New Rickenbacker short scale, the 4030S

[Obrienp]

28 minutes ago, Clarky said:

BassDirect has a couple in stock as of today (I think) at £3,299

 

 

At least that one is walnut, so presumably light by Ricky standards but the price is eye-watering. I doubt it will hang around for long though. Somebody will have the cash. 
 

I’ve just discovered a mate has a band saw, table router, drill press, band sander and is just completing a CNC machine in his garage/workshop. He’s one of those folks who makes valve amps for fun and has built his own Moog-alike synths. I am wondering if we could tackle a Rick-alike shorty together. I am sure it would come in a lot cheaper than the 4030S.

[Schnozzalee]

Who agreed that? Honestly...

[Stag]

The more I think about the RRP of these, the more it baffles me. So on the Bass Direct site you can get a 4003S which is presumably exactly the same body, in a "special" colour for £2699. Or you can pay £600 (!!!) more for pretty much exactly the same instrument parts-wise, just with Schaller machine heads and different higain pickups. Err.... wut?

Edited 6 hours ago by Stag

[Baloney Balderdash]

I love how they look, and if I had that kind of money to spend I would be very tempted to buy one.

 

However I also fell for the temptation to buy a vintage 70's Rickenbacker once, when I had that kind of money to spend at my disposal, and it turned out the most expensive piece of absolute crap I ever bought.

 

Hated how it felt in my hands, and I wasn't particularly impressed by the tone either.

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Baloney Balderdash

[prowla]

27 minutes ago, Stag said:

The more I think about the RRP of these, the more it baffles me. So on the Bass Direct site you can get a 4003S which is presumably exactly the same body, in a "special" colour for £2699. Or you can pay £600 (!!!) more for pretty much exactly the same instrument parts-wise, just with Schaller machine heads and different higain pickups. Err.... wut?

I think normal Ric machine heads are made by Schaller.

[Stag]

16 minutes ago, prowla said:

I think normal Ric machine heads are made by Schaller.

Most are Ric-stamped and openfaced, these are muuuch smaller

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Obrienp said:

I’ve just discovered a mate has a band saw, table router, drill press, band sander and is just completing a CNC machine in his garage/workshop. He’s one of those folks who makes valve amps for fun and has built his own Moog-alike synths. I am wondering if we could tackle a Rick-alike shorty together. I am sure it would come in a lot cheaper than the 4030S.

 

Even if you have to buy the band saw, router, sander and CNC you have a chance of it coming out cheaper!

 

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, Stag said:

So on the Bass Direct site you can get a 4003S which is presumably exactly the same body, in a "special" colour for £2699. Or you can pay £600 (!!!) more for pretty much exactly the same instrument parts-wise, just with Schaller machine heads and different higain pickups. Err.... wut?

 

Well, the schaller machine heads and high gain pickups would effectively make it the parts of a 4004, with the bridge of a 4003

[Bass Direct]

These basses feel nice to be honest, and are exactly the same in overall dimensions to a 4003s  

 

[BassApprentice]

23 minutes ago, Bass Direct said:

 are exactly the same in overall dimensions to a 4003s  

 

So....what have we gained here? 😅

 

 

[Paul S]

Well, it is short scale.  There is a new fretboard with extra frets on the old long scale neck giving you the smaller intervals between frets.  And if that is someone's reason for liking a short scale then I guess that is a winner.  But not for me - I would prefer the whole thing scaled down with 20 frets on a shorter neck with the associated reduction in weight.  Maybe, even better, a 32" scale, with appropriate body, neck and weight reduction would have been nice.