4003FL??

rickde · Post by **rickde** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 12:52 am

Is it possible to order a new 4003 fretless from Rickenbacker or are they no longer in production?

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 5:39 am

Yes they still make them, we just discussed that last week. look down.

dano · Post by **dano** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 3:39 pm

Yes it is still available. Just recieved my Montezuma Brown 4003 today and the RIC brochure still lists the 4003FL. A very cool RIC poster is now hanging on my office door!

goldcomet · Post by **goldcomet** » Mon Jun 30, 2003 5:52 pm

Dan,
How do you like the finish on your 4003? My Montezuma Brown 4003 came last Mon. I ordered it Wed before @ 5:00. I thought it shipped really quick. I like it alot on a 4003 and it reminds me of the finish on my Beatle Bass. It does look a little different from the online pictures I saw. The pics online made it look like there was a red shade beteen the brown and natural, sort of like a F**der sunburst, but it's just brown into natural. Chris told me this when I ordered it and I think it looks great. Enjoy yours, I love mine although the neck is a lot chunkier than my 86-88 4003 had.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 12:50 am

Dan,
Congratulations!!!
Pictures?
Is the cover of the catalog poster a 660/12 MG?

Mark,
Yes, I believe the '80s necks are narrower than those of the '70s and '90s-to-current ones while the '80s necks have the same thickness as the '90s-to-current ones. Neck widths of the '70s and '90s-to-current ones are identical but the '70s are thinner. I suppose your "86-"88 (what's her serial #) has shallower and squarer body back contours like my '86 4003 Shadow.

I like the narrower '86 neck but prefer the deeper and more comfortable body back contours and narrower body horns of my '72 and '98. Don't know if a 4003 of such combination exists? If yes, what years?

ENJOY YOUR NEW GIRLFRIENDS, GUYS!

rickde · Post by **rickde** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 4:33 am

Are you guys ordering your 4003's directly from Rickenbacker? If you have a website where you are ordering them please share with me. I'm trying to get the best price on a new 4003.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 4:49 am

What? My '82 has a real chunky neck, which I don't like. I was going to ask (someday) if that was an aberration. I seem to remember my late '60's- early-'70's having a nice narrow neck, as does my 4005. Are there differing neck widths on the current lineup of 4003's? I'd planned on selling the 4005 and getting a new 4003, but I gotta have a slim neck! Which years are slimmest?

lshaia · Post by **lshaia** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 5:32 am

Rick, Ric does not sell instruments directly to the public. They have authorized dealers, a list of which is here: http://www.rickenbacker.com/us/dealer.htm I bought a new (fretted) 4003 last November and would suggest this as a starting point; if possible it would be best to be able to play your new 4003 before buying it. If there aren't any dealers nearby, which was my situation, then there are several on the web. I bought mine from Musician's Friend for about $985 including case and shipping. List price is around $1529 (again, that's fretted). I think there are cheaper places; most of them will meet or beat each other's prices. But be careful, I know AMS won't take returns on Rics, and you should always keep that option open. There is also a list of websites in this forum which may list some dealers. I know Mike Parks at the Music Connection is a good guy, and in retrospect I wish I had ordered through him. His website:http://www.the-music-connection.com/ric.htm

dano · Post by **dano** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 12:09 pm

Yes the online pics do not do the finish justice!!! My wife who is usually turned off by a brown finished bass was really impressed with this one. Mark, I bought mine from Chris also. Had to wait for the check to clear so it arrived like in a little under a week. Very fast (but I am close to NJ). The neck is a little beefier than the other two 4001's I have. I never played a 4003 before but I have had basses with similar necks. I wasn't very happy with the setup though, so of course I had to adjust it (low action). Suddenly it didn't seem as the neck was so chunky. How was your setup? I'm interested to hear if yours was any different. Thanks again Paul for helping me out with my pics. I am no photographer but I'm learning. Jerry, I would say the pre 80's necks are all slim but then you have to deal with the old trussrod which can be a pleasure or a catastrophy. I also have a '79 with the old style rod system and a '98 V63 with the current rod system. The '98 neck is the same size as the '79, or damn close! You might want to try one out first, but it's actually comfortable to play. Played it for hours last night. Still havn't plugged it in yet. Think I'll go take it for a ride!

dano · Post by **dano** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 12:15 pm

Oh yeah,
Paul, I think the cover was a 660/12 MG. I wasted no time in putting it on my office door. VERY COOL. My wife especially liked the 4004Cii red and the 4004Cii/5 green. As you can tell, she has really good taste! She wants to know when to expect UPS to deliver one. HA

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 1:23 pm

You're absolutely welcome, Dan.
Oh trust me, you'll have immense fun taking pictures of your babies once you get your new digital camera which is super for photographic 'woodshedding'.

Your wife does indeed have excellent taste. Hmm, she likes the Cii... But you gotta explain to her that it's not up to UPS but RIC to tell when to deliver one, haha!

I hope RIC will produce the 4004Cii/8 with 8 saddles and I'll be the 1st in line to place an order!

Yes, the current catalog ranks the best in print quality and layout among the 4 RIc catalogs of different eras that I have. Cool to be on a wall or door.

Dan, I suppose the neck width of your 4003 MB is identical to your '79 and '98, but has a little more thickness?

dano · Post by **dano** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 3:56 pm

Yes, the neck width is the same, just a little thicker. I finally plugged her in, and my O my what a voice she has on her! I heard the sound described here as thunderous. Absolutely right!
P.S.
I'll be in line behind you for the 4004Cii/8

goldcomet · Post by **goldcomet** » Tue Jul 01, 2003 7:50 pm

Paul,
Unfortunatly I no longer have my 88 4003 so I can't reference the serial #. I bought it used from a student going back to school for 400.00 (back in 1990). That was a good price even in those days. He ordered it new and told me it was an 88. It was red with black trim. I never really liked the color, but I loved the bass. I had it for 10 years and never had to adjust anything. It stayed in perfect setup all those years and barely even needed tuning. The neck width was the same but it didn't seem as thick as my new one.
Dano, the setup on my Montezuma Brown 4003 is pretty good. I ordered the trussrod tool from Chris with it, but I want to play it awhile before adjusting anything. It has a very slight bow at the body side of the neck, though it's still very playable. I'm sorry to hear that yours was off some. I would have rather bought it from a locale dealer so I could try it out, but I don't have a Rick dealer in my town(Cincinnati,Oh area) and drove to Lexington to look at a FG. That's about an 80 mile drive. It was brand new out of the back room and the jack didn't work. The owner fixed it and when I was trying it out the pickup selecter switch was really staticy and noisey so I passed on it. I worried that Rick's quaility had gotten worse over the years although my new one is almost perfect in fit and finish. I think you got the bass pictured on Chris's website, because mine has a spot over the bass pickup that looks like a knot in the wood. I like the way it looks, it makes mine a little different than the others I've seen. I wish I had A digital camera so I could show you. If I can borrow one I'll post pictures.

dano · Post by **dano** » Wed Jul 02, 2003 12:33 am

Yes I did get the one pictured on the website. The action wouldn't be concidered bad, just not how I like it. I also have no RIC dealers close by so trying one out was out of the question. I am very happy with my new baby. I'll post some pics soon.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Wed Jul 02, 2003 8:51 pm

Dan,
How's the neck relief of your new baby?
What are the string-to-20th fret distances?
Tightening the rods to make the neck almost dead straight and then adjusting the bridge height and intonation accordingly is highly recommended.
I have absolutely minimum (almost none) neck relief on Annie and Sophie now with their E strings a hair less than 3/32" and G strings a hair less than 2/32" from the last frets and am happy with their playability.