Rickenbacker 4003 Bass

I Bought The 4003s Ric in 1985, Blue with Black everything else, Good ole USA Made Bass, 4 string so on so forth... Great case, still lasting after all this time

This one is one of many that I had owned, you have to play them and pick the one that suits you, this one does funk with the best of them and most of your sound does come from your Amp, I use my trusty 1967 Ampeg SVT, until 2 weeks ago, I bought a Carvin R1000, retired the SVT. This thing can sound like a Harley growling or the sweetest softest Bass you've ever heard, it's call Dynamics people, the act of playing soft with your fingers or plucking very hard with a plectrum (pick).. you can get different sounds with the 3 way switch,but you can achieve that by moving from the bridge to the neck pickup, and I've never removed the cover to the pickup on this one, but I have had a couple that came with out them and I hated it, I use it to anchor my thumb...I've used it in the studio and live, it has never failed me either way ever... I don't expect it to either........For those looking for that Yes sound, use over driven Tubes...... Turn your pre-amp up and your master Volume down, natural overdrive, like a tube guitar Amp, The Who's Bassist used a Guitar Amp for his Highs to get that sound.
Only noisy when your near those florescent lights or a TV

The action came low and has remained there for 18 years,I play funk, jazz Rock and finger tap... The Pickups came adjusted just fine, but every player tweaks to their tastes.. Mine was totally flawless, but, I ordered mine this color and Binding, Have only seen 3 this way in 18 years

Beat it on stage for 18 years, still going, no Pits or rust, Black Hardware lasts a long time.. I've only had to adjust the Truss rod twice in all this time, and I never take a backup bass to a gig. I used to have to take a backup for my Fender, as it broke strings.. but I got ride of that problem long ago, Shame it would be worth over a grand now, and I paid $300 for it in 72, and it was a 66 jazz, live and learn...

In 18 years I've never called them.... though from what I heard here, they should move up to the computer age and reply to e-mails... They were never into giving anything away, even back in the early 60's

Been playing 30 years, I have my Ric, a PJ Bass a 5 String Artist series Samick.. My old Ampeg SVT, a Peavey Sessions Bass head(Tube)
A Carvin R1000, a 2,10 cab, 2 15 Cabs, and an 18 sub-woofer
I have a very Big Dog protecting this stuff, I'll be buried with that Bass, and yes, If I did loose it, I'd order another one, can't beat the sound, look, sound and Oh Yea, the LOok...
I do have to say, don't mail order it from a mail order house, go try them and buy the one you like, or go to a Ric dealer and Special Order one, you won't be dissapointed.....
PS, Find a Great Guitar Tech if you ever need anything done to it. And I don't mean just your run of the mill tech, look around at Vintage shops, ask questions, like have you ever done one before and can I see it or pictures of it.. My tech has them, and took pictures of mine before he gave it back to me......., It's called Pride in his workmanship in working on exquisite instruments....

Well... I tend to think this category is somewhat... Useless for a rating. It's a passive bass, and in all honesty, I used to have an active bass and I didn't like it. I left all the knobs at middle position, but I still had to change the battery and I could leave a cord plugged in, which I found somewhat annoying. Anyways, Ric 4003 in Jetglo (black) made in the good ol USA. Came with a Hardshell Case that is form fitted in the SKB style. Nice. The lack I saw was that the strap pegs are Schaller straplok style, but the bass came with no straploks. So I had to buy some and use those. That I found annoying, but not really a big deal. 2 volumes, 2 tones and a 3 way [switch, of course].

I'd have to say I like it, I like it a lot. As for variety in sound, I'd say there is a decent amount. People tend to ignore their amps in reference to this I would have to say. As far as the switch goes, sure it makes a small variation in sound, and twiddling with controls does some stuff too, however, when I made my own bass (a bad-ass custom flying v) I didn't put any controls on it, if the bass has a good character, which the Ric really really does, then with a halfway decent amp you can get lots of great sounds. I've never found it to be more noisy than say... a Tokai Jazz sound, which is relatively hum-free.

It was actually set up perfectly when I got it. Mine has very low action, but I did have to do some setup after I changed away from the Ric strings that came on it(I believe they put on their special lighter gauge strings to try and keep you with them, I didn't like them though, they were floppy). I did it myself though, no problem, and the double truss rod didn't prove to be too impossible. The finish is really nice, and cool. Despite being solid black, it's possible to seen the wood grain through it. Of course no bass is bullet proof, so it has microscopic scratches by now, but on the whole it's a pretty tough little guy. Nice thin body siddles up close to the body and it's neck is reminiscent of a p-bass, but fairly easy to play. There is a certain... stickiness, that's true, but after playing for a few minutes the oils from my hand make it smooth sailing.

Well I've had it for a year and it hasn't proved to be too tough a beast to handle. The finish will probably survive past my death, and perhaps I will be buried with it. I'm kinda... paranoid, so the whole backup thing... that's just common sense, strings break, etc. The hardward is still nice and shiny... and basically this bass would survive hell easily.

I've never called them or asked for anything, seeing as the bass has never crapped out on me.

Well I've been playing for like... 6 years I guess, which in the world of music still makes me a newbie though. I'm in a emo/rock band and this bass cuts through in a way that really complements that sound. I have a Tokai Jazz sound, and a custom flying v and the three basses have different sounds, but I'd have to say I love the Ric like none other, it's tough to beat, of course for a grand I guess that makes sense, but I say it's worth every penny. I would have to buy another one if It was taken from me, but I would do everything within my power to get this baby back. As for the whole "good sound, good amp" thing I said up there, I suggest the Ric through an SWR bass 350, BBE sonic maximizer, and a nemesis cab loaded with eminence drivers. I tell you this thing has all the gumption you'll ever need, and you won't be dissapointed.

Made in July 2002 in the only place Ric's are made.. California. It's a 4 string model, 20 frets, 2 volume knobs, 2 tone knobs, a 3 way switch to change between pickups. Passive electronics, maple body. This one is the Mapleglo finish. Rosewood neck. Came with Rickenbacker case (that by the way is very nice. bass fist perfect in it.) much better than the older cases, or the silver vintage cases.

This bass has the perfect sound for the kind of music I like to play. I've always been a huge Rush fan, and a big Yes fan also. So this was obviously the bass for me. In my opinion nothing sounds better, but like I said... that's my opinion. If you're reading this you probably already know the sound, and if not... go pop in an old Rush album (i.e. Freewill is a perfect example), or you can listen to Yes's Roundabout. You're going to get a sound close to that. It won't be just like that, because those guys have a lot of other equipment that goes into their particular sound... especially Chris Squire on Roundabout. That's the tone I've always wanted, and will probably never get. I'm sure he's got about 50,000 invested in that sound. I play gospel music in church, and this bass sounds great. Never muddy. Always bright, and cuts through the mix very good. I don't find that the sound is very versatile. I've read a bunch of reviews on here that say it is, but I don't think so. It's pretty much just has one sound. It does that sound very well, but if it's not what you like than certainly don't buy one thinking you can change it. This bass always sounds very bright, and like it has new strings on it no matter how old they are. Great Sounding bass! It's the best feature of a Rickenbacker.

When I got the bass to my house (I had to mail order it, because none of my local shops deal with Ric) the action was bad. No, make that awful! I played my friends 1979 4001 before I bought this one to make sure I could get comfortable with it, because they have a different feel than any other bass you will ever play, and the action on his was awesome. I drove out to the nearest dealer to my house (which wasn't very close), and the 4003 they had in the store was awesome too! I didn't buy that one, because I didn't like the color they had in stock. I brought the strings down to where they buzzed, and then up from there. Guess what?? I was right back to where I started!! So, I brought it to a luthier, and had him adjust the neck which was a little off from traveling UPS ground in the middle of winter. He couldn't do any better. He was embarrassed to give it to me with the action so bad! I'm past the return policy from the place I got if from, so I'm pretty much stuck. I'm adapting to it, but it's so bad that I actually get cramps in my hand. The pickups were set just as high as the action, so they had to go down about an inch or so. The bass is beautiful. No doubt! I get compliment after compliment on the looks, and sound of it. I believe the problems is that the nut is just cut bad. Another thing is the pickups are very noisy! Very Noisy!!! Can't give you a good score here Ric. This action is ridiculous!!!!! My first bass... a Sears Harmony had better action.

I think this bass with withstand pretty much anything. The finish seems to be top notch. The strap buttons are small, so you may want to invest in straplocks. I always like to keep a backup on hand.

Not very helpful. Send them an email, and you might get a reply. Then again... maybe not. Depends on how they are feeling I guess. And when they do reply, it's almost better if they didn't. I've emailed them several times.. gotten a few replies, and zero help!! Comes with a 5 year warranty, but you have to mail the warranty card in within 10 days of purchase date. And as you know, you can't return these without losing 15% once you mail in that card. Online registration would be great. You know that website you have people?? USE IT!

I've been playing off, and on for 10 years. I've owned a couple of Ibanez basses before this one. The Rickenbacker has a far superior sound, and look to those, but the Ibanez's blow it away in the action department! Completely away. If it were lost, or stolen I would buy one only if I could play it first. Buyer beware when mail ordering!!! I love the sound... HATE the action. These are great sounding basses, but make sure you play it first. They are all hand made, so everyone is different. I got a bad one. I hope if you read this, and buy one that you get a better one. P.S. Good luck with their customer service

Made in 2002 in California. 4 string, 20 frets. 2 volume, 2 tone knobs. Stereo input jacks. Passive electronics. Mapleglo finish. Maple body. Rosewood neck. Came with Rickenbacker case.

I'm a huge Chris Squire, and Geddy Lee fan. So this was a no-brainer for me. Love that sound, so I had to have one of these. Sounds as close to those guys as you are gonna get. Don't expect to pull this out of the box, and it's going to sound just like Chris Squire's Roundabout tone. No sir. You're gonna need a ton of other stuff to get that sound, but it's pretty close. I play gospel music too, and it works great with that. I have a Peavey practice amp at home, and an Eden head, and 210 box at church. The pickups make more noise than anything I've ever heard. It's really bad. If you're reading this you know how it sounds. It has one sound, and it does that well. You're not going to get a lot of variety out of this bass. You can get a quiet Rickenbacker tone, or a loud Rickenbacker tone.. that's it... I love the sound. Hate where I got it from, and Rickenbacker customer service.

Setup was awful. Strings were high as giraffe pooh nanny. Neck seems a little twisted around the 12th fret. The neck is sticky too. Hard to move around very fast on this one. I lowered the strings until they buzzed, and then up from there. Action still sucks. The finish on it was beautiful, but playing it is a nightmare. Also, the neck seems to have a small gap from the top body wing. One of the input jacks quit working after 4 weeks of having this bass.

Haven't had it long, and I'm getting rid of it so I really don't care if it dies on the way back. Seems to be built strong.. Finish should last a long time. Strap buttons are way too small. Good luck adjusting the truss rod, or getting someone from Rickenbacker to help you with it!

This is the part I've been waiting for. Rickenbacker customer service is awful. I bought this from Musicians Friend (never again!!) only b/c they were the only ones who had it in stock. Rickenbacker makes you mail in (that's right!! snail mail) the warranty card with in 10 days of purchase date. By the time I got it in from Musicians Friend, I had to rush deliver it over to them. 4 weeks after I got this bass one of the inputs quit working. I called Musicians Friend, and because I had to mail in the warranty card so fast, now they can only take it back if they charge me a 15% restocking fee. Or I could send it to Rickenbacker. I emailed someone at Rickenbacker, and he says they never got my warranty card, and I'm pretty much out of luck. Take it to a Luthier. You're lucky I don't live in Cali punk!! Rude, and NO HELP AT ALL!!!! I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER RICKENBACKER PRODUCT EVER, EVER, EVER!!!!!!!

I've been playing for 10 years, and I've always wanted a Rick. I've played a few before, and they were great. I just happened to get a lemon. I understand that happens sometimes, but they haven't tried to help me one bit! I'm going to take it up the tailpipe, and let Musicians Friend get their 15%, just to get this junk off my hands. I'm going buy an Ernie Ball from a LOCAL SHOP!!! I love the sound, and hate the way they treat customers at Rickenbacker. I've always wanted one of these, and they certainly ruined the experience for me. If you're thinking of getting one... Good Luck. Hope you never need help with it.

This bass has it all!!! looks,feel,sound.did I mention looks? i have the jetglo and it really glo's. lots of crome.

i have a fender p,a fender jazz,and a rogue beatle bass(that sounds better than a real hofner)i love this bass.i love the sound of this bass.i love the mellowness of this bass.i love the punch of this bass.I LOVE THIS BASS BETTER THAN MY FENDERS(but the same as my rogue)

the bass was set up great right out of the box.and the action was right on for me.i lie it low.as for that guard over the rear pickup,i left it on.i play with a pick anyway (as everyone that does rock and roll should)no flaws and finish is to die for. but thats rickenbacker

I never owened a ric until now so i will let you all know in a few months or so.

dont need them yet

i have been playing 22 years and ive owened just about every bass there is but deing a bass player we are always looking for that sound well i found it with this ric.and my rogue.it it got lost or stolen i would buy another one that day.

My Rick was made in August, 2002 and is made in the US. I am not going to cover the rest of these topics cept that I purchased the "Jet-glo" with white binding and chrome - reminds me of a '56 chevy! I got what I expected!

A long time ago...I owned a 1985 Tobacco sunburst Rick 4001...as much as I loved that bass, I've always wanted a Black Rick (Thanks Geddy!). It sounds like a Rick...I am playing through a Sans Amp Rackmount RBI, Behringer parametric EQ into a SWR Bass 750 and have dumped the sound through a Hartke 4X10BXL and a 4.5 Bass module. It is noisy...needs better shielding. I also own two Peavey Cirrus (would that be Cirri?) basses (4 and 5 string). I mostly play rock, mostly. I do like funk, suck at Jazz (I'm not that good!) but have always loved Rush. It has the sound that I wanted...nuff said.

The bass was set up just fine. Like everyone else did, I removed the annoying plate across the bass pickup. It had no flaws, just a beautiful black finish. Good on you Rickenbacker!

Well, I won't know how it will last but if it is anything like my first Rick was (had to sell it for food for my family!), I expect it to last a long time. I am going to replace the strap buttons...nothing else needed replacement...

Okay Rickenbacker, move into the now! There's this thing called the internet and like all my other equipement, I was able to register their warrenties online...tsk tsk! I can't gie ye a 10 on this one!

I will give the bass an overall 10. I believe that I am rating the guitar based on my expectations and it was everything that I expected it to be and then some. Now, nearly 20 years after selling that tobacco sunburst Rick I own a black one!

This Rickenbacker I own is one beauty. The Fireglow (Red sunburst) is the reddist of reds and fades into the peachest of peaches...MMmmm. Bound with pure ivory plastic around the neck and plush crushed banana like pearl triangles on the neck may make this bass good for the other swingers who enjoy pink ones...but this still looks killer. Big fat tunas look like they could open cans of tuna...which most of the u.s. pop likes...I could smell it! Maple Body wings, Rock maple neck, Rosey woody freat boardy! 2 fat single coils...one deep in a bezel...crome baby. Sweat!

If you like Geddy Lee, Chris Quire, Lemmy, Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee and Chris Quire...you'll love this bass. It sound beutiful through 15's and 12's with at least 300 watts of power. Bright, full, aggressive, trebly...but turn the knobs and it's plushy wushy...I love that word.

This bass might sound good...but the set up sucks...I rather eat penut butter with out milk for 10 days stright. The neck has a mind of its own.

People in california should just make a pretty bass that plays good, not a preaty bass that sounds good. I'd rather play an aria pro bass while getting my toe nails removed then sown back on with the strings. People from Cali have sunstroke and have surfboards in areas that shouldn't be reveiled. Poor poor poooooooor. The serivce in cali is not like Geddy Lee (Garry Lee Weinrib for your information), chris Sqwiyer, Lenny, and Saul MacAndcheesecartny.

Like I said...if you like Geddy Lee, Chrissy Squirey, Paul MacNext for the grave, Ringo Star's last, and Lemmo..just say Yoko ono...you won't like the support.

If you like Geddy Lee Weinrib, Lemmy, Chris Squi... oh forget it.

1990 Ric, USA, 4 string with passive electronics.

Great sound a la Ric.

Geat action, as long as a pro makes the adjustments.

I've played over 100 gigs with it over a 12 year period. The hardware rusts, and I had to replace some pieces. The finish is not that good, and has faded.

I ordered spare parts for it and the service was ok, except for the rude surfer dork that took my call. Fire him!

This is my third bass, and the only one I ever kept. Would buy another, but this one is still great.

u've heard them already, passive pickups, 20 frets, 4 control knobs etc. fireglo finish, beautiful looking instrument of course. came with custom hard case, very nice, but it's like carrying a coffin!

very disappointed, didn't sound anything like any other rick i heard. sure its got that original growl but it lacks power, sound options and doesn't cut as well as i thought it would, its passive after all. sure, if ur a rock star who has tens of thousands to spend on amplification and effects such as fully parametric equalization, it might sound a bit better! or perhaps if u were chris squire and had his super powered custom rick with the massive pole pieces and the equipment i mentioned above, u might get close! not impressed at all.

action was adjusted from original factory settings, quite buzzy still, and the bass is murder to play finger style (there's no comfortable way of resting ur thumb, and i find that my fingers stick a lot because of the pickup height, if its too high, it's far too poppy, if its too low, u stick!). if ur a standard bass player who doesn't play a lot of technical chops ull be smiling, but if ur like me and like to go on a bass wank-fest from time to time (ala flea, victor wooten etc.), ull struggle with this bass (and as others have said before, its one of the worsed bass guitars out there for slapping!). perfect for pick playing, but i don't play with a pick! i guess this bass is just made for vintage 70's prog rock, does really satisfy eccentric modern music!

its built like a tank, duel truss rods, neck through body, gorgeous finish thats pretty durable. it all looks very pretty, but thats the problem, its a very expensive "good-looking" bass, that lacks smoothness and balls!

i've been playing for 5 years (ive written a review of the 4003 before, wanted to conclude my thoughts after almost 6 months of having the bass!), and i still prefer to use my beaten up yamaha RBX 460 with a zoom 506II effects patch, i can't believe it cuts better than the rick! shortly after buying the rick i played a stingray live, new strings, through a peavy black widow. fuck...me! no bass has compared to the stingrays power and cut, guess what im going to get as a replacement...:-D my suggestion is, buy it if ur rich and want to add to ur bass collection, it has got a totally individual sound. buy it if u play in a classic rock band or a covers band that doesn't involve a lot of advanced playing. do not think about forking out the cash if u play slap, tap, fast finger styles or any other advanced techniques (i made that mistake and now i have a very expensive ornament!).

Fireglo, Made in 2002 in good ol' USA... same as in previous reviews, and that's a mouthful...

RIC tone is killer tone... lots of sustain, punch, and that signature growl... When I switch the p/u to the neck position, I get somewhat of a fender P type sound, with both p/u's it's growlin' and groovin', superior to a jazz bass, in my opinion. Some of my favorite bassists have used this bass (or the 4001), such as Paul McCartney, Chris Squire, and Geddy Lee... not bad company at all... Check out McCartney's new Driving Rain CD and listen to "Spinning on an Axis" and there's that RIC tone in all it's glory (and his RIC goes back to the mid-Beatles period!). I love it, it's a real classic all the way.

This is where RIC's depart from just about any other bass out there... when I took mine out of the case, it was nothing short of perfect. All of the hardware is tight, the action was great, and very playable all the way around. The finish is superb and flawless. The luthiers at RIC obviously care about making the finest instruments around, I am convinced.

Built like a tank, and very solidly crafted.

RIC offers a five year warranty on their basses, and warranty their finishes for one year. Sounds good to me... hope I never have to use it.

I've been playing for over fifteen years and I have played quite a few basses, but the RIC is the Bomb!!! I love it, if something happened to it I would save up and get another definitely.