Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Greetings everyone -- new forum member, and once again a Ric owner after a 30-year break. I just bought a 4003 and I've been trying to figure out what color it is. So far, I've narrowed it down to "red". Going by pictures on the web, it's not as sherbet-y as Plumglo, and not as tomato-y as Ruby Red. Up close, it looks metallic, with tiny sparkles not visible from a foot or more away. The date by the Ric-O-Sound jack says it's from 2014. Any ideas? Thanks everyone, and I look forward to conversing in the future.

IMO it's a modern-era Ruby, IIRC that finish was still available in 2014 ... yes, a check of the Register shows a number of 4003s from 2014 in Ruby.

I think that the "tomato-ish" Ruby you are referring to was an earlier iteration of the finish. I had a 4001 from 1982 that was the "light red" version of Ruby.

Thanks, Doc!

Definitely Ruby. The "new" Ruby was available as a standard color from 2011 to 2016. Nice one!

I had four examples of various Rickenbacker reds in my earlier "Take the Reds, Man!" thread:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=396089

Here's one of the pictures from that thread, showing the 1982 4001 Ruby on the far right (next to a 610 Ruby):

Ahh, the fretless Burgundy 4000! One of the stars in the book!

That brings back memories. My first bass, in '77 or so, was a black 4000 which the previous owner had defretted.

I do prefer the later Ruby colour - here's my "tomato" from 1986

The earliest Ruby finish (started in 1981) was a "kandy kolor" - a translucent red applied over a silver base. I'm pretty sure the same goes for the early Midnight Blue (introduced in '85). But after a few years they went to a metallic red (and blue). Ruby was discontinued in '89, but brought back in 2011 and was a stock color until '16. The "new" Ruby was darker than the old Ruby. Midnight Blue continued to be a standard color until last year (?) when it was discontinued.

I like the newer Ruby better than the old, it seems a little brighter to me, may be the metallic component.