2010 Rickenbacker 4003 Bass Guitar in Mapleglo with Original Case

Description

2010 Rickenbacker 4003 Bass Guitar finished in Maple with original case and is new and unused.

I bought this one to add to my collection of basses and have therefore never used it live or in the studio. This Rickenbacker 4003 Bass finished in the classic ‘Mapleglo’ natural finish and includes the original Rickenbacker ABS hard case with all the paper work unopened. This Rickenbacker has the full shark inlays on the fret board, 10 serial number, Stereo and Mono inputs and bound body and Vintage Tone Selector switch  unlike the cheaper 4003s models which are unbound , have dot inlays and are only mono which are being sold by Rickenbacker dealers currently at around the same price.

In the Mapleglo finish the bass looks amazing as you can see the lovely grained maple finish on the body and top with stunning wood patterns. The Mapleglo finish has the mahogany headstock wings which were only found on special or limited edition basses in the past. This I thought was a lovely contrast to the maple and Rickenbacker have made a really nice job in also matching the back of the neck to the body.

This bass also features the Rickenbacker “Vintage Tone Selector” push/pull control that allows you to get the classic or more modern Rickenbacker bass tones with a pull of the control knob. Prior to 1984, Rickenbacker basses used a capacitor in the treble pickup circuit to emphasize treble tones coming from that pickup. However, changes in tone preference and a call for higher output led Rickenbacker to discontinue the use of this capacitor in favour of a more balanced sound. Nevertheless many users added this capacitor back into the circuit, preferring the sound of the older configuration, so with a simple pull of the treble tone control, the Vintage Tone Selector will allow a player to move between both sounds at the pull of this switch. Pressed in, you’ll hear the familiar balanced tone of the 4003, while pulled out to engage the circuit; you’ll appreciate the bite and crispness popularized by such artists as Macca, Lemmy and Chris Squire.

When I plugged the bass in the trademark, prog/punk ‘growl’ was instant and it sounded exactly as you would expect from a vintage Rickenbacker 4001 pre capacitor model bass. If you flip to the treble pickup and play with a plectrum you get that bright aggressive Rickenbacker tone that is a feature of early Rickenbacker’s. This bass has more attack and brightness when compared to many modern Rickenbacker’s that I have played. Press in the “Vintage Tone Selector” and you get a fat warm balanced bass sound with a thick and punchy growl in the middle. This bass simply plays as good as it looks and is very light weighing only 8.86 lb. If you are looking for a super 4003 Rickenbacker then this is the bass for you.