It is a lot 'of time I frequent the pages of Agreement, and with great astonishment, I realized that nobody has ever occupied this piece of history. To which I said is not right!So here I am! As owner of a 4003 two years of 2005 I hope to be a reviewer as much as possible objective (I must warn you that I'm in love with my bass). But before I describe my bass, trying to tell the story briefly.
It all started in 1957 with the birth of the first bass Rickenbacker signed: the 4000. A low that possesses several innovative features. In fact it was the first neck through the history and already had the distinctive design that still characterizes all of the low company of Santa Ana.
The neck was mahogany (although over the years have followed different materials: in particular, maple, wood preferred by Rickenbacker, and walnut, sometimes combined) and the wings of the maple body. The pick-up single was the historic horse-shoe.
In 1961 he was presented the King of the Rickenbacker bass: The 4001! In practice it was the deluxe version of 4000, with two pick-up, the horse-shoe of the bridge combined with a toaster coil neck, dual outputs (mono or stereo), maple neck with rosewood fingerboard (sometimes ebony) , dual truss rod, binding on body and neck.The European version, passed through the hands of two legends like Paul McCartney and Chris Squire, showed some differences: it did not bind and the output was only mono. During the seventies, 4001 underwent several updates: the original pick-up were replaced by two single-coil, dual output option became standard and the pick-up in the neck was moved closer to the end of the keyboard. Also in the seventies, with the spread of the strings roundwound, it was realized that the tension generated by them was too thin to handle 4001. To resolve this problem, in 1980, the truss rod was completely redesigned and made its appearance on the new model of the house: the 4003. Calling the new model is exaggerated, because both the design features that were identical to 4001, but there you are ...
The 4003 has undergone several upgrades. The first version had a horrible two-piece pickguard and truss rod adjustment at the end of the keyboard. In 1984, finally, he put these eyesores rimendio changing the pickguard (which was back in one piece) and moving the adjusting screws on the truss-rod on the headstock, and the bass became what is still present in the lists Rickenbaker .My 4003, 2005, in fact, is substantially identical to the model presented in 1984. The design is simply spectacular, unchanged for 50 years and still topical (look for yourself).The build quality is excellent and the finish is very carefully done. The painting, in an electric blue eccitantissimo that Ric called Midnight blue, hand-made Rickenbacker as usual, is perfect, and has no flaw. The mechanics of Schaller, are excellent, and take good tuning. The bridge, however, has some shortcomings. The strength is absolute, but does not allow you to adjust the height of each saddle (you can only adjust the overall height) and access to the screws to adjust intonation is difficult.As for the electronics, the pickups are two single-coil high output. The background noise is sensitive, but must be considered that the magnets are of large size, so it's inevitable.The sound is very distinctive, with a powerful attack and very defined and high in the foreground. It must be said immediately that there is a modern low. The sounds are light years away from instruments such as Yamaha or Ibanez BTB TRB. It is true that there is a versatile bass. I sound all there and has always given me enormous satisfaction. The maximum is achieved by playing with a pick. Also because playing it with your fingers is a bit 'uncomfortable. The roof of the pickup to the bridge is ugly, useless (it is put there only to remember the legendary horse-shoe, but not useless. In fact, I have replaced with a cover of Pickguardian that makes it much more convenience). Very comfortable and the controls are very simple. Separate volume and tone for each pickup and a three position switch.In conclusion it is a beautiful instrument, well built, well finished and with a particular sound, but not difficult to manage. The setting is simple, a bit 'for the double truss-rod, a little' to the bridge "strange", so it is best to rely on a professional. For the rest, go buy it now!P.S.: In America! Try to buy it in America! With the favorable exchange rate can take Italian at half the price!
