Opinions on the 4001 and 4003

[fignewton]

Hi. I'm looking at buying a new 4003 or used 4001. I've read reviews, both
good and bad about the company. I'd just like to get a few opinions from
those who've actually owned the instruments. anything specific to watch out
for, be mindful of, etc. thanks.

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[Scott McDaniel]

Post by fignewton
Hi. I'm looking at buying a new 4003 or used 4001. I've read reviews, both
good and bad about the company. I'd just like to get a few opinions from
those who've actually owned the instruments. anything specific to watch out
for, be mindful of, etc. thanks.

Wow! That's a very general question.
Let me give you my experiences and you can judge from there...

I have had 3 4001s. Every one of them has been excellent instruments. Fit,
finish, polish and mechanicals have all been outstanding at purchase, and
for many years afterwards. One of my 4001s (JG) has had a problem in the
last five years with chrome chipping off of the metal. One was stolen... I
hope it has a happy home. The other, a 4001V63 is still immaculate.

All of my 4003s are specialty instruments, that is to say, they are 5 and 8
strings. I have had each one set up once, by a professional, every other
time I have set them up myself.
In the end I have had 0 problems with my RICs. Let me re-iterate: 0 problems
with RICs.

By way of contrast I have had an Alembic with neck warpage, a BC Rich with
neck warpage, A Fender P with bad pickup wiring (it took ten minutes to fix
this, no problems since), a thunderbird with a cracked neck, and a Galveston
12 string bass with completely inoperable electronics.

That said, all of my other basses have operated very well over the last 30
years.

Bottom line, IMHO, play one...If you like it keep it.

[fignewton]

thanks for the reply Scott. It was a vague question, but your response is
just what I was looking for. Your experience. I've always wanted a 4001,
however my friend has a warwick thumb bass that just plays beautifully.
Though it costs quite a bit more. (than a new 4003 anyway) So I am
comparing.
thanks again.

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[Einstine]

Post by fignewton
Hi. I'm looking at buying a new 4003 or used 4001. I've read reviews, both
good and bad about the company. I'd just like to get a few opinions from
those who've actually owned the instruments. anything specific to watch out
for, be mindful of, etc. thanks.
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We have had a 4003 Fireglow for 3 years or so, bought new. Amazingly
crafted instrument. Beautiful. The only thing we did to it was put in the
Seymour Duncan pickups, made for the 4003, to get rid of the noise, and
it worked.

[HKC]

Hi. I'm looking at buying a new 4003 or used 4001. I've read reviews, both
good and bad about the company. I'd just like to get a few opinions from
those who've actually owned the instruments. anything specific to watch out
for, be mindful of, etc. thanks.


The 4001 has a very delicate neck and you have to use quite thin strings to
keep it in shape. I use Thomastik flatwound 43-100 and Rotosound Swingbass
40-95 for mine which works well. This is not just an observation of mine,
it's something that all 4001 owners have to deal with and has been covered
many times in this newsgroup. Of course this also means that you have to be
careful when you buy a 4001 because many are damaged from using the wrong
strings for years. Also try to see if you can get one with an original case,
bridge, tuners and pickup cover etc because these basses will most likely be
worth quite a bit someday (they already are expensive compared to a few
years ago) if you have all the original parts. Many legends have played
these basses and although the whole vintage thing doesn't sound as loud now
as 5 years ago it will be back.
The 4003 is a modern bass without any of these problems but it is the 4001
that is the classic one with that special Ric sound. On the other hand if
you just like the look of them and look for an alternative to Fender the
4003 is certaninly a good choice.
One could say vintage versus present but of course that would be too simple
since both basses do have more to offer than just that.