Rickenbacker 4003 Stereo Bass Guitar - Jetglo Reviews

If you plan on buying a Rickenbacker bass, you should buy it from Sweetwater Sound. They offer unmatched customer service and competitive pricing.

I had been waiting for the 4003 Jetglo to arrive since I ordered it in January 2023. After a 9-month wait plus a 24-hour acclimation period following its arrival, the bass arrived in good condition in October 2023. Upon further inspection, there were a few things off about the bass's cosmetics and playability, which I immediately brought to Sweetwater's attention. The Sweetwater team responded promptly with a solution: I ended up shipping the bass back to Sweetwater for repairs. Since these issues occurred during the instrument's warranty period, Sweetwater covered the cost of shipping (round trip) and repairs. The team at Sweetwater's Guitar Repair Shop got the bass repaired, setup, and shipped back to me quickly. When the bass arrived (plus another 24-hour acclimation period, its playability was remarkable. Considering the slimmer neck on the 2023 models and the professional setup, this is an amazing bass to play. In fact, I cannot put it down and pick it up each chance I get. The action is nice and low for slapping and tapping (yes, this can be done on a Rick). The sound is nice and clanky. It feels like a vintage 4001. I would go so far as to say it plays better than my 2019 4003 model with its thicker neck. This is my second Rickenbacker purchased from Sweetwater and it will not be my last.

I would like to thank the following team of outstanding Sweetwater employees who went the extra-mile in making this purchase worthwhile: my dedicated Sales Engineer Alex Griffin, the helpful and excellent Michael Pabst and Ben with Sweetwater Guitar Support, not to mention the gifted and skilled Tom Farmer, Atlas Rudder, and Justin Blackwell at Sweetwater Guitar Workshop. Thank you for your help. You have helped lock-in another life long Sweetwater customer.

I would also like to thank the team of Sweetwater employees who were involved in this transaction yet were not named in this review. Thank you all for your help.

What can I say. It's one of my dream basses and well worth the wait and money. Fast delivery and packaged perfectly. No damage. Plays great and sounds fantastic. Hayden Flack was very helpful with finding a Rickenbacker 4003 in JetGlo for me and making sure it got delivered quickly. Sweetwater is great to work with and have great customer service. Thank you so much.

If you are looking for a great sounding, great feeling bass with it's own voice, this is it. If you had a Rickenbacker bass in the 1980's and picked a new one it would feel and sound just like it, you remember, but with a few improvements without changing the bass overall. The Vintage / Modern option along with the improved bridge mages a great bass even better.

Talked to Loui and placed a preorder. This is the 3rd Ric I have owned. 2 previous were stolen from me. I wanted the classic Rock sound. Was not terribly interested in the push/pull (classic/modern) tone. Been playing it for 3 days and it is Def a Ricko. Thru various amps (SVT and Barks rigs) as well as thru couple preamps and DI into my DAW. Neck is slightly wider/thicker than a 4001 but not an issue for me. The tail is new to me but not uncomfortable just slightly diff from earlier models I owned (4001 and a fretless 4003). I just started experimenting with "modern" circuit. I can hear some situations it could be useful but, I bought it for the classic Ricko sound and it delivers that! I was expecting a Oct date for my bass but Loui called to let me know a FireGlo was available now so, I jumped on it. I am completely satisfied with the new version which offers all the sound and feel of the Ric and adds some features that may come in handy in the future. Either way it's a solid instrument that delivers all the tonality and feel I want. My thanks to Loui as well for being attentive and responsive to my needs!

I've wanted one for over forty years but it just never happened. I finally decided to get one and I am not disappointed at all.
Bass plays like butter and sounds phenomenal.
I play on a working cover band and can get just about any tone you can i.agine out of it.
So impressed I just bought the 4003S in mapleglo to go with 4003 jetglo.
Live this bass!!!!

New unfinished fretboard , much improved bridge , the 4003 has continually evolved in the last couple of years .
Playabilty is amazing but the sound is spectacular . Special thanks again to my amazing Sweetwater salesperson Tad Shaffer .
Nothing sounds like a Rick !

I just got the jetglo 4003 from Sweetwater. I've never been happier. Great feel and absolutely awesome tone. I use this bass for weekend gigs covering a wide di easily of songs and I can easily adjust it to get the sound I need.
The only thing I was not thrilled with is that they are not coming with lacquered fret boards any more. However the new oil finish feels and plays great.
I love mine so much I put a other one reserve in fireglo when they come in. If you're a serious bassist you should have one if these!

great bass , great service, great company what more can i say !? thanks mitch dazey

What an amazing Bass Guitar, the playability is off the charts and the tone in phenomenal. I did not even have to set this Bass up except for removing the Pickup cover that is directly in your way especially if you play with your figures. The particular Bass I received had some finish issues but Jake is taking care of me. I can only hope the replacement plays and sounds as well as this one. The factory strings have their own unique tone as the size of the strings differ from any set you can purchase. I currently have light gauge Pro Steels on the Bass and they added some extra "Metal Tone" instead of just pure "vintage prog tone" the Rickenbacker strings produced. I am considering just running the stock strings on the replacement Bass as the tone was fantastic 'just missing a little Edge when running distortion" This is a tough decision and I am still weighing the pro's and con's. This Bass will take you to a new level as it is so easy to play. A must have for your arsenal, this Bass shines for "Lead" Bass, fast playing, hard hitting progressive Rock/Metal.

My recently renewed enthusiasm for playing bass moved me to acquire another Rickenbacker. Twenty-five years having elapsed since I bought my last Ric (a 4003S Mapleglo), the world has changed a bit over that span of time. I decided to take my time and do some careful research before making a new acquisition. It paid off. With the help of Sweetwater Sales Engineer Brian Sheehan, I was able to get a great deal on a new 4003 Jetglo. This bass definitely has the Ric sound with both modern sensibility as well as a great vintage vibe. It's both elegant and versatile in functionality with regards to it's visual aesthetic, playability and, rich tonal quality. I'm really pleased that this bass has Rickenbacker's new tailpiece assembly that gives greater adjustability to the individual bridge saddles for easier intonation and action set up while retaining the unique Ric style. This bass is so suave, I think I will keep it stock. I just want to keep playing and playing this bass for hours on end. A big thanks to Brian for his patience and assistance in helping me find this new gem!

Absolutely beautiful Bass Guitar, deep rich tones just like a Bass should be, this a must have for any bass guitarist, I huge shout out to my sales rep Trevor Parks that kid knows his stuff.

4003 rick bass is great I have 2 of them which i play in my band, I also have a fender jazz bass and a Hofner bass but none of them compare to the rick bass.my sales rep Alex is the best. he helps me every step of the way with my purchase. sweetwater is the best for all gear .

I have owned Rickenbacker Basses before and through my own foolishness did not keep them. When my new 4003W arrived and I started playing it, All those memories came flooding back!! It was like this bass was made for my hands and my hands only!!!!! There can be no better bass for me. The action, the feel, the SOUND! this bass has immediately moved to #1 in my rotation and will likely remain there! Thank you Rickenbacker for maintaining you highest standards and continuing to produce these ultimate instruments.

This is the best bass I have ever owned. It's very comfortable to play in any position. Example: there is a nice space between the first large pickup and the second which allow you to rest you thump easily with a Zero-Mod. If you want to play with a pick, the sound is as deep as you play with your fingers. In addition, if you want to play behind the large pickup, it's nice too. I have seen many reviews on YouTube but the negative comments they say it's not true. You have to try by yourself. I played last December 31 with my band and the sound was incredible. I turned the volume on my, "Fender 500 light weight easy to carry" just a little bit, and the sound we heard was deep sweet and very powerful.

I can't say enough great things about my new 4003. First off, the service was excellent and I got a great price (like always through Sweetwater). Dan Overstreet was great as always and my bass was shipped and in my hands by the next day. Set up was perfect and the bass was flawless! I popped it out and plugged it into my rig and was immediately in love. I've wanted one of these for years but typically have had more guitars than I can use. However, I decided to give myself an early Xmas present. You can never have enough basses. My only critique is I found it difficult to play with the back pickup cover in place. It took me about 10 minutes to remove it and problem solved. Overall the quality and craftsmanship is perfect. If you have the bucks you will not be disappointed!

I have owned nearly 30 guitars, from pawn shop junkers to uber expensive custom shop relics, etc and i have to say the rick 4003 maybe one of the finest guitar type instruments ever produced. I have p-basses, j-basses, music man and they are fantastic but NOTHING sounds like a 4003 rick. The craftsmanship, the tone, the look and feel of this instrument is on a whole other level. Every time I record a track I try a few basses and always come back to the 4003 for its unmistakable growl and hi fi like tone. They are expensive but sincerely worth every penny and one of those instruments you will never part with. This is not beginners bass and I say that mainly because there are two truss rods and depending on your homes humidity level, they have to be adjusted delicately and with patience. The rick also needs care and maintenance to keep it playing its best but the payoff is extraordinary! One of my favorite features is pulling the treble knob to its out position to get that old school "original" rick tone which is thinner and sharper. I also love using a stereo mrs cable and routing the bass to my ampeg and the treble side to my plexi, micing both amps and mixing the together into a single killer track. All in all this is as good as it gets when it comes to bass guitars in my opinion and a true legend!

Purchasing this Ric 4300 was one of the best musical decisions of my career. Thanks to Brendan Murphy and Sweetwater for always providing excellent service and advice. Plus great delivery - arrived one day after purchase. Great sound no great playing. The push/pull switch is a great addition to sound options. For this option I'm glad I purchased new rather then vintage. For those that say you either love Rick or hate em. Well I'm a lover!

it's like i said to a fellow bass player...
Yes, it Is Real....and it Is Spectacular ..

Love the sound of this bass and the ease of playing. I am very happy I purchased it at Sweetwater, they are very professional and I got my bass delivered to Ca from Indiana in about a week. Miles was on top of the sale in fact it's because of him that I made my purchase.

I've been wanting one of these since I saw Geddy Lee with Rush in 1977 on the 2112 tour! Finally ponied up and bought one and I'm so glad I did. They have greatly improved the Ric over the past few years. The pickups are way better, and fit and finish are top notch! It played superbly right out of the case. All I did was remove the pickup cover and change the strings. Plays like a dream and snarls like a junk yard dog! It has become my go to bass above my Jazz and Bongo. If you're thinking about get one, DO IT! You won't be disappointed.

First off let me say that if you want the best online sales experience possible, call in and talk to the sales people at Sweetwater. Top marks to Sweetwater for their customer care and their staff; buy with confidence (Management, if you're reading this, give Ryan a raise).

On to the bass. It was everything I expected a Ric to be. It looks fantastic, the shark tooth inlays, the binding, and pick guard look as cool in person as they do in pictures. The finish everywhere is immaculate and the hardware is sturdy and well finished, I've heard complaints that the lacquer finish is too tacky and slows your hand down on the neck, but I haven't really noticed this.

It's much thinner than I expected it to be and as a result it's pretty light, but not the flimsy, light feeling of a cheap product; should make for a comfortable guitar to play over extended periods. The neck feels amazing in the hand, though it is wide(I prefer this, as the bass I play the most is an Aria Pro TSB-650 which is actually a little wider at the nut than the Ric, but if you're used to like a P bass or the like, this may take a bit to get used to). It feels pretty straight except at the extremities; towards the head stock, the neck swells slightly right before the nut, it fills the meat between your thumb and index finger nicely and gives you a good base to reach any of the first 4-5 frets on any string. On the opposite end, as you get closer to the end of the neck, it starts to feel very thin and it's quite easy to reach around and hit some of those pesky notes in the upper octaves.

The fretboard is very gradually tapered, so the strings are ever so slightly closer together at the nut as they are at the bridge(45mm at the nut 60mm at the pickups). It gives you a lot of space around the string so if you've got big fingers or if you're trying to do some complex fingerings, you've got a lot of room to press on the string you want without pressing or muffling any other strings. Overall, this thing looks great, feels great, and plays great!

"But, semi-anonymous stranger on the internet, it's nice that you look and feel cool holding it, but how righteous does it sound, brother?!"

Righteous dude, very righteous. I find the pickups to be quite opposite in terms of sound and tone, such to say that while pickup locations naturally lend themselves to certain mixes of bass and treble, I simply find the difference in blends between these two pick ups to be quite stark. This is not necessarily a bad thing, for really bass heavy metal or something really dark and melodic, playing only through the bass/neck pickup might be good in that scenario, likewise if you're playing something light and airy, perhaps playing with an acoustic, the treble/bridge pickup might help you sit more naturally in the mix. I think you'll find though that playing through both offers tons of room for customization of your sound and can be used to dial in a usable tone for 90% of the music you'll play.

I can't forget about the Vintage Ric circuit either! This is a pretty neat feature, if you already have a pretty trebley sound dialed into the modern circuit, switching to the vintage circuit might be unpleasant, as the vintage circuit is known to cut low end in exchange for a more complicated top end. However, you can get really full, dynamic tones using a wide open bass pickup with the Vintage circuit engaged. You can obviously use it in other configurations, I'm just telling you what I've done with it. Beware, while you can dial in some great tones with this thing and there's loads of room for you to customize your sound, you can also get some pretty bad, unusable sounds out of the pickups. This is not a design flaw, just letting you know that there is some effort required on your end to consciously choose a sound, you can't just spin dials and flip switches aimlessly and expect every sound that comes out to be studio worthy.

Overall, this bass is a gem. If you're on the fence about buying one, hop off partner, the grass is greener on this side. If you wanna see some Rics in action check out Radio Moscow and All Them Witches.

I come from playing Fender Jazz basses exclusively but have always been curious about Rickenbacker basses. I ordered the 4003JG in Jetglo from Sweetwater this month. I wanted to make some customizations to the 4003 (replace the Ric bridge with the Hipshot bridge, remove the pickup guard and replace the Ric strings with Rotosounds) which SweetWater handled seamlessly. The bass is incredible looking. I have to admit, when I first played it I was on the fence about it. Coming from a Fender Jazz bass, the Ric plays and feels completely different. But after a few days of playing it exclusively, I can't put it down. The tone and playability are amazing. I actually did a blind sound test with a group of friends last night with the Ric and my Geddy Lee USA Jazz Bass. I tested both basses with treble tone only, bass tone only, treble & bass together and playing to music. Everyone unanimously chose the Ric in all categories. Now I won't be replacing my Fender Jazz bass, but I think I have found my new favorite bass. Thank you SweetWater.

Love my new Rickenbacker, plays like butter and sounds amazing. Larry Reed and the team have always done a great job working with me to make sure I get exactly what I need. The only negative thing I would say is that the built-in Schaller strap lock system isn't awesome. The strap button on the horn is continually backing out of the hole. I've sent a question to Rickenbacker Service but have not heard of the remedy or really any contact from them.

I bought my 4003 Jetglo stereo 2008 brand new and it arrived after a year long production wait. At the time of delivery the finish was not bad with fish eye defects throughout. I would have rated the finish at the time about a 3 out of 5. There was a chip that had been painted over in the back of the headstock. Pretty pitiful considering all the hype over American made guitars and basses. One year later the finish is cracking on the back of the body and the neck. The black finish had also fogged over to a white haze in several places on the front and back of the guitar. I purchased Lizard Spit from Sweetwater and was able to rub the haze out. The bass had been played about ten minutes in the studio and then put into storage in a controlled environment. Rickenbacker had a bad batch of paint back then but there was no recall. You should be aware Rickenbacker will NOT honor any warranty should you fail to register within ten days. They also limit the warranty on their mediocre finishes to one year. Therefore due to major cracks in the finish after one year this bass received an F rating. On the other hand my Ric 360 (purchased in 2007 from Wally James of James Gang fame) has no finish cracking and has been gigged. On the positive side the Ric tone was there shades of Chris Squire (4 March 1948 – 27 June 2015) of Yes fame. On the negative side Ric is too cheap to include the stereo cable so you will need to source one yourself. In their infinite wisdom Rickenbacker discontinued the Rick O Sound splitter box. I had to source these myself for the 360 and the 4003 on Ebay. However for what its worth ... the stereo cable works just as well. Its just that cool vintage vibe looking down seeing that silver Rick O Sound box. My bass rig was an SVT-4PRO (2008 Sweetwater purchase) and the limited edition Ampeg SVT-II Pro running 3 Hartke 4x10 Transporters and 5 Hartke 2x10 XLs. I will say this ... the Ampeg SVT-II Pro is my choice for any bass rig and will never ever be underpowered and the Ric tone showed through. However due to Ric's poor customer service and horrid warranty coverage and lack of any responsibility in contacted customers over there paint issues this bass gets an F. My main basses are now a Mexican Fender Standard Jazz Bass (Sweetwater 2017), a Spalted Maple Tune TWB43SM 4 string Bass and my top recommended bass of choice of all time ... a 2009 Alembic Stanley Clark. The Ric is a player but the finish and service were abhorrent.