Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Why do all the coolest basses and features get discontiued? Is it lack of sales? Or my favorites don't match what sells? Or does Rickenbacker know what's hot but makes it limited just because they can??

My fav discontued list:
basses:
4003s/5
4001V63
4001CS- even though it was a limited edition.
4003s
4003s/8
4002
4001s
4000
4001c64 with reverse headstock (back to normal)option.(this never has been, but wish it was like so many do.)
Vintage horseshoe pickup still for sale as a part.
I think that's it.

oh yea...and a new 4003 bass for under a $1000 (some dealers still just barely under a $1000, but very few.)

....and ending after 2003- a cool standard color: Turquoise

So which is it? Bad taste?, good taste-lame market? Or they do it because they can.. I think that maybe. More money down the road maybe- in limited option runs ect...??

It seems that all the cool stuff-and looks like ya gottem all (except 4003 Shadow/Tux/Redneck/Blackstar) lack the sales numbers that keep it in production. Or at least that's what I get from here.

What was the saying; "the guys in h_ll all want a glass of ice water".

We all want what we cannot have...

And the 2000 and 3000 series .... and the walnut headwings and the full size inlays on the bass fret board ... and the black trim ...

But they continue to put in the useless lame features like ric-o-sound and mechanical mutes ...

It is too bad. The discontinued models then get a price (sometimes) higher than the MSRP, but the profits go to the private sector, and not Rickenbacker.

As things stand, it's doubtful I will ever own a new Ric (currently on a 4003S/5 quest).

The "cool" things always seem to sell well about 10 years after I figure out how to get them off my slow inventory list.

The only reason we discontinue anything is lack of sales.

And unfortunately, there's always a tremendous customer ruckus when we try to remove lame features like ROS or the mute. But do you see those on the 4004?

There's probably a few states left where we could build a 4003 to sell under $1000 but it's certainly not California.

I really think that if you shop with Mike Parks or Chris Clayton, a new Rick 4003 is one of the better deals you can get for your money. In this world of poor worksmanship and cheap knockoffs, I think Ricks are worth every penny.

One of the reasons you want these things is that you can't get them! If there was an option or a special run of 4003 basses with the checkered binding and the full MOP inlay, I would be in line right now! But it's not available, so we dream.....

There was some guitar dealer who had some of those 80's camaflauge guitars ... they sat on the rack for years ... the minute the manufacturer discontinued them he was able to sell them above the list price ...

People want what they can't have ... or there are also collectors who want the discontinued items or limited edition items or vintage items just because they are collectable ....

But I sure am glad I have a 60's 4001 and a 2030 and a 4003s5 with black trim

If that special 4003 with the checkered binding and the 'Full MOP' inlays ever went into production, christen it the "60's Tribute Series 4003"!

Queue up, everyone!

Line starts behind me!

basses they will probably never make more of ...

4000 - if you take a 4003 and flip your toggle switch you have a 4000 sound ...

4002 - a nice bass but it just didn't sell

4003s8 - is it profitable for Ric to go after this niche market? ... someday soon I will make my own 4003 conversion to an 8 string ...

4003s5 - God I love these basses ... bury one with me when I die ... but most bass players like a wider spacing so this model may never be built again ... I will also convert a 4003 model to a 5 string model ... I have already converted a 2030 and a 4004L to a 5 string model ...

but the v63 and s model could be made again quite profitably ....

And they could do a run of more 4001CS models and charge $2000 per bass and they would sell ...

It would be nice to have some custom options, at the very least, you should be able to order a new bass with vintage pickups( I'm talking about toaster/horseshoe combo). I imagine the non-availability of the horseshoe is related to the buildup of the C series though. Hopefully they will become available again soon.

Lets not forget about the 4004LK basses, we won't see any more of those! Are there any in the pipeline?

I can understand John's reasoning for discontinuing things due to poor sales, that only makes sense. However, I would prefer many of the discontinued options be available for custom order (which is really what we do now anyway, though with limited options). That way Ric is getting paid rather than the collectors, and we could tailor our new guitars the way we want them.

Would it pay to reintroduce a bass like the 4002? Perhaps not on a grand scale, but if I could factory order one that had the same (or mostly the same) features as the original, I would.

The limited edition guitars are just that, and we know that from the get go, but some of the other features, like pickup placement and type or checker binding, could be managed somehow.

Just re-introducing something as simple as black binding would be cool, & I would think profitable for RIC.