Rickenbacker 4003 Stereo Bass Guitar - Autumnglo with Checkerboard Binding Reviews

I bought this 4003 in AutumnGlo in October 2023, and Sweetwater gave me an excellent deal on it! I love the bass: I have never owned or played a Rick before. The quality is superb and the tone is incredible. The only negative is the buzzing from the single coil pickups, which is expected.

Looks and sounds great! Love the finish and checkerboard binding. Smooth transaction!
-Thank you Ed

I received this bass for my 50th birthday as I've been wanting a Ric almost as long as I've been playing bass. Ric's only come around every so often, so I put an order in several months before it would be available. Mark Bruhn was fantastic and helpful through the whole process.
Now the bass….gorgeous satin finish with that cool checkerboard binding. Very solidly built and has a wide variety of tone options. These no longer come with the 'Ric-o-Sound' box, but a stereo y cable is pretty easy to find. The neck is kinda chunky in the lower frets, but flattens out higher on the neck. Very easy to play.
This is the crown jewel of my collection.

I've wanted a Ric since I started playing bass. This thing exceeded my expectations. The finish and color are both amazing, and it looks incredible on stage. The tone is great, and surprisingly versatile. The neck is super smooth and the playability is perfect. It's feels like a million bucks. 100% recommended.

It's a rick, it's great. I'll add that I am very impressed with how well it was set up by Sweetwater before sending it out to me.

I pre-ordered this bass in January 2022 with Chris Steele, who was my rep at the time. The most important takeaway from this review is that the service was unparalleled. I've never gotten better customer service, ever. The lead time then was about a year, but I received a notice in May that the bass had arrived. So keep in mind that your lead time may vary. After I took care of financing the Rickenbacker showed up the next day, which was incredible.

Now let's talk about this bass. The satin Autumnglo with checkerboard binding is stunning. Photos don't do it justice, it looks way better in person. It plays very nicely and is super smooth, the satin finish on the neck is especially nice and you just glide up and down it with ease. There are actually a lot of tonal variations you can get with the controls, contrary to what you might think about the distinct tone of the 4003, which is still achievable with the push-pull switch. It is not terribly heavy and is comfortable to play despite the lack of contour due to the binding. The case is top notch, provides a luxurious interior for your bass, and is built well. Inside the case you will find some allen keys for making adjustments. You will need them.

The setup I got from Sweetwater was atrocious, and the bass was nearly unplayable when I received it. After spending a lot of time with it I got it just where it needed to be. I removed the factory strings and replaced them with Thomastik-Infeld jazz flats. I highly recommend them as they last a long time, provide versatility and are Rickenbacker approved for their low tension. I will say that intonating this bass was a challenge. I had to move the saddle for the G string almost all the way up to achieve intonation, which is sort of frustrating when you consider the price point of this instrument.

Fit, finish, and Rickenbacker quality control: although the finish and checkerboard binding is gorgeous, quality control is appalling in some other regards. My fret board had not one, but two giant knots in it. I can live with it, but you may not be able to and I would understand. The hardware quality is sub-par. It is a mixture of nicely plated components intermingled with plastic and cheap pot metal. The nitrocellulose is beautiful, but extremely delicate. If you're the kind of person that can't stand any blemishes whatsoever then this instrument must live in it's case. I say that because the finish will visibly deteriorate all on it's own over several months if left on a rack or stand. If it barely touches anything it will chip and crack, but that's the risk of nitrocellulose finish, generally speaking. One time my G string slipped over the fret board and onto the binding and the binding chipped. That should give you an idea of what you should expect. Another minor note: My 2022 model was the first year of the return of the skunk stripe, if you're ordering now you will almost certainly receive a model with this feature. I like it, but you might not, something you might want to know.

But the bones are good. The body, neck, and electronics are stellar. It sounds fantastic. You can get a better instrument for the money but it won't be a 4003. Essentially, that's the choice you're making. I love mine and I can't let it go, but it's not my one and only. This bass likely won't do it all, but what it does well, it does in a way that nothing else does. Thanks to Sweetwater as usual for their world class service. If you buy a Rick, buy it here!

I ordered this instrument through SW and it just never felt right. I took it to my setup guy / luthier who immediately identified a poorly made nut. The nut was removed, squared, filed, and remounted. Additionally, there were several frets that weren't set properly and those were re-set. After all that work, the action is still too high and the saddles are bottomed out. As far as he can tell, the neck has been set too low. It's a real shame that in instrument with this kind of legacy and cost has these issues coming out of the factory.