to say it before another checkered binding nut says it. Mmmmm, checkered binding!!!!

Where's that drooling emoticon??

mmmmm checkered binding.......

[marc61]

I guess in different forms of collecting vintage can mean different things however, I've always opined that a generation removed makes it a vintage collectible. In that case and using 25 years as a generation benchmark, any Ric prior to 1987 can be called vintage.

My opinion only though

[nukebass]

... 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...

I think experience varies on this statement.