Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi all,

Could the brains trust here help me out please?
I'm looking to buy a Rick, preferably 2nd hand due to price (I'm in Australia), and preferably a 4003 or 4003s.

I've been playing bass & guitar for 20 odd years, so I know the typical stuff to look out for, but I've never owned a Rick.
After being told *don't buy a Rick* by a few people for varied reasons, I'd like to know some info to help me avoid buying a lemon.

Besides the obvious counterfeit argument, what should I keep in mind when buying a Rick 4003/4003s bass?

Thanks guys and gals!

I can only recommend to play it before you buy it.
Neck, string spacing, pickup placement, weight, balance, all different to you average Fender bass, so try it first.

I never could understand people irrationally bashing certain instruments. Back in about 1970, a guy behind the counter at a music store in Hampton VA was saying, "Don't EVER buy a Rickenbacker bass! The fingerboard on them ALWAYS pops loose up by the nut." The guy also went on about the truss rods not working, etc...
If you own a regular gasoline vehicle and pull up to a diesel pump, fill it up and expect it to run, it won't! If anything is treated badly, improperly worked on, altered or abused, then yes, it has problems.

Play the bass as you normally would. Check that the electronics are working. Make sure that the string height is okay. Usually, it is obvious if something isn't being taken care of. Common sense will be your guide. Also, nothing is sexier looking for a bass player than a Rick. That's the truth!

Good luck with your hunt!

Jim

Here is a thread you should probably read:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=280979

The neck profile and width has varied over the yearts. If you don't find a newer profile to your liking, you might want to look carefully at the information in that thread and figure out what era of neck profile would suit you, then try to find a bass of that ilk.

Play one for sure. Some folks like the tone etc. until they actually play one. They can be a little different in feel both on the shoulder and with your playing style etc.

More than likely you'll like one, but a fair amount of coin to drop (even for a good deal) just to find out!

Some also prefer the "S" models as they have rounded edges as opposed to the sharper corners on the bound models.

Get educated about price too. You can often get some really decent deals even on new ones from the correct outlets. Generally speaking, $2000+ is NOT a great price on a new one.

Hi Smo,

Your post suggests that you're looking at relatively recent 4003 basses (post the old truss rod issue). If the truss rods are working properly, the only nasty structural issue that comes to mind is movement of the neck angle - recent 4003 basses have a very large neck pickup cavity, and there have been some instances of the neck being pulled toward the cavity by string tension (probably due to a relative weakness in the wood used for the neck slab). The neck itself can be straight, but the change in angle will result in high action with the bridge bottomed out. This can be fixed but it will take some time and effort.

On some basses the truss rod nuts are difficult to access - check this out if you are seeing the bass in person or ask the seller explicitly if you're buying online.

There have been cosmetic issues with finish flaking (typically around the tailpiece or tuners) and finish bleeding (onto the binding) in certain batches of basses. This should be apparent upon inspection of the bass or by photos.

For value into Oz, Japanese retailers are hard to beat. The big chain sellers like Ishibashi and Kurosawa Gakki will ship to Oz and usually have a number of used 4003s in their inventory. Prices should be around JPY 150,000 for a "vanilla" 4003 with shipping at around JPY 16,000 (a lot cheaper than ex USA). Add in GST and processing fees and the total should come in at around AUD 2,200 at current exchange rates.

Ishibashi link: http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/e/
Kurosawa link: http://www.kurosawagakki.com/kurosawa_used/