New Rics vs Old

[jack1953]

Trying to learn as I go.......I see a brand new 4003 goes for 1949.99 at Music123. Yet they have old 4003s selling on Ebay starting at 1500 and 1600 with Buy It Now for 2000. Is this common for Rics? Why would anyone want to pay as much, or nearly as much, for a 20 year old Ric when they can get the very same model brand new?
Is it just Rics or is that the norm? Would 20 year old Fender PBass sell for as much as the new ones?
Jack

[jps]

I thought you were going to compare new vs. old Ricks. Say, 1973 to a 2008, for example. Come on over and you can try them out.

[cjj]

Sometimes it comes down to how long you want to wait. Often dealers list instruments they have on order but may not have in stock, so someone may be willing to pay more for a used instrument to get one sooner.

Then there are things like color. Certain colors simply are not available anymore, so people pay more to get them.

There are all sorts of reasons people might be willing to pay more for a used instrument over a new one, including stupidity...

[antipodean]

Just remember - folk outside North America have to pay a lot more than US street price for a new Rick - even after factoring in the shipping, as the distributors take their cut. As a result, the offshore price for a used Rick can be higher than the US street price for a new Rick, as US dealers can't sell new Ricks into the offshore market by virtue of the various distribution agreements between RIC and the regional distributors....

[AdamBomb]

On a similar vein, when exactly is a ric considered vintage and not just old? I'm seeing a 1985 white 4003 that cost 1895 as opposed to a new jetglo ric priced a couple hundred less. Is this just a matter of color or is the age of the wood likely to be a factor in tone?

[jps]

On a similar vein, when exactly is a ric considered vintage and not just old?

That, in itself, can be a very long and heated debate!

[FretlessOnly]

And it's not just the age of the wood. As the varnish ages, it tends to get a bit thinner and allows the wood to speak a bit more (thanks Joshua). I wonder if a mapleglo would have more wood sound over time than a colored finish, since the color would be another layer that the MG wouldn't have. Or am I out of my tree here?

[AdamBomb]

On a similar vein, when exactly is a ric considered vintage and not just old?

That, in itself, can be a very long and heated debate!

Yeah I keep feeling like 1973 is considered some sort of special year, although I'm not sure why that is outside of the fact that they were doing checkerboard at that point. Does the wood gain x% badassitude/year that is unnoticeable to the human ear until after a certain threshold is achieved? This has something to do with the wood fully drying, right? Maybe I should buy a new ric and leave it out in the sun for several weeks and speed the process up considerably! Instant vintage tone!

Edit: Please don't take the above statement seriously please!

And it's not just the age of the wood. As the varnish ages, it tends to get a bit thinner and allows the wood to speak a bit more (thanks Joshua). I wonder if a mapleglo would have more wood sound over time than a colored finish, since the color would be another layer that the MG wouldn't have. Or am I out of my tree here?

Wouldn't it just make sense to make rics with thinner varnish then if that's the case?

[Paolo]

Just remember - folk outside North America have to pay a lot more than US street price for a new Rick - even after factoring in the shipping, as the distributors take their cut. As a result, the offshore price for a used Rick can be higher than the US street price for a new Rick, as US dealers can't sell new Ricks into the offshore market by virtue of the various distribution agreements between RIC and the regional distributors....

I paid £1780 ($2,731.20) shipped for my 2010 4003 JG...and that was a reasonably priced one with no waiting list...Expensive,but worth every penny.

[jps]

Some tests have shown that vibration is a factor in the aging/better tone process, as in playing the instrument. So, you better be out there in the sun playing the bass constantly; don't forget you sunblock, hat and sunglasses.

My '73 is considerably lighter in weight than the '08, sometimes I think moisture content does have something to do with it a bit.

[windchimp]

On a similar vein, when exactly is a ric considered vintage and not just old?

That, in itself, can be a very long and heated debate!

Yeah Jeff - I'll take that old black thing off your hands...what are friends for?

[jps]

But, mon frère, it a vintage black thing, not an old black thing.

[AdamBomb]

Some tests have shown that vibration is a factor in the aging/better tone process, as in playing the instrument. So, you better be out there in the sun playing the bass constantly; don't forget you sunblock, hat and sunglasses.

My '73 is considerably lighter in weight than the '08, sometimes I think moisture content does have something to do with it a bit.

If I was a smarter person I would invent a robot to play the yes discography a couple million times at high speed in the blazing hot sun and save myself the work of breaking it in. Maybe i can talk to this guy to help me: http://www.capturedbyrobots.com/

[jack1953]

I guess I just found the answer to my original post!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/1965-Vintage-Fender ... 3a599245b8

http://cgi.ebay.com/1967-Fender-Jazz-Ba ... 19bb80f343

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-1952-Fender ... 53e0ddc6b6

http://cgi.ebay.com/1958-Fender-Precisi ... 1e5b6efc3e

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Original-19 ... 53e0d96793

[cjj]

Yep! You can pay all sorts of crazy prices for vintage.

Then again, the last Rick bass I bought, I paid over $4500 for, and it was brand spankin' new...

So perhaps I fall into the stupid category...