I got my 4003SW from Wildwood as well. Great basses, and maybe the best Ric dealer! The Walnut basses seem to run consistently lighter in weight than the standard ones which is a plus. The finish on the neck and body is also easier to repair/replace which is another plus- I actually added a few coats of Tru-Oil to the fretboard on mine as the factory finish seemed too light and soaked up too much visible oil and dirt after playing, now it stays clean and the slight tint of the oil better matches the maple strip through the body (honestly the fretboard looked/felt almost unfinished on mine beforehand!).
I agree that the general tone is a bit darker on top to my ears, but maybe also a bit tighter on the bottom and more full in the midrange than normal recent 4003s I've tried. The neck is also something I wasn't sure if I'd get used to coming from some more shallow/wide Fender-esque necks (my 4004 is more P-bass-like as well), but I've been acclimating to it pretty quickly. The narrow string-spacing at the bridge is the hardest part to get used to, but it does make fast picking quite efficient for songs where I pick.
I've also modded mine quite a bit- added a Hipshot Aluminum Ric bridge to get rid of that string-mute that dug into my palm when picking (also has adjustable string-spacing which can squeeze slightly more width out of the bridge-spacing), added a metal pickup ring from an Ebay seller in Finland that is more ergonomical and has a built-in thumb rest, added Classic Amplification Ric pickups to get the tone closer to the vintage 4001 tone (brighter, punchier, more articulate), and switched out all the pots for 500K (Linear taper for the Volumes). I knew this bass was for keeps, so all these mods were just to perfect it for me, but I think they all answer certain quirks that bother me with the modern Ric basses and are worth consideration if you find certain short-comings!
