Rickenbacker 4003S W

12

Electric Bass

  • Body: Walnut with rounded edges
  • Neck-through-body with Skunk Stripe
  • Fretboard: Maple (unvarnished)
  • Dot fretboard inlays
  • 20 Frets
  • Scale: 845 mm
  • Nut width: 42.9 mm
  • Pickups: 2 Bass single coils
  • Schaller Deluxe machine heads
  • Weight: approx. 4.1 kg
  • Colour: Walnut
  • Case included
Available since August 2015
Item number 370313
Sales Unit 1 piece(s)
Colour Brown
Soundboard Walnut
Neck Maple
Fretboard Maple
Frets 20
Scale Mediumscale
Pickups SS
Elektronic Passive
Incl. Case Yes
Incl. Bag No
Limited No
Body Walnut-tree
Number of strings 4
Pickup system JJ
Elektronics Passive
Case included 1
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2.649 €
Free shipping incl. VAT
Available in several months
Available in several months

This item has sold out and has been re-ordered. Unfortunately, our supplier cannot guarantee delivery within the next three months. We recommend that you choose a suitable alternative from our store.

Standard Delivery Times
1

12 Customer ratings

4.8 / 5

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10 Reviews

A
This one is a keeper!! ;-)
Anonymous 30.05.2016
This is the 4th Rickenbacker I've owned.

I 'ummed and arred' about getting another, until I saw the walnut and maple 4003, but should it be the 4003 or the 4003S? The slab body, binding and gloss finish of the 4003 is pure Ric, but something about the slimmed down and contoured 4003S really appealed to me. I bought one.

Thomann seemed to be the only people in Europe with one in stock, and having dealt with them many times before, I knew it would be an easy purchase.

It arrived in the UK in 4 working days and was packed in its case, in a box, in another box. Top marks.

Mint condition, all the case candy as expected.

Much lighter than a maple 4003. Little bit of neck dive, but nothing annoying or problematic.

How does it sound? Truthfully? Like the Ric you hoped it would. On the bridge pickup, growly, snarly, full bodied, with that treble bite that just cuts through like no Fender ever can (I have 3 Fenders as well!!)

The neck pickup is always the Ric weak point, but it's mellow and refined. With the selector switch in the middle position, it calms the bridge pup but without deadening the overall tone.

I thought I'd prefer to run the Vintage/Modern tone control in the classic 4001 vintage position, but it actually sounds so much better in the modern position that I can't see me using it much.

Overall verdict - superb build quality - I know there have been issues with Ric QC in the past. Awesome sound (if you like the Ric sound) Modern feeling neck - Precision wide, but not a fence post. Wide range of tones. Lightweight(ish) body.

Very, very happy with it :-)
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MC
Yes, it's an iconic bass
Michael Cozma 21.06.2021
I've been looking for a bass for some time now - it had to be a good instrument, as I was only going to have one. I've done my research and the Ric came always on top.
The sound is instantly recognizable - nobody who knows a thing or two about basses would never say it's a Fender or a Gibson, regardless the pick-up setting. However, when you go "vintage", this thing growls - and I, as weird as it may sound, I also love the "cracking" sound it makes when you fret across the fingerboard.
The looks - just wow! This is definitely subjective, but it's such a beautiful instrument to look at (both natural and sunburst versions).
It's slim - a real pleasure to hold and play, particularly this model, with rounded body.
As far as playability, the neck feels really good, not chunky but solid. The only issue however, and I'm sorry I have to mention this, are the frets themselves with sharp edges... I can't believe that Rickenbacker wouldn't put just a little bit more effort into polishing the frets nicely.
Overall it's a great instrument - highly enjoyable.
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A
Classic Rick sound
Anonymous 28.02.2017
Very good bass guitar, if you like this Ric sound of course! Very punchy sound, with the classic trebly Ric sound while delivering plenty of low end. The neck is quite thick, but it felt very comfortable to me. This is definitely a special instrument.

My only complain would be the setup: the bass came not properly intonated (which is absolutely no issue to me) and it took me 2 hours to set it up properly due to the "special" bridge design. I would hope Rickenbacker could a bit modify this bridge design to ease adjustments. But once the bass is properly setup, it's a dream to play!
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What a Bass
Austmann 17.08.2017
I own 3 Ricks
4001 74' and 4003 10'
and this one 4003SW
This is the most balanced bass i've ever played
It feels like playing a P bass.
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