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Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:21 am
by VRICKY63
Walked into Guitar Center last night and was shocked to see an orange fretless Rickenbacker. Had to try it since I had never seen or played one before. What a nice sounding instrument. It needed a setup (too much relief in the neck) but overall was an impressive instrument. $1599 sounded like an accurate price to me but unfortunately I am not in buying mode. Anybody ? Guitar Center in Concord CA.

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:34 am
by rickenbrother
Now maybe you'll get the RAS bug to get a 4003FL someday!

Orange finish?

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:35 am
by ajish4
ORANGE huh?

HalloweenGlo!

8)

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 10:38 am
by rickenbrother
ajish4 wrote:ORANGE huh?

HalloweenGlo!

8)
A dark trans orange finish is one I've hoped RIC would do someday.
Rick, can you explain the finish a bit more? Was it new or a refin?

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:25 pm
by FretlessOnly
I can't get the larger picture to load, but it's here:

http://used.guitarcenter.com/usedgear/i ... 0&dir=desc

1986 4003FL w/ BT. It rather looks like a red w/BT in this light, but I'll defer to VRICKY who actually played it. The fingerboard looks to be very light also. Hmmm...me like.

VRICKY: In addition to Joey's question, what was the condition of the fingerboard? Was it strung with flats? Any sign of significant fingerboard wear from rounds?

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:34 pm
by cjj
Here's the pic:
105249577_lg.jpg
The ad describes it as "red", perhaps the normal yellowing if the CV causes it to look orange...

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:37 pm
by jps
That should be Red with BT, so the clearcoat has yellowed enough to make it look more orange.

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:55 pm
by cassius987
If I had the cash it'd be mine right now. Mm.

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:25 pm
by VRICKY63
Well........I'm somewhat color blind so I asked my wife who is a color consultant and she said "orange" but I think it is faded red. The bass was strung with very old roundwounds. Had some nicks and dings on the paint here and there. I did not notice any fingerboard marks or gouges. Nothing stood out as being in bad shape other than the poor setup. Electronics all worked as they should. Do not know about the case. Guitar Center usually has a very generous return policy.

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:34 pm
by rickenbrother
First Red with BT 4003FL I've ever seen. Someone here needs to buy this!!

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 4:36 pm
by cjj
I'm really wanting a FL, and I like black trim a lot, but red is just not a color I like. If only it were Mapleglo with BT... :(

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 11:53 pm
by Tarrbot
I was wondering about this. I've been window shopping this bass for some time.

Good to know a bit more about it.

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2010 12:26 pm
by hieronymous
I saw this bass the other night. Unfortunately, it was way up high and I didn't feel like bugging anyone to get it down. I have to admit that, although my initial reaction to this red is kind of :bleh: it is actually growing on me... (I'm not in the market myself)

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 10:06 am
by Jezzrath
If anyone is in the market, I'm selling my fireglo 4003FL on eBay at the moment. Still a couple of days left on the auction. Will be sad to see the back of the bass, but would be cool if it went to an appreciative Rickenbacker afficionado :)

Re: Got to play a fretless 4003

Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 10:10 am
by Jezzrath
Jezzrath wrote:If anyone is in the market, I'm selling my fireglo 4003FL on eBay at the moment. Still a couple of days left on the auction. Will be sad to see the back of the bass, but would be cool if it went to an appreciative Rickenbacker afficionado :)
By the way, I relisted this item today with a lower BIN price... :)