Rickenbacker 4003 Bass Mapleglo

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

The only nicer bass I have ever played is my 1972 Fender Jazz!!!!! The balance is perfect & for the weight, or lack there of, it has a thick beefy sound. The coil tap helps for a punkier sound. I have owned it for about 2 months & played a dozen gigs with it. It is now my main stage bass!!!!

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

This bass is the Goddess of Thunder and Lightning. Sustain you can feel in your strap. I've been trying to get a bad sound out of it and came up empty. The first 5 frets on the E are incredibly defined, no mud. I found myself playing in the middle of the neck on the A string on my Fender USA P/J Bass with EMGs (which I love)for definition.Trying to find a reason not to play the Ric and I can't. Unless your name is Victor Wooten, this bass is better than you are.

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

The wood... the feel... the electronic.. The tune... The softinest... Man I love this bass.

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

It's too bad some of my other cheaper guitars are made so much better. Spent 6x more money on this one just to have to send it back. So disappointed.

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

I just bought this bass, in mapleglo, last week at GC Sacramento. I've been shopping the 4003 for months, with nothing but disappointment, until I found this guitar. The first one I bought was a 4003w, through GC.com, which was a disaster (see my review on that product). Then, after discovering that the Sac store had three of them (jetglo, mapleglo, and sunburst), I went down there in a last-ditch effort to own a Rickenbacker. I'm glad I did. One thing I've discovered about this brand and model is that they are NOT all created equal. Due to the hand-built nature of this product, each guitar is an individual, with unique advantages, character, and flaws. I set out to buy the jetglo model, but after sampling all three basses, it was clear that the mapleglo was the only one that lived up to the reputation. The sunburst model sounded good, but had a bad finish job on the fretboard. The jetglo looked good, but had a bad neck. Be careful when buying this brand, and be sure to play it first. Don't buy these sight-unseen, as I did with the 4003w. However, once you get a good one, you'll be stoked. It's a truly unique, hand-crafted piece of musical artistry, fashioned in the art deco style. I'm happy to finally own one. Shout-out to manager Will at the Roseville store, who made this possible by personally sending me a 15% discount coupon. I saved hundreds of dollars, which doesn't hurt. Thanks to one and all.

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

I play at a hobby, yet very serious level. I get paid hence I may well be professional. My sound and appearance mean a lot. This Ricky does not let anything less than the best be heard or seen. Its a real attention getter.
Not to mention I am really enjoying playing it. I enjoy hearing myself too. It is making me a better bassist already. Can't compliment this instrument enough. As much and as long as I have been a Fender Jazz Bass player (exclusively) I am not the bit least hesitant to pick this thing up and let it roar.

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

I am a hobby musician that performs in a rather serious context. I am not one to compromise anything in a bass, looks or inferior sound, much less poor presence. On my first outing with this Ricky in the second set I hear from the crowd " the bass players a Monster" and truth be told. They were right!
My concerns are use of instruments that produce the tones,energy, and most important BOTTOM END that keeps a crowd on the dance floor or at least mesmerized by the sound. My J basses are the only others I will use now. But trust me, this Ricky is gonna be the Signature Bass for me now.
I had a Ricky many years back. Still an infant bassist back then. While still an infant of sorts now I certainly know this is one bass I and anyone of a serious nature best get there hands on. My friends and fellow musicians keep asking "How do you like the Ricky" The only only answer I can give. OH MY GOSH!!!!! Don't put it off any longer folks. GET ONE NOW!!!

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

This bass has been played on tons of classic recordings: Classic rock, prog rock, punk rock, alternative/indie rock...because great tone never goes out of style. Vintage and modern tone circuitry allow you to dial in any of the above or something else altogether. Great string action, and dual truss rods ensure that the neck remains solid. Stereo outputs for sending each pickup to a different amp or for routing certain effects through each pickup to optimize the tone (fuzz/distortion with neck pickup, flange/phase with bridge pickup, for example).

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

What can I say, it's a Rickenbacker!! I have a 1982 4001, and this 4003 is going to be used as an addition. The 4003 has a slightly smaller back of the neck than the 4001, which is great for those of us with smaller hands. Everything else is practically identical to the 4001 (which they stopped making back in the mid 80's). This comes from the factory with the Schaller strap locks, so that's an added benefit. The pickups are more of a higher power than the older models, so it's louder than the 4001, but a bit "bassier". The treble volume knob can be pulled out to give the "vintage" sound of the older 4001's, so I use this mode. I like the higher power of the new pickups, but prefer the older sound. In the recording studio, this records very nicely. I play in a touring heavy metal band, and this bass definitely holds its own. I also love the comments I get from people after the shows as to how awesome these basses look and sound. Absolutely a two thumbs up!!!

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

Excellent bass. No flaws, plays and sounds like a dream. Been playing 50 years and this tops all basses I've ever played. I added Fender pure nickel strings and I couldn't be happier.

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

I had always played a Fender Jazz because I could get the action so low without fret buzz and the profile of the neck suited my hand. When I first tried the RIC I was amazed at the fact that the truss rod in the neck was set perfectly straight with absolutely to relief. I verified this by touching both the E and G strings down against the fingerboard at the 1st and 20 frets and could see no light along the entire distance. This was a seemingly impossible but delightful proposition. That having been said along with falling in love with the tremendous tonal range the bass offered sold me. I would caution that these basses seem to be highly individual. Mine for example would not allow the strings to be lowered enough to suit me as it came from the factory and in fact I finally resorted to completely grinding out the 3/16" or so of metal out of the bottom of the bridge well in the tailpiece casting to allow me to lower the action by that much more. It now plays like lightning without a hint of fret buzz and the slightly shorter scale than the Fender DOES make a difference in preventing left hand fatigue. I also replaced the noisy single coil pickups with drop-in no muss no fuss Epiphone NYT and NYR and will assert that this mod only improved the signal to noise factor with no compromise in tone.

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

Own a 91 4003 that I bought new right out of high school, looking to add another as a backup. Can't believe that the quality has not changed one bit the new one is just a perfect as my original. I know the cost is high, but if your looking for a professional level instrument that does not have the weight of a P-bass you can't go wrong. I also have a P-bass, but its just to heavy for long nights in a bar. So new RIC in jetglo here we go.

Comments about Rickenbacker 4003 Bass:

What a sound! I have own my new Fireglo 4003 for over a year now and I can't stop playing and recording with it. The tone, using flats or rounds, is amazing. It's a beautiful instrument as well. The only thing I did not like is that the pick-up cover is placed right where I want to place my right hand. However, after taking it off and installing a treble bezel, all things are great again!

Highly recommended, especially for rock bassists.