Rickenbacker 4003S Review

Finally just bought one.

Colin was great to work to work with on the purchase of this Rick 4003s. I bought a demo model. The bass had a scratch on it that was barely noticeable by the input jack. Aside from the great appearance and beautiful finish on the bass the sound is all there!!! Sounds so good through my ampeg svt pro 3 and a 1x15 ampeg cab. Love the thick neck on these rickenbackers. Great… read more bass overall. Buy one you won't disappointed.

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Awesome bass but needed some attention

First... It's a Rickenbacker. You either live em or hate em. Personally, I love em. This bass however arrived with a defective toggle switch & an absolutely horrible setup. Sweetwater sent me the correct replacement switch so that problem was solved. The setup however... OMG! Neck way out of adjustment, intonation not even close, bridge saddles set quite high. I don't know what's… read more going on at the RIC factory but JEEZUS! Now on to the good. Shaka, my salesperson at SW is Awesome! Gave me a great deal on the bass & took care of the issues. The fit, finish & construction of the bass is flawless. It sounds like a RIC! It plays beautifully. The bass is capable of various tones from thuddy motown/R&B to full on grinding metal. It sounds great through my Ampeg tube amp & 4x10 cab. All in all I'm quite satisfied with my purchas.

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Fantastic Instrument!!

This is my second Ric, my first being an 89 blood red 4003 monster. I played an s model and found it to be much more comfortable due to the rounded edges, Fantastic neck, classic sound and the fire-glow finish is just plain beautiful. The case is a bit of a pos (plastic) but I had an extra Ric case (some cretin stole the bass 20 years ago)So my new rick is safely living in a classic… read more case. Yes, it's an expensive bass and the case sucks but it is worth EVERY PENNY. My bass arrived double boxed, perfectly set-up and perfect in every other way. The sales experience was nothing but positive!

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Never Looked Back

I chose this over the Jetglo for several reasons. I like the matte finish and lack of binding. The body edges are a bit more contoured and more comfortable. The Rick-o-Sound option, while cool, wasn't something I would use often, if at all. The neck is a chonk. If you prefer slimmer necks, make certain you play one of these before you buy. I dig it. From the love it or hate it… read more camp, it's true that there's no obvious place to rest your picking hand thumb, but after I ditched the pickup cover, I found a way to settle in. I had to play it to find the spots. There are after market rest options for this if you so choose. The buying experience was excellent. Joe Schafer was on the phone as soon as he could be after I ordered it. I can set up my instruments, but the option to have it done by Sweetwater wasn't something I had considered. I'm glad I went with it. After questions about my playing style and preferences, the bass showed up ready to be played by me, and I was surprised. I didn't have to tweak a thing on the set up. Moreover, the luthier ( thanks Jake S.!) provided a note card with tech specs, so repeating the set up is possible. This is an option beyond the 55 point inspection, and I would recommend it for a high end purchase.

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Total Satisfaction

I didn't want to write a review until I had a chance to put this bass through some rigorous sessions. The only question I have now is why didn't I buy a Rick sooner! I have several 4, 5, and 6-string basses and none are as easy to play for long periods with a low fatigue factor as this bass. I did put a good set of flat-wounds on it that didn't detract from the Ricksound this… read more bass generates. So far - zero problems and a lot of enjoyment. Thank you Greg for putting this fine instrument in my hands!

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2021 Rickenbacker 4003s bass !

My sales engineer was Steven Stewart it's my second time that he provides me with an excellent customer service. The first time was when I bought my fender mustang bass and now with my Rick 4003s. After waiting 14 months for guitar center to be able to get my Rick bass the only calls I received were that I was in back order. At that moment I decided to cancel my order with guitar… read more center and call Sweetwater.Steven was able to get me the specific bass that I saw online but it was a problem the bass that I wanted had been taken to the Sweetwater store an hour earlier so he put my call on hold ran downstairs to be sure that the bass still available and also in excellent condition. Finally, It's a Rickenbacker great tone, awesomeness design and finish!

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Love this bass!

I got my first ever Rickenbacker 4003s in October of 2019. In the last year I have played it a lot, even during the pandemic, and I must say it has the best tone and playability of any bass I have ever owned. I will never let go of this bass guitar. It is my go to bass for life (unless I can eventually get another Rickenbacker bass). Everytime I play a gig, I am amazed at how… read more good this bass sounds with my Markbass amp set up. Such a wide variety of tones I can get with this bass. Now I wish I hadnt' had to wait twenty-five years to get my dream bass guitar. Love the hardshell case that it came with. A worthy investment not only in money, but in musical satisfaction as a player.

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Very Satisfied

I had been planning to wait until the next batch of Rick 4003's in Fireglo came in, but since that wasn't going to happen for a few more months, I decided to get the 4003S, and I'm glad I did. The only difference is that the 4003S does not have the Ric-O-Sound output, which I'm never going to use anyway, and it does not have the binding on the neck or body, nor the shark tooth… read more inlays on the neck. But it is also ~$250 less, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I have not adjusted the action on it yet, but it is extremely playable, and feels pretty comparable to my other Ric, which has been adjusted. From a tonal aspect, I don't believe you can find a more versatile bass. I've mostly played Fenders over the years, but they do not come close to the versatility that you find with a Rick. And although the advertisements tout the treble punch and mid-range of the Rick, it has every bit as much bottom end as my P-basses. If you are in the market for a Rick, I would absolutely recommend a 4003S.

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Backing Ricky

Just purchased a brand new 4003 Rickenbacker Mapleglo Bass. After getting it tuned up and setting the 4 knobs in proper position, I was ready. And, I am 100% happy with my Bass. I needed to adjust myself from using my current older bass. But, once I got myself familiar and more accustomed to the new, I am very content. I enjoy playing it. Even with the accompanying strings. I say… read more that only because there are a certain type of Bass string that I prefer. But, the ones already on the new Bass are fine, and I enjoy playing them. Glad I made the purchase! And, the Sweetwater representatives were very courteous and helpful. Mr. Randy Poteete was the rep who mainly helped me.

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2020 Rickenbacker 4003S Jetglo

I had the pleasure of working with Chris Lewis at Sweetwater. Chris was very helpful in helping me to select an awesome Rickenbacker 4003S Jetglo bass. He responded properly to every email, and there were a lot of them. The bass arrived double boxed and beautiful. Overall, I highly recommend ordering anything from Sweetwater over just about anybody else out there on the Internet.… read more Sweetwater goes the extra mile to make sure their customers are satisfied. I'll definitely order from Sweetwater again. This 4003S plays and sounds amazing! Very punchy and articulate and I love the push pull knob. I actually find myself using the vintage sound by pulling up on the knob, really like the tone, not quite as deep and very satisfying to the ear. Then you can push down on the knob and rattle the walls with a deep bass tone. If you're thinking about a 4003S you should definitely buy one, it's well worth it. The updated bridge is really awesome too. Each saddle has a little roller ball which allows you to move each bass string to the left or to the right so you can fine-tune where you want the strings to be on the front board. Great feature!

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Pleased

Very pleased with the buying experience and product delivery. I highly recommend Sweetwater and will definitely shop here again.

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Ric_tastic!!!

This is my third Rickenbacker bass. This time I wanted a Ric bass that looked more like the 4001 Ric bass that Paul (McCartney) played in the 1970's without the hefty price. The Ric 4003S that I purchased is still a 4003, but looks to me like a 4001 as it has no body binding and has dot inlays on the fretboard instead of the trapezoid style inlays...refer to the film "RockShow"… read more which is a fantastic video of Paul's "Wings Over America" tour back in 1976! Compare the difference in appearance. Nothing negative can be said about the Rickenbacker 4003S model in the MapleGlow finish. If you want to have a Rickenbacker bass that looks similar to Paul's, the playability, the quality...then the Rickenbacker 4003S in MapleGlow is the way to go for far less money. Sweetwater really came through on this purchase with their inspection up and beyond Rickenbacker's own quality control. This was,in my opinion "ASweet Deal"!!!

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Just wow!

I was extremely lucky to nab the one Demo Fireglo 4003s bass and my amazing rep Jed gave me a deal I could not pass up. This bass is just stunning to look at and to play is hard to put into words. This is my first Ric bass and I am simply blown away with how amazing she is and the ridiculous price I was able to get her for. Thank you Sweetwater!

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Jetglo Ric is amazing!

I received my new 4003S Jetglo Ric two weeks ago.... And I have to tell you it was actually in tune when I opened it - I am not even kidding!!! Sweetwater had it to me in three days... It was packed as well as anything I have every received... The bass was setup and in "ready to play" condition - this can be said of "very" few music outfitters! Sad, but true!!! And my sound engineer,… read more Matt Emick, is a gem... So knowledgeable and yet also down to earth... Long story short, this bass sounds, plays, and looks AMAZING... This is only the second Ric I"ve every owned and I may never play my P-Bass again!

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I don't deserve this guitar

This bass looks and feels incredible. Purchased about 10 days ago and can't put it down. Blown away by sweetwater's people, specifially Aaron Swaidner for being so helpful and communicative. Buying from this company is like a dream. Purchased a demo model at a great price that looked like it had barely been touched. NICE case and all the Ric case candy as well. Thanks, I'll definitely… read more come back to sweetwater for future purchases.

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4003S

This is my second Rickenbacker bass, I have an 88 4003 in red and thought that it was the ultimate Ric. The new 4003s plays better and without the binding is vastly more comfortable to play (no more digging in to your right forearm) No stereo output on this one, but I never used it on the "old" bass anyway, Plus, it eliminates the problem of plugging into the wrong jack (Hate it… read more when that happens) To sum up, It plays GREAT, neck is like a good P-Bass only not as deep, Sounds great and the thing is just beautiful! Fit and finish is stellar. My sales engineer, Natish worked hard with me to make this happen. Bass arrived on time, well packed and in perfect condition, It was even in tune. The bag of candy they included was a nice touch. This is the third bass I've ordered from Sweetwater and I will continue to order with confidence in the future. If you're thinking about buying a 4003s, Go Ahead, you'll be a happy camper :-)

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This bass is magic!

Once or twice in your life you come about an instrument that just speaks to you.This bass reminds me of a Rickenbacker 4001that was stolen from me at a gig in 1983. I have bought at least 15 basses to get to replace that guitar. All were lacking. This new 4003S is one remarkable instrument.Every once in awhile you find an instrument that just has a bit of magic to it. And for… read more me this is the one

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Outstanding

I have owned one of these for a while now and it is just outstanding. It has that Rickenbacker sound, Its got that Rickenbacker look. The S model is smoother on the edges and less flashy without the inlays . If there is anybody out there considering buying one of these i suggest you go for it

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