New 4003s

[godofthunder]

 The local store has two count 'em two new 4003s ! One Jetglo the other Mapleglo. They are both super nice basses love the edge to edge inlays and the walnut wings on the headstock, and the slimmer profile neck. I am going to put a deposit on the mapleglo   

[Chris P.]

Cool! My dream bass:)

[Bert]

For a moment I thought there was a 4003s for sale which had been hiding in a shop for long, and not several 4003's.

[Chris P.]

That's because we're Dutch, Bert. Those strange English talking people just use an 's' if they mean more than one. CDs, 493s, TVs, ...
Only if things are possesive they say 'Uwe's Köllektiön' or the 4003's pickguard.

[Bert]

That's because we're Dutch, Bert. Those strange English talking people just use an 's' if they mean more than one. CDs, 493s, TVs, ...
Only if things are possesive they say 'Uwe's Köllektiön' or the 4003's pickguard.

Whey did they invent the 4001s and the 4003s then?

[hieronymous]

I prefer to capitalize the "S" in the case of those models, like the 4003S/8. According to the RickResource website (click on articles, then bass, then scroll to the bottom for the various 4000 models), they were available in the '60s, then reintroduced in 1980 (the 4001S and then later the 4003S varieties). But I can't attest to the accuracy of the information on that site.

[Bert]

I prefer to capitalize the "S" in the case of those models, like the 4003S/8. According to the RickResource website (click on articles, then bass, then scroll to the bottom for the various 4000 models), they were available in the '60s, then reintroduced in 1980 (the 4001S and then later the 4003S varieties). But I can't attest to the accuracy of the information on that site.

I guess I used the wrong words. I meant: why didnt they name them differently if an s is such an ambigious letter. (And now I think of it I dont even want to know. I like s models. period.)

[hieronymous]

I guess I used the wrong words. I meant: why didnt they name them differently if an s is such an ambigious letter. (And now I think of it I dont even want to know. I like s models. period.)

No, you used the right words - I read "why" as "when" for some reason! I'm sorry!

I think the "S" is supposed to stand for "special," and yet it looks more like a "budget" version since it doesn't have binding or shark inlays or Rick-o-Sound. In hindsight, those aren't a bad thing, since many people prefer the contoured body minus binding, but it still doesn't make sense...

[godofthunder]

 Crap I stopped by on my way home from work and the Mapleglo was gone  snooze ya loose I guess. I'll get the first call when another mapleglo comes in  but dam that could be a while. Maybe i should just buy the Jetglo

[bobyoung]

That's because we're Dutch, Bert. Those strange English talking people just use an 's' if they mean more than one. CDs, 493s, TVs, ...
Only if things are possessive they say 'Uwe's Köllektiön' or the 4003's pickguard.

Yes I think the lack of an apostrophe threw you guys I'm no English major but 2 or more 4003's should be written like I just wrote it.
Incidentally how much thinner is the neck? Is it also a little less wide? I love the 70's 4001 necks, I'm talking the one's made a little later. This place reminds me of the old Forum when I first joined.

[Bert]

I think the "S" is supposed to stand for "special," and yet it looks more like a "budget" version since it doesn't have binding or shark inlays or Rick-o-Sound. In hindsight, those aren't a bad thing, since many people prefer the contoured body minus binding, but it still doesn't make sense...

The Smith book mentions "standard" which does make more sense to me. There's also a beatifull picture of a experimental 4001S in it with a 4005 pickguard and pickup-layout I just noticed. Would be a nice idea for a 4004 mod I think.

[godofthunder]

 Great a bunch of English majors. Back to basses, the neck is a slim profile compared to earlier the 4003 but I don't think they are quite as thin as some 70's 4001 , having said that I like the profile a lot.

[Dave W]

For a while there when they were even further behind, IIRC they were running two CNC machines and one of them still had the thicker neck profile. I wonder if that's over and done with by now.

At least now you can actually find a few of them in stock.

[godofthunder]

As I understand it the thicker neck profile is a thing of the past but I don't know for sure, maybe JH will chime in ?

[ilan]

We will not know for sure it's a thing of the past until we see the first posts complaining that "they don't make them like they used to".