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 yesterday at 13:46 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 yesterday at 14:05 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.

[Bass Direct]

21 hours ago, Bass Direct said:

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

 

whats confusing?  @prowla 

[Woodinblack]

21 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

So....what have we gained here? 😅

 

A space behind the bridge where maybe you could put a sandwich for half way through a long gig?

[ikay]

23 hours ago, Bass Direct said:

... and are exactly the same in overall dimensions to a 4003s  

 

Having done a side-by-side photo comparison, the proportions and layout of the 4030 look quite different to me. The overall length (bottom pin to top of headstock) of the 4030 appears to be longer. I wonder if that's just an illusion - perhaps the 4003 pic wasn't taken exactly face on? Both pics are from BassDirect. It would be interesting to know if the overall length is the same as a 4003 if BD could do a quick check.

 

Regardless of that, the top strap pin on the 4030 is opposite fret 15 which, I would expect, makes it more prone to neck dive. On a 4003 it's opposite fret 13 which (to me) is already a bit marginal. It would have made more sense to move the bridge somewhat less severely to the right which would have shortened the overall length and improved the balance. 

 

The other difference is pickup positions. The bridge pup looks about right but the neck pickup is proportionally in a completely different position to a 4003. I actually prefer the idea of the neck pup being closer to the bridge, but it will sound different.

 

Overall it looks like a bit of a half hearted attempt at a true short-scale version. I certainly wouldn't pay a premium for it over a regular Ric!

 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by ikay

[Obrienp]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

 

A space behind the bridge where maybe you could put a sandwich for half way through a long gig?

Shades of Spinal Tap “The End Continues” but it should be a cheese sandwich. 

[Obrienp]

10 minutes ago, ikay said:

Having done a side-by-side photo comparison, the proportions and layout of the 4030 look quite different to me. The overall length (bottom pin to top of headstock) of the 4030 appears to be longer. I wonder if that's just an illusion - perhaps the 4003 pic wasn't taken exactly face on? Both pics are from BassDirect. It would be interesting to know if the overall length is the same as a 4003 if BD could do a quick check.

 

Regardless of that, the top strap pin on the 4030 is opposite fret 15 which, I would expect, makes it more prone to neck dive. On a 4003 it's opposite fret 13 which (to me) is already a bit marginal. It would have made more sense to move the bridge somewhat less severely to the right which would have shortened the overall length and improved the balance. 

 

The other difference is pickup positions. The bridge pup looks about right but the neck pickup is proportionally in a completely different position to a 4003. I actually prefer the idea of the neck pup being closer to the bridge, but it will sound different.

 

Overall it looks like a bit of a half hearted attempt at a true short-scale version. I certainly wouldn't pay a premium for it over a regular Ric!

 

 

Streuth! Two steps backwards: Quick march!

[ped]

It’s a pretty ‘rickenbacker’ way to do a short scale. Wrong. 

[prowla]

1 hour ago, ikay said:

Having done a side-by-side photo comparison, the proportions and layout of the 4030 look quite different to me. The overall length (bottom pin to top of headstock) of the 4030 appears to be longer. I wonder if that's just an illusion - perhaps the 4003 pic wasn't taken exactly face on? Both pics are from BassDirect. It would be interesting to know if the overall length is the same as a 4003 if BD could do a quick check.

 

Regardless of that, the top strap pin on the 4030 is opposite fret 15 which, I would expect, makes it more prone to neck dive. On a 4003 it's opposite fret 13 which (to me) is already a bit marginal. It would have made more sense to move the bridge somewhat less severely to the right which would have shortened the overall length and improved the balance. 

 

The other difference is pickup positions. The bridge pup looks about right but the neck pickup is proportionally in a completely different position to a 4003. I actually prefer the idea of the neck pup being closer to the bridge, but it will sound different.

 

Overall it looks like a bit of a half hearted attempt at a true short-scale version. I certainly wouldn't pay a premium for it over a regular Ric!

 

 

 

I think they're the same overall length; however:

1. The short-scale has a smaller gap between frets and so more fit onto the fretboard.
2. The bridge is moved up the body.
3. The pickups look to be in the Fender Jazz positions.

I think the apparent differences in the pictures must be photographic anomailes; I don't think (even) RIC would make a short scale bass with a longer neck!

I hadn't noticed that they've angled the tuners (like Warwicks).

But anyway, as a Ric fan, it's a hard no from me.

[ikay]

55 minutes ago, prowla said:

 

I think they're the same overall length;

Here's a better comparison with the 4003 pic adjusted to have the same overall length. Much easier now to see how they've cobbled it together with minimum new tooling and just repositioning the bridge and bridge pup. 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by ikay

[BassApprentice]

I'm sorry, but for £3,400 - that's sheer laziness. Zero effort to actually try and make a new model, especially when they have the 480 in their back catalogue 

 

Think what most other custom builders could do for over £3k.