Newer Ric necks

[drbassman]

I was in and out of the HOG  real quick today, only the jetglo left.

Crap, he said he had a FG!  Oh well, might consider the JG, like it better than the maple.

[Wilbur88]

I'm going on Monday or Tuesday to see for myself!  I'll report.

i'm tuned in!

[drbassman]

Played the JG 2012 4003 today.  Nice bass.  Well made as usual, nothing really new about it.  The neck appears to be the same width as the previous years, didn't detect anything different here.  They seemed to have taken the crown off of the back of the neck's profile.  There's about a 3/4" wide flat spot down the middle of the neck, making it a a little thinner in the center, but the sides appear to be the old profile.  It didn't make the neck feel any better in my hand than ones I've owned before.  So, the change is minimal.  I think it would have been better if they had also tapered the rest of the back of the neck on the edges too.  That would have been substantially new and made for an easier playing neck.  Final verdict:  not much better and not enough change for me to buy it.  Still a nice bass though if you like the neck profile.

I did pick up a new oversized LP cherry burst and found the neck has changed on those.  Really nice, narrower and a bit thinner.  So, I bought it!  Fits perfectly in my hands.

[jumbodbassman]

Body and neck little smaller not much.    pickups and the push pull pot are the real changes.  much hotter pups and the bridge pickup sounds much better than prior rics.

[drbassman]

Body and neck little smaller not much.    pickups and the push pull pot are the real changes.  much hotter pups and the bridge pickup sounds much better than prior rics.

I agree, it sounded really good.

[Dave W]

Played the JG 2012 4003 today.  Nice bass.  Well made as usual, nothing really new about it.  The neck appears to be the same width as the previous years, didn't detect anything different here.  They seemed to have taken the crown off of the back of the neck's profile.  There's about a 3/4" wide flat spot down the middle of the neck, making it a a little thinner in the center, but the sides appear to be the old profile.  It didn't make the neck feel any better in my hand than ones I've owned before.  So, the change is minimal.  I think it would have been better if they had also tapered the rest of the back of the neck on the edges too.  That would have been substantially new and made for an easier playing neck.  Final verdict:  not much better and not enough change for me to buy it.  Still a nice bass though if you like the neck profile.

I did pick up a new oversized LP cherry burst and found the neck has changed on those.  Really nice, narrower and a bit thinner.  So, I bought it!  Fits perfectly in my hands.

Thinner front to back is good but that profile doesn't sound appealing to me. OTOH the dual truss rods have always limited what they can do with the profile, compared to a single rod.

[drbassman]

Thinner front to back is good but that profile doesn't sound appealing to me. OTOH the dual truss rods have always limited what they can do with the profile, compared to a single rod.

I agree Dave, I didn't like the feel of it at all.  I would have bought the JG if it had been an actual improvement.  I love the blind eye to customer feedback of Ric ownership.  It's a great fundamental bass, but no product made by man is beyond the need for improvement.  The list is significant.  The bridge is a huge minus, the neck profile hasn't really improved, the dual truss rods are more trouble than they are actually worth, how much demand is there really for the stereo jack.  The hotter pups are definitely nice and push-pull switch for vintage vs modern tone is cute.  Overall, progress moves at a snail's pace.

[ilan]

The new necks are identical in profile to the C64 necks. I'm not a huge fan of the flat profile, but it's a personal preference.

[Wilbur88]

Played the JG 2012 4003 today.  Nice bass.  Well made as usual, nothing really new about it.  The neck appears to be the same width as the previous years, didn't detect anything different here.  They seemed to have taken the crown off of the back of the neck's profile.  There's about a 3/4" wide flat spot down the middle of the neck, making it a a little thinner in the center, but the sides appear to be the old profile.  It didn't make the neck feel any better in my hand than ones I've owned before.  So, the change is minimal.  I think it would have been better if they had also tapered the rest of the back of the neck on the edges too.  That would have been substantially new and made for an easier playing neck.  Final verdict:  not much better and not enough change for me to buy it.  Still a nice bass though if you like the neck profile.

I did pick up a new oversized LP cherry burst and found the neck has changed on those.  Really nice, narrower and a bit thinner.  So, I bought it!  Fits perfectly in my hands.

Thanks for that.  In a way I'm relieved.  If the neck was indeed faster, I'd be managing GAS and I have enough of that to deal with!

[drbassman]

The new necks are identical in profile to the C64 necks. I'm not a huge fan of the flat profile, but it's a personal preference.

Exactly.  For me, the most comfortable profile is that of a newer TB or jazz bass.   I know they aren't for everyone either.  That's what makes the world go round!

[leftybass]

that burg is an early 4003/..the 2 piece guard is a dead giveaway....80-early 86 is when those were around...check your jack plate for the letters....it will range somewhere between T and Z for the first letter...

Not to mention the extra screws at the rear of the tailpiece. A great improvement that was quickly phased out.

[drbassman]

I always put TI flats on my RICs to keep the neck in shape and the tailpiece down.  Worked like a charm.

[drbassman]

Hey, I'm the proud owner of a new RIC JetGlo 4003.  I had a defective bridge on my new LP and Gibson didn't have any left in stock and I didn't want a repaired bass.  So I swapped it out for the 4003.

Played it at practice for a couple hours last night and the neck wasn't bad at all with TI flats on it.  Pretty easy to play actually with the low tension strings.  And it sounds great through my Mesa rig.  The guys in the band really like it.  So, it wasn't a bad swap at all!

[ilan]

Congrats!

[drbassman]

Congrats!

Thanks Ilan.  I'm hoping the neck works out cuz the bass really is well made, sounds good and is attractive!