Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey folks, just got my first Rickenbacker this week. A 1983 4003 modified to be fretless and have only one pickup in the neck. I have a lot of the parts to move it back towards original. For now, I’m just paying it with a fresh set of strings and enjoying the sweet playability of a Ric.

Welcome! You've come to the right place!

TheBoa wrote:

5D389CA0-15CA-48EA-87AE-05C21AC9A736.jpeg

Hey folks, just got my first Rickenbacker this week. A 1983 4003 modified to be fretless and have only one pickup in the neck. I have a lot of the parts to move it back towards original. For now, I’m just paying it with a fresh set of strings and enjoying the sweet playability of a Ric.

Did I see that one on Craigslist (and probably elsewhere) for sale in Rhode Island?

Yes you did, the same one. I worked out a deal with the seller and it’s now mine. Very happy so far!

congrats on the new bass, looks like the tuners have survived, that's a great start! planning on refretting or keeping it fretless?

Undecided about the frets but leaning towards refretting. I found one luthier who said just sell it a buy a different bass, and one that said it’s no problem and would probably cost a couple hundred bucks.

It’s a great feeling bass with just the right neck profile for me, so I plan on keeping it. I’d like to try and find the correct pickups and hardware to go back to original, I have some of it (harness, pickguard, knobs) but would need to find the right pickups. Are the current production pickups essentially the same or have they been updated?

Buy the complete modern hi-gain treble pickup assembly, and if available, get a toaster for the neck and you'll be as good to go as it gets. Or, you can get the horseshoe pickup assembly instead of the hi-gain for an even more vintage look (not vintage correct for that bass but lots of folks like to go that route). You will need to drill new holes for the HS PU surround, but that not a big deal, really. If you don't want to do that, than just go with my first suggestion of the hi-gain assembly.

I’m looking at the hi gain set currently. I also see that classic amplification makes a more vintage wound set. Weighing my pickup options.

A belated welcome, Tim! Keep us posted on your progress with the bass.

Welcome to the Forum Tim, enjoy your new Rickenbacker.