NBD - Rickenbacker 4003

[Highfox]

Congrats.

I had one in the same flavor. Lusted after one for many years.

Enjoy and hope it all works out and you find a keeper.

(I had some issues with the saddles on mine, was a bit disappointed after it costing so much)

Edited October 28, 2018 by Highfox

[martthebass]

10 hours ago, Gilmourisgod said:

There's the rub, when you get a good one, the finish is immaculate, and they play like butter, pity its hit or miss. The "new" (2010?) finish is a UV catalyzed varnish that is supposed to cure in minutes, a huge advantage over waiting weeks before a traditional Nitro finish can be buffed out, or days for a poly one, but I agree they must be rushing it. When they fasten down the bridge, presumably with an air-driven screwgun, the sharp castings bite through the finish. I think the vast majority of them are fine, but a company is judged by its worst examples, and in how warranty issues are resolved. Having once owned a 1979 4001 new, and seeing current production 4003, I can say the new ones are overall more consistent, and better made as most of the basic woodwork is CNC. They still do a surprising amount of handwork, more then most, I think, except maybe Gibson. If you haven't already seen it, this video, though its getting a little dated, is a good overview of their manufacturing process, and shows the UV cure booth I suspect is the weak link in the process. The section on finishing starts at about 14:20

 

When I got my 2010 model I checked over the finish with a fine toothed comb to make sure it was all good. 8 years on it’s still fine but I agree there should be no defects at this pricing point.  

[ped]

On 02/10/2018 at 22:22, Black Coffee said:

With the venom that the big kahuna at Ric defends their honour et al you would expect better qc for thousands of quids worth of bass.  

 

It appears not though. 

Well we know why he charge so much, to pay his lawyers! 

Honestly I think he’s worried people will try a faker and realise how much better quality they are.

Its a real shame because by bullying people like us he only damages his company. Hopefully someone with more sense takes over soon. 

[Delberthot]

It was an odd gig last night - we were booked to play 10-12 but 2 x 45 minute sets. It ran over as these things do so we didn't start until 11.20 and played on until 12.20 when the DJ took over.

It'll take some adjustment to how I wear the bass and where I position my right hand but I did enjoy playing it. At gig levels of adrenaline I am going to need to raise the action as well but that's good in that I found the strings ever so slightly floppy compared to the Sterling, presumably due to the slightly shorter scale. Raising the action will increase the compliance(?) I think making the strings feel slightly higher tension.

[Bridgehouse]

12 minutes ago, Delberthot said:

It was an odd gig last night - we were booked to play 10-12 but 2 x 45 minute sets. It ran over as these things do so we didn't start until 11.20 and played on until 12.20 when the DJ took over.

It'll take some adjustment to how I wear the bass and where I position my right hand but I did enjoy playing it. At gig levels of adrenaline I am going to need to raise the action as well but that's good in that I found the strings ever so slightly floppy compared to the Sterling, presumably due to the slightly shorter scale. Raising the action will increase the compliance(?) I think making the strings feel slightly higher tension.

Though some strings inherently “feel” less or more tense, in some ways it’s an illusion. At a given gauge a string will have the same tension regardless of brand etc. However, the feel of the strings is of course affected by scale length etc - but a big determining factor is the break angle over the nut and the saddles - as you increase the break angle the perceived tension goes up. 

[Delberthot]

1 hour ago, Bridgehouse said:

Though some strings inherently “feel” less or more tense, in some ways it’s an illusion. At a given gauge a string will have the same tension regardless of brand etc. However, the feel of the strings is of course affected by scale length etc - but a big determining factor is the break angle over the nut and the saddles - as you increase the break angle the perceived tension goes up. 

These are the same strings that I use on my Sterling but the slightly shorter scale means that each string is 2lbs of tension lighter. I also play pretty close to the bridge on the Sterling so that will also make the strings feel less compliant than playing towards the neck.

I always wind the string so that when the string leaves the nut it is wound to the lowest point of the tuner so the break angle is as high as it can be as far as that is concerned. Raising the string height at the bridge will increase the break angle at the other end which should also help.

I don't really want to change gauges as I like my current brand and I wouldn't be able to determine if the replacement strings felt the same as D'addario are one of the few companies that publish string tensions for different gauges. I haven't looked but I don't think that a 47, 67, 87, 108 is available

I think that if I lift the strings then that should balance everything out so that the perceived tension is closer to what I am used to.

[afterimage]

Not for Me  no excuses to ship poor quality products