I didn't see a thread about these new 5-ers so I'm starting one. I got mine early last week and have been playing it at home, anxiously awaiting a rehearsal with the band or a gig. I put new strings on, which helped the tone and feel, and made some pickup height adjustments to suit my tastes.

I love the thing! For a passive bass there are endless tonal possibilities. Just today I started experimenting with the cap push/pull feature. Very interesting sound there. Backing the neck PU volume just a hair adds a really nice growl, too. Back off the bridge PU tone control and get McCartney-esque.

What I also like is the slightly shorter scale length, like all Ric basses. I have arthritis in my left thumb that makes it tough to play 34" scale, impossible to play 35". The 33-1/4" of the Ric is pretty much my limit unless I opt for expensive surgery.

I A-B'ed this with my 1976 4001 and it isn't quite as growly but has more depth and bottom. Like I said, I'm lovin' it so far.

Congrats to Rickenbacker International Corporation to making a workable 5 string bass


Good choice on the bridge and the neck looks workable … I will probably get one and modify it slightly like a do with all of my Ricks.

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www.3dentourage.com/425

Thomann in Europe will be selling the new 4003s5 basses but they are showing a headstock that has 2 tuners on the bass side and 3 on the treble side and it has the Schaller M4 tuners. Is this a different export model?

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www.3dentourage.com/425

I just ordered mine today from Chicago Music Exchange. Midnight Blue. I was thinking about waiting for a Walnut version to pop up but noticed that most of my basses have maple boards. The blue is a great color. I have a gig coming up a week from Thursday and will likely play it there.

Bones

DenverKen,

What strings are you using on your 4003S/5? I tend to lean towards Nickel strings on my other basses.

Bones

I appreciate the 5-string being styled with the traditional pickup positions as the 4001/3. However, in my opinion, the B string needs a little more definition than a "24th fret" position neck pickup can deliver. I want to see a Rickenbacker 5-string with the pickups in the same positions as the 4002, with the neck, or what would be effectively be a middle position, wired straight and the bridge position, being closer to the bridge and therefore needing a little more lows let through, with the in-line capacitor to the pickup at a value of .01 as on the 4002, rather than the .0047, as on the 4001/3.

I use D'addario super light string on all of my 5 string basses

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www.3dentourage.com/425

I really need to get one of these …

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www.3dentourage.com/425

So far I'm very happy with this bass. It's a bit noisier than I'm used to with my other basses but it really has a great tone. The B string is very solid. I would recommend it.

Looks like Chicago Music Exchange still has a couple in stock (MapleGlo and FireGlo).

Bones

Great sounding and playing bass. The QC is top notch, everything lines up, no "workmanship defects". The tones that you can get from it are very wide in range. Dial the growl to whatever level you want. Do the pickups look different? Yep. Do they do their job and make playing with your fingers easier without modding the bass? Yep. Is the bridge a better version? Yep. If you are primarily a slap player the front pickup could be an issue due it's location/size. But if you want a versatile bass that gives you B string range (versus tuning down) and great tone options for different musical applications you'll love this bass.