STOAKES' GEAR TALK - RICKENBACKER 4003S/5 5 STRING BASS - PILLAR BOX RED

STOAKES’ GEAR TALK – RICKENBACKER 4003S/5 5 STRING BASS – PILLAR BOX RED

I have never played a five string bass before and talk about a baptism of fire. This Rickenbacker 4003S/5 five string bass is quite simply amazing, finished in a limited edition pillar box red that is limited to the UK, this is guaranteed to turn heads wherever you get it out, be it in the studio, live onstage or jamming with your friends at home. The 4003S/5 is a talking point and I love it!

Rickenbacker and rock and roll seem to just go hand in hand. The Beatles played Rickenbacker’s, as did The Who, as did Tom Petty, the Rickenbacker club is a cool club to be a member of and the Rickenbacker bass club is even more exclusive. Playing a Rickenbacker bass, you are standing alongside some incredible players who all pale into insignificance, because the legend himself Lemmy played a Rickenbacker and I could end this review here, but I shall continue.

The bass retains that classic design. There is a massive elephant in the room, the pickup design. Now, a lot of people don’t like them, personally, I actually prefer them to the classic pick ups. I read one comment on social media that said something like ‘you wouldn’t put a supercharger in a classic car’, but I have to disagree. I think they look really mean, they are simply ace and you know what, maybe I am that guy who wants to go faster than snails’ pace in a classic car! The bass arrived complete with hard case and getting it out I was already impressed. Its looks are striking, believe me, the pictures don’t do it justice. It is very red. Some might be put off by the colour, there are less obnoxious colours available, but you know, I’m a go big or go home type of guy!

With 20 frets and a scale length of 33 1/4”, dot inlays and a maple body and neck with a maple fretboard, it all makes for a great looking and great sounding beast. I’m a little bit undecided on the fretboard material, it feels a little too slick and glossy for my liking and I just can’t quite get used to it, but that is only a minor niggle. The all important question is, how does it play?

I am delighted to tell you, that despite my misgivings about the slick fretboard, it is an absolute dream to play. The neck is really easy and the back is quite flat, meaning its quite a fast neck. Plug it in and that classic Ric jingle will have you spellbound.

There is a three way pickup selector switch with bass and treble volume and tone pots and a push/pull selector for ‘Standard tone’ or ‘traditional tone’. The traditional tone is straight out of the 60s, but on steroids! I was most excited to try the traditional tone, but through my amp at least I just thought it sounded a little bit too jingly, a slightly exaggerated caricature of the Ric’s classic tone perhaps. Yes, you feel like you’re playing at the Cavern with the Fab four, well, sound wise at least and it feels very nice, but I think the traditional tone would cater to a very specific market. The ‘standard tone’ however was much more to my liking. It retains the feeling of the classic Ric sound, but I think it is much more practical and can be used across the board. The single coil pickups, even in standard mode sound like a Ric and if you crank the gain up on your amp, they certainly pack a punch.

This is an awful lot of guitar and the price certainly reflects that. I have seen these on various websites for much lower than the S.R.P, so it is worth shopping around. Would I buy it? If I needed a bass that would last a lifetime and sound great doing it and make me stand out, then it’s absolutely a no brainer, join that exclusive club. You’ll certainly not need to buy anything else.

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