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Rickenbacker 4003
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Rickenbacker 4003

4-string bass guitar from Rickenbacker belonging to the 4000 series

heads on fire heads on fire

« As good as it gets. »

Published on 03/04/12 at 13:55
There are bass guitars, and then there is THIS bass guitar. This is an icon in the world of music, for many reason. Firstly, I'll list some of the features of the bass, then I'll give my opinion about it.

The bass is a neck through, with a maple body and neck, 2 truss rods, and a rosewood fretboard. The fretboard has Rickenbacker's signature triangle inlays and 20 frets. The bass has 2 single coil pickups, a 3 way toggle switch, and 2 volume and 2 tone controls. It also features stereo output, for a huge sound!

UTILIZATION

This bass transcends all other 4 string models. It is a masterpiece, it is an island, it is a religion. The 4003 is so darned cool that it will make even the snobbiest bassist smile. The neck has a very positive, solid feel, and it wants to be played with a pick. The playability is out of this world, and very inspiring.

SOUNDS

Cliff Burton! Lemmy Kilmeister! Chris Squire! There are all sorts of bassists in the classic rock realm that play a 4003, but the one think they all have in common is that their tone is enormous! Is this a coincidence? NO - IT'S THIS BASS. The pickups have an incredible growl to them, and the dual outputs aid in obtaining a huge sound. One thing I've experimented with is plugging one side into a clean amp rig and the other side into a fuzz pedal into an amp, and blending them. It sounds positively elephantine!

OVERALL OPINION

This might be the most enthusiastically glowing review I ever write about any instrument, but it is deservedly so. The 4003 has been around a long time, and is an icon in the world of the electric bass. It doesn't do everything, but what it does it does better than anything else out there. This bass absolutely rules.