Just pulled the trigger on a new 4003

[cjj]

You know, you could open it up outside in the cold. The harm is done when there is a quick change in temperature. If the box and case are cold, you don't want to bring it inside, open it, and let the instrument quickly heat up in a warm house. That risks cracking the clear coat if the wood expands faster than the clear coat. But if you open it in the cold outside air, there is no rapid change in temperature. Check it out, get the thrill over with, put it back in the cold case, then bring it indoors and let it warm up gradually for a few days.

That's exactly what I've done on a couple of mine...

[HydrasBreath]

You know, you could open it up outside in the cold. The harm is done when there is a quick change in temperature. If the box and case are cold, you don't want to bring it inside, open it, and let the instrument quickly heat up in a warm house. That risks cracking the clear coat if the wood expands faster than the clear coat. But if you open it in the cold outside air, there is no rapid change in temperature. Check it out, get the thrill over with, put it back in the cold case, then bring it indoors and let it warm up gradually for a few days.

ah well it's already been warming up slowly for close to 24 hours now so I better not bring it back out in the cold. And no worries I know all about not opening a cold Ric case. I made sure to leave it in the box and not touch it while it has a chance to warm up.

[colin]

ah well it's already been warming up slowly for close to 24 hours now so I better not bring it back out in the cold.

I am impressed with your patience. BTW, the serial number is likely written on the box in black marker. Is yours really a 2011? Mine turned out to be a 2010.

[HydrasBreath]

ah well it's already been warming up slowly for close to 24 hours now so I better not bring it back out in the cold.

I am impressed with your patience. BTW, the serial number is likely written on the box in black marker. Is yours really a 2011? Mine turned out to be a 2010.

oh really? I don't know for sure I was just taking a guess. I'll inspect the box and see what I can find.

[HydrasBreath]

hmm didn't spot anything that looked like a serial number but UPS stuck all their labels over the Ric shipping info so they may have covered it up.

Edit: never mind I didn't realize they didn't do the XX-9999 format anymore and that it's all digits now. According to the Ric Decoder my S/N is August 2010.

[tinman 1967]

mmmm... I can almost smell that baby when you open the case for the first time. One of those odors that will stay with you for life.... It will fade away in a few weeks, but I loved it while it was there.

[HydrasBreath]

mmmm... I can almost smell that baby when you open the case for the first time. One of those odors that will stay with you for life.... It will fade away in a few weeks, but I loved it while it was there.

Yeah new instrument smell is one of the greatest smells out there. I still remember what my very first bass + case smelled like.

I'm about to go crack open the box on my JG 4003 right now...so stoked!

[colin]

Well? What's the verdict?

[cjj]

Must be too stunned to post anything...

[T.A.R.]

The suspense is killing me.

[jagdeluxe]

maybe there,s a Fend-- in there haha

[HydrasBreath]

haha sorry guys was too busy playing it and then I went to bed. The verdict is this thing is sexy as hell. Plays great and sustains for days. Has way more sustain than my 4001 but that bass has issues so it's not the greatest. It'll take me a little while to get used to the neck on my new 4003 though since it's a little wider than the neck on my 4001 but it's not as thick front to back as my 4001 neck so the 4003 is more comfortable for me to play things like power chords and other more awkward chord/arpeggio shapes.

I need to give it a bit of a setup to lower the action some, tweak the truss rods, intonate it just a hair, slap some Roto 66's on it and take the pup cover off. For having traveled like a thousands kilometers in the dead of winter the setup out of the box was surprisingly quite decent.

can't wait to hear it through my amp (SVT-VR + 810) when I jam with my band on monday. But even just unplugged this thing is a joy to play.

It only has one teensy little flaw that I noticed. It has a little imperfection/blemish in the finish right beside the nut on the E string side. It's not very big so it's no big deal. The thing plays like butter so it's all good in my book.

all things considered I'm super happy with it

now if you gentlemen will excuse me I have a sexy new bass to go tinker with

[colin]

Sweet!

What year did yours turn out to be?

[HydrasBreath]

Sweet!

What year did yours turn out to be?

it was made in Aug. 2010.

I was playing it this afternoon through my Boss GT-10B and headphones since I don't have an amp at my house and even through the SVT amp model that's in my pedal this thing sounds absolutely sick! Can't wait to hear it through the real deal in all it's tubey glory .

My new 4003 totally blows my 4001 out of the water sound and sustain wise even with the cap in the circuit. My 4001 always sounded like poo just going through my GT-10B but I was actually surprised how awesome the 4003 sounded. It has loads of bite and snarl and can actually push the OD on the SVT patch I have setup.

I couldn't be happier with my purchase

[colin]

Sweet!

What year did yours turn out to be?

it was made in Aug. 2010.

Mine too! Week #33.