The 4003 is very versatile jav, i play mostly between the bridge and treble pickup, for punchy bright tone, if i want a more mellow tone i play up at the neck pickup, and if you want a really mellow tone switch the bridge pickup off. very versatile bass. and if you want to really experiment use ric o sound and split the pickups up to send to two amps or processors, it is hard to imagine a more versatile bass to be honest.

how has neck stability been with the newer 4003s being produced...?

If you have a P, a 4003 will give you more tones you don't have now than a Jazz. There is a lot of overlap with the Jazz neck pickup and the P pickup, whereas there is a lot less (but still a little) overlap with the P pickup and the Ric bridge pickup.

I can only speak for myself but the neck stability on my 2010 4003, which I no longer own, was tops. I only had to adjust it a couple of times, and only very small adjustments to fine-tune the relief to my particular tastes. While I have not always heard positive things in my experience the new Rics are among the best they've ever made.

Like cassius, no issues for me either. Just the monthly fine tuning to get the neck exactly where I want it. Pretty easy to adjust despite all the noise you may hear.

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4001 '68 Noglo in restoration
4001 '73 Jetglo

Monthly? That often? I haven't had to touch the neck on my 4002 in twenty years!

Right now i only have to adjust my p (the newer necks with graphite rods) once or twice a year.. I hope the new 4003 are that stable....btw i never change string gauges...always the same tension.

As long as you stick with one set of strings (same gauge, outer wrap, and brand), you should have no issues whatsoever with neck stability. About a year ago I changed my 2010 4003 setup from being tuned DGCF back to standard tuning. The set of strings I went with has been fantastic, so my string safari is over with. I haven't touched my 4003's neck since (over a year and counting).

If not more so in my experience. I just tinker a lot with my instruments; it's fun for me to play with the setup and figure out what works best. The only times I adjust my instruments "for real" are if I change to a radically different type or gauge of string as coolingitdown indicated. If I don't do any radical changes like that for a while, chances are the neck hasn't moved. I do not notice the seasonal changes lots of people report with their basses, but maybe Denver weather is just that way.

But why believe a bunch of folks on the internet? Find out for yourself. A lot of dealers give you a grace period to figure out if you're getting on with the instrument, so you always have that safety net, and then RIC gives you a 5-year warranty on top of that.

got my hands on the new Ruby Red 4003 that came in at my local shop... not a big fan of any red color... but for those who like red...this is the nicest color i've seen!

How did it sound jav?? did it feel good in your hands??