Stag Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 (edited) Good evening guys. Some of you may have seen that i'd been hankering for another Ricky for a while. Went and played a load of them, 4001's and 4003's. Really wanted a BurgundyGlo one but they are pretty rare... tried a Ruby one which looked great... was still looking around UNTIL... ...I saw a Jetglo 4003 in the window of a local music store. They ordered it from the distributors nearly THREE years ago, such is the waiting list for Ricks. After a quick play I was convinced it was the bass for me and had to have it. Hopefully the review will explain why! Ok, its my first review, so be gentle... [u][b]How does it look?[/b][/u] It looks like THIS. Pretty sexy, huh? Its not BurgundyGlo but I was struck with how delightful and oddly malevolent this finish looks. It was born in California in the third week of February, in case anyone's wondering. [attachment=76913:bass.jpg] [u][b]Do I get any other goodies for my bucks?[/b][/u] Ric include a very nice furry-interiored case for protecting your pride and joy. Its relatively light as cases go, I hear the feet have a habit of coming off but looks well made to me. Four latches come as standard, all lockable with the provided case key. You also get a nice Ric cloth to make that chromeware look pretty and shiny. And finally, a manual which is about 4 pages long. So, not big on the case candy stakes! I would say for the amount of cash you lay out on these babies that a lead or strap (or both) would be nice please Mr Hall, considering that American Fenders come with SKB case, lead, strap, truss rod tool, allen key, blergh blergh blergh and they cost about half of what a Ric does. [u][b]OK, How does it play?[/b][/u] Now this is what sold it to me. I had heard good things about the Rics from 2010 and this is no exception. Playing position / stylewise the pickup cover on the bridge PU may annoy some people but I really like it. My playing position is just behind the neck PU anyway, using my thumb on the pickguard as an anchorpoint. I found the hole left by the PU cover not being there on my 4001 to be a little minefield in which my finger would get stuck, so Im all for the PU cover being on there. [attachment=76917:bridgePU.jpg] The neck is simply fabulous in every way. Its slimmer than my 4001, and the volute (cheers for the right terminology Mr 4000) has been reduced, making 1st fret stuff eminently more playable. The fingerboard is a delight, from the first play it felt "right", almost soft feeling to it? The other thing that really struck me was the standard factory set-up, which was absolutely perfect for me. Bottom E is no more than 3mm from the fretboard which is just grand, my fingers can dance around on that happily - the below pictures show the clearance from string to board at the bottom of the neck and at the nut "as it comes" from the factory... I have no intention of changing it. [attachment=76914:fretclearance.jpg] [attachment=76915:nut.jpg] The bridge is a bit of an oddity as most people know. It has the rather redundant mute pad which no-one will ever use, the "tail" of the bridge lifts up, and the string hieght can only be adjusted a very very small amount due to the fixed bridge section with all four saddles attached to it. This is a minor quibble but its something that some people may dislike. It is certainly not the greatest bridge design in the world, which is probably why Hipshot and Badass sell so many replacement Ric bridges. [attachment=76921:bridge.jpg] [u][b]Now then, what about *that* sound?[/b][/u] Oh yes. It very much does *that* sound. In fact it does it even more so now. Its the same setup as the 4001, controls for both pickups and a tone for both. You now have the added fun of the "Vintage Tone Selector" as a push/pull switch on the treble tone control. One pull of that and its a one-way ticket to CLANKYville. Think Squire's sound on Roundabout, bit like that. I found you can get some corking sounds out of this circiut, particularly when mixing the two pickups together... a particular favourite being both pickups on full with VT on / bass PU with half tone rolled off, treble PU 3/4 tone in. Oh, and dont lisetn to people who say you cannot slap on a Ric these days - you most certainly can on this 4003. I think there's a video of MarloweDK doing it on a 4003 as well, and with that clanky VT circuit you can really get some cool slap sounds. [attachment=76916:controls.jpg] And of course, let's not forget the other fun way we can experiment with the sound - The Rick-O-Sound feature. This splits the signals of the pickups to two channels, essentially. You will need either a "Rick-O-Sound" box or a splitter cable to do this, oh and the small matter of two amps - lots of fun to be had setting up two amps to sound totally different to each other, you could have two completely distinct tones that can be obtained by the flick of a switch! I used to use this feature with my last band by firing the bass signal through the FOH, and the treble through my backline so the band could hear defined notes from on stage which the crowd got the "whoomph". [u][b]Any other observations?[/b][/u] I did notice a few things about this that I preferred to what was on my 4001. As discussed the volute isnt so ridiculous now, but also some other things have been improved upon. The old shaky Grover tuners that were on 4001's in the late 70's and 80's are gone thankfully, as they have a habit of falling apart - my 4001 had a one of its tuners do exactly that in the case on the way to a gig. Handy. The new ones are Schallers with "Rickenbacker" stamped brazenly on the back and are jolly good indeed. The pickup surround at the bridge PU now has a cut away so you can lower the action further should you desire - again my 4001 does not allow for this. Finally, the balance of the bass is excellent IMO - it isnt top heavy at all. My score? [u]For me[/u], its perfect. Everything about it is exactly what I want from a bass... so I'll give it a 9/10... the extra "1" will be awarded if they bring back BurgundyGlo as a standard colour and chuck in some more candy... dont be stingy Ric! ;-) One final p0rn shot of it : enjoy, and any comments are welcome! [attachment=76922:body.jpg] Edited April 18, 2011 by Rich Thread title amended for alphabetical ordering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassCat Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 Wow. Just, wow. Looking at this is making me go all tingly "down there". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munkonthehill Posted April 7, 2011 Share Posted April 7, 2011 fantastic review. Im now looking over at mine and just smiling I cant imagine the added feature on the Vintage Tone Selector ever being needed. I feel my Ric has all the top end and clanky I would ever need. In saying that it also has all the bottom end I could want aswell. Im not sure how Ric do it but to have both top and bottom clarity shining through your sound, im guessing this is where all our hard earned money goes when we buy them!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WILD FROG SHOT Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Glad you're enjoying it Stag; I got an identical one in July last year and for me it is perfect! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Nice review and glad you're enjoying it. If you find a good one (assuming you are open to them in the first place) they're hard to beat IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
voxpop Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Thanks for the review.... I have never tried a Ric, might take a trip out to give one ago. Thanks again for fuelling my GAS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phsycoandy Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Hi, I saw this last week in Cooke's window with a Sold tag on it, great a BC'er has her. I'd never played a Ric 'till a few months ago, but my 4003 is my main gigging axe atm, but as guys know that can all change, enjoy. Sadly Cooke's don't seem to have too big a bass range any more, wasn't long ago they had Lakland and all sorts of higher end basses. mmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timtoomany Posted April 8, 2011 Share Posted April 8, 2011 Jealous! Thanks for the review. Personally I'd have the jetglow over the ruby any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Absolutely beautiful and a great review mate!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stag Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Cheers for the kind comments lads! Andy - yep it was from Cookes did you play it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stag Posted May 1, 2011 Author Share Posted May 1, 2011 Just as an update to this... I gigged it with my 4001 in attendance as well yesterday thru my usual rig (SVT5 Pro -> SVT610HLF). The 4003 was noticably louder with the same settings (bass / treble on nearly full, mids at 12 o clock). It handled everything I could throw at it. Its lovely. If anyone is umming and ahhing about buying a 4003 then... just buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 [quote name='Stag' post='1216898' date='May 1 2011, 09:03 PM']Just as an update to this... I gigged it with my 4001 in attendance as well yesterday thru my usual rig (SVT5 Pro -> SVT610HLF). The 4003 was noticably louder with the same settings (bass / treble on nearly full, mids at 12 o clock). It handled everything I could throw at it. Its lovely. If anyone is umming and ahhing about buying a 4003 then... just buy it. [/quote] Bass on nearly full? Crikey, mine's usually backed off to 10 o'clock.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Manning Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 (edited) Have have the same 2010 week 42! i love it so much. Edited June 14, 2011 by Robert Manning Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmachine2112 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Hi,glad you like it. I,ve got a 99,had it from new. I,ve fitted the vintage circuit ,hipshot bridge and have a black scratplate and a polished stainless steel one as well as the original white one. The depth of the tone is astonishing,all the bottom,mid,top and presence you will ever need. It cuts through the mix so easily. They look good ,sound good and play like a dream. Mine is jetglo as well. I set it up when I got it and have never touched it since even when changing string make and gauge. An absolute joy to play and well worth the asking price.almost 13 years old now and still get a tingle when I plug it in-what price can you put on that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stag Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Hi BassMachine Sadly I dont have this bass anymore, it developed a paint issue near the bridge (was shearing away from the body, shockingly) so had to go back to the shop. The distributors couldnt give me a date (or even a month) when they could get me a replacement bass so I had to get my money back. I was absolutely gutted to lose this bass as it was just amazing to play in every way, in fact id forgotten about this review... looking at the pics has made me sob a little! However the money I got back from it DID go towards buying my burgundy one (http://basschat.co.uk/topic/163616-burgundyglo-rickenbacker-4003/) and ive very happy with that indeed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeTron Posted August 5, 2012 Share Posted August 5, 2012 Stag - I recently purchased a 2011 Jetglo 4003 and it seems to have the same issue you described - paint peeling up near the bridge, specifically the "top" side of the bridge when held in a regular playing position. But it's really not that bad. But since I am not the original owner, no warranty applies, so it wii not be returned. However it's only cosmetic and was quickly remedied with a touch of black fingernail polish. Aside from that one minor, almost unnoticeable flaw, the bass is perfect and plays like a dream. And the tone! I've wanted a Rickenbacker for over 30 years and, now that I have one, I'll not part with it for a minor cosmetic flaw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stag Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 Hi Lee! Mine was coming away next to the underside of the bridge. Interesting to hear that another one from the same year had the same issue! I wouldnt have got rid of it if the paint hadnt started falling off there, its cos mine was new that i sent it back. Still probably the best Ric ive played... My BG one is awesome but the '11 had the best neck ive ever laid my hands on. Glad to hear you are enjoying yours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeTron Posted August 12, 2012 Share Posted August 12, 2012 My mistake, Stag. My 4003 is actually a 2010. Specifically, August, 2010. Jetglo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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