4003 or 4003s

B

brian0515

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May 19, 2016
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#1
Hoping to get my hands on a 4003s for comparison to the 4003 I've played to see if it's that much for comfortable to play and the craftsmanship is just as good.

I'm searching through the forum and am reading the responses to this numerously asked question. Just wondering if anyone has any recent opinions to chime in with.

I'm an intermediate bass player, primarily finger style but some use of the pick.
Pretty certain the chrome treble cover is coming off either one in place of a custom bezel.

I've seen discussion that the 4003s is not made as well. I know every model has a dud but I've not seen one in person only a 4003 recently.

Is the Ric-o-sound output useful that much that it would be missed on the 4003s model.

Either way, thanks for your time in this resurrected question of the two basses.
 
#2
A matter of opinion, but the S model is a little more comfortable to play without the binding. It never bothered me, but if you rest your forearm on the upper bout, the hard binding edge may bug you. I'd get the 4003 regardless. Ric o Sound is the true "secret sauce" of a Ric, like playing two basses simultaneously. Back in the day, lugging two amps and speaker cabs to bi-amp it was a PITA, but with modern lightweight cabs and Class D micro-amps, its eminently do-able. The overall tone and feel will be the same either way. If you like the simpler no-binding look of an S, a TB'er named @Aceonbass can make a custom stereo harness that will output out of the one jack hole available on an S model. Decisions.....
 
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#3
4004

24x.jpg
 
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#4
Gilmourisgod said:
A matter of opinion, but the S model is a little more comfortable to play without the binding. It never bothered me, but if you rest your forearm on the upper bout, the hard binding edge may bug you. I'd get the 4003 regardless. Ric o Sound is the true "secret sauce" of a Ric, like playing two basses simultaneously. Back in the day, lugging two amps and speaker cabs to bi-amp it was a PITA, but with modern lightweight cabs and Class D micro-amps, its eminently do-able. The overall tone and feel will be the same either way. If you like the simpler no-binding look of an S, a TB'er named @Aceonbass can make a custom stereo harness that will output out of the one jack hole available on an S model. Decisions.....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I'll see if I can get some info from him on making a custom harness for me.
How prominent is the issue to your knowledge about the binding quality I've read about. It separating I believe it was.
 
#8
I haven't heard of any instances of binding separating, short of it getting cracked by a drop. Most of the QC issues recently have been related to bubbling or separation of the clearcoat, particularly around the bridge. If possible, play the actual bass you intend to buy, the necks can vary slightly, and don't buy anything with even minor finish flaws you can't live with, Ric CS and warranty claim process are pretty bad. Some people own a Ric and never usd the Ric O Sound, which is like having overdrive on a car and never shifting to 5th gear. Imagine two basses playing in perfect unison, one a smooth thick bass, the other the classic grinding Ric clank and growl. Arrrggghhh!
 
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#12
brian0515 said:
...I've seen discussion that the 4003s is not made as well...
Click to expand...
Bull :poop:.

Hope this helps. :thumbsup:

Killed_by_Death said:
4004

24x.jpg
Click to expand...
I'll see your 4004 and raise you one.

4004L-SPC-4004L-Snowglo-1200_0716.jpg


:D

Oh, I see that yours is not really yours. :woot:

Hounddog409 said:
As you can see to the right, I went with the S...
Click to expand...
To the right of what? ;)

Brian, you will find the 4003S (capital S, BTW, a small s denotes plural) a very comfortable bass. ROS is not mandatory to getting a great Rick tone, whichever you on those tones you are looking to get (Squire? Lee? McCartney? Camp? Scott? Glover? Strater? Gibbs? Waters? Rutherford? Or, any number of other great bassists over the decades?).

The real issue is - what color do you want? :D
 
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#15
brian0515 said:
Thanks for the advice. I'll see if I can get some info from him on making a custom harness for me.
Click to expand...
To clarify, it's possible to have one output that is switchable from mono to stereo by way of a push-pull pot in the bridge volume position. Also, for a fuller tone while playing with both pickups on, replacing the .0047uF cap in the bridge tone circuit with one of a higher value (such as .1uF) results in a fuller tone with more bottom end because, the slightly scooped tone of both pickups together caused by "comb filtering" is eliminated, and because the larger value cap doesn't filter out the bottom end like the stock one does.
 
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#16
brian0515 said:
Hoping to get my hands on a 4003s for comparison to the 4003 I've played to see if it's that much for comfortable to play and the craftsmanship is just as good.

I'm searching through the forum and am reading the responses to this numerously asked question. Just wondering if anyone has any recent opinions to chime in with.

I'm an intermediate bass player, primarily finger style but some use of the pick.
Pretty certain the chrome treble cover is coming off either one in place of a custom bezel.

I've seen discussion that the 4003s is not made as well. I know every model has a dud but I've not seen one in person only a 4003 recently.

Is the Ric-o-sound output useful that much that it would be missed on the 4003s model.

Either way, thanks for your time in this resurrected question of the two basses.
Click to expand...

I prefer the "s" models

upload_2017-8-5_15-50-7.jpeg
 
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#20
with the issue of discomfort caused by the binding on a Ric 4003....does removing the chrome treble cover and replacing it with a treble bezel cover to use as a thumb rest "improve" the comfortability on the forearm?
 
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