Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I'm considering looking into an '83 4003 available locally and it's got me wondering what the view is on the two-piece pickguard 4003 instruments with the extra two screws in the tailpiece. FWIW, this one appears to be Autumnglo (some sort of brown burst at any rate), with black pickguard, what looks like two layers (black over white) of binding, and wavy Grover tuners. Aside from aesthetics, are the basses from this era distinctive (good or bad) in sound or feel, or are they essentially the same as other Rics?

Thanks!

--Bob

...to my experience, this era 4003 had a more aggressive tone than the late '70ies 4001 and the neck is a bit more rigid due to the "improved" truss rod system (adjust from body).

You don't see too many Autumglo's. the 2 extra screws in the bridge eliminates "bridge lift", and the two layer binding is rare. I'd be all over it.

By and large, they're great basses. As good, and better to some, as the 4001. I'd grab it too!

Yep, great! And the split guard makes working on the electronics easy. Love those thin 80's necks too.

I was curious about the autumnglo finish and looked em up in the register. There are three listed among the 1983 4003 models - and zero fireglos. Of those "autumnglos" the shades are varying - to the point that I'm pretty sure at least one of them is really a fireglo.

Thanks for the input, I'm definitely looking into this one then. Interestingly, the owner is looking to trade for a Fender Telecaster Bass, and I happen to have a Tele Bass I'm looking to trade. Hopefully this works out well.

I've attached a photo from the ad, albeit without permission, just to show the color.

--Bob

Looks very nice. It's got that warmer brown. Some of the ones from the late '70s- early '80s had a greener brown; John Hall referred to those as "baby ****" color.

Interesting that our automatic sensor here substituted **** for a relatively harmless term that rhymes with goop and starts with a p. Interesting.

bassduke49 wrote:Interesting that our automatic sensor here substituted **** for a relatively harmless term that rhymes with goop and starts with a p. Interesting.

Try poohhp.

That's a really nice looking finish.

I went this morning and met the owner of the '83. I liked his Ric, he liked my Tele Bass, and the trade was made. I'll be looking to replace some hardware (I want the pickup cover, and it's missing one mute screw, so I think I'll get a pair of Ric's straplocks and use one of the old strap buttons for the mute, and I might need to replace the neck pickup height screws) but I think she's a pretty bass. She dates to September 1983. Here she is alongside my brand-new 2015 FG 4003 for a family portrait.

I hadn't had a Ric since my '78 4001 was stolen in 1989, and now I find myself with two of them within about a month.

Nice pair!

Nice pair indeed!!!!! That AutumnGlo looks FANTASTIC!!!!! Congrats!!!!!!

Sweet. I love "New Rick Day" posts. I'm glad the trade worked out for the two of you.

I noticed on the Autumnglo that it's hard to see where the two "wings" (for lack of a better term) of the headstock join the middle, unlike the Fireglo, where the lines are clearly visible. Does anyone know why this is? Is it because the base color of the Autumnglo is applied much thicker than the base coat of the Fireglo?

I'm also curious about this "two-layer" binding. I had not seen or heard of that before.