I HAVE to tell you a little story, first. Many moons ago (1980, as it happens), I spotted the "new" Ricky 4003 bass at a trade show in California. A Mr Hall, boss of Rickenbacker, was nearby. My question to him was simple: what's different about this "new" bass?

SOME WEEKS LATER, his conclusion seemed to be that "there are a lot of differences in it". There was also a stretch of a few days when the subject of the instrument's suitability to roundwound strings was chewed over, but I told Mr Hall that most people used roundwounds on the old 4001 anyway.

I tell you this partly to assure you that the 4003 is not "new", really, despite what Rick UK say, and that even the makers themselves seem unsure about the differences between it and what top historians of luthiery have identified as the "classic" 4001 bass. The only visual difference I can see is the lack of the dark-wood strip on the body twixt neck and bridge that farted up the look of the 4001.

More important, unless you're into exacting cosmetics, is the sound of the 4003. Here Rickenbacker have similarly doubled their original effort, I'm pleased to report. What gives the Rick its (and we have to use this word, really) distinctive sound is the huge lumps of chrome and black and white plastic which are bolted and stuck all over the otherwise rather good looking red-orange sunburst-like body paint.

Now classic this arrangement might be, but frankly I think it exceptionally ugly. Oldsters may take one glance and start swooning off with recollections of Chris Squire, Paul McCartney, and even a number of American bass practitioners, but my aesthetic sensibilities, such as they are, were appalled. I'll keep this brief, cos it's obviously merely my opinion, but the white plastic scratchplate is the prime offender, closely followed by the enormous chromoid construction which is suspended over the strings and the back pickup. If you try to unscrew and take it off, it looks like the pickup would fall out.

Which leads us to another point. At the next chrome monster, the bridge, there's another renowned Ricky classic, the damper. This seems to involve a block of rubber under all four strings, and a system of two screws either side and associated springs, which all combine, in theory, to bring this lump of rubber near to and away from the strings. The spring mechanism fell apart as soon as we tried it, and it took three hours to prise the spring out of its little hole and return the unit to some semblance of operation. Not exactly ergonomically sound. And what's wrong with a bit of foam pushed under the strings at the bridge if you want to dampen them?

But we were about to talk about the sound, remember? And this is where we start to forgive a lot of what has gone before. A simple set-up, a volume and tone apiece for each pickup, coupled to a back-both-front selector, gets your noises sorted out. Front alone is rounded and actually rather fuller than I think you could tease from a 4001, although the pickup itself looks much the same, a rather antiquated sight with black plastic "polepieces" in a little chrome frame. The back pickup, hidden below our least favourite chrome, manages to add the Rick's famous clank and honk, despite it being some way from the bridge.

It responds best to whacking everything flat out and putting both pickups on, which I understand is how most of the classic oldsters would wind up their 4001s. The result is a throbbing clan — but wait! what is this on the edge. Two jack sockets!

The writing on them tells us "Standard" or "Rick-O-Sound". This, you'll be pleased to hear, is another Classic Touch Of Olde Rickenbacker. And it's relatively simple. Plug in to Standard, with a normal mono lead, and you have normal usage. With the Rick-O-Sound socket, however, you have to get a stereo jack to two split mono jacks. Rickenbacker do apparently make what they call the "Rick-O-Sound Kit", which costs plenty, but most music shops will make you up the requisite lead for a tenner or less. Once in and running, you'll get bass pickup going to one lead and treble to the other — split between two amps and EQd accordingly, the Rick'll honk even more effectively across the frequency spectrum. How nice, though, if you could just have plugged two mono-jack leads into the two sockets.

Nonetheless, while most amp makers seem to be going potty about making stereo amps to handle stereo processing effects, Rickenbacker plod on with this guitar-mounted stereo. Good for them.

While the sound of the Rickenbacker is what makes the bass, actually dealing with the object in your hands is a little tougher. It's what you might call an uncompromising play. The neck will feel wide and if anything a little flat to anyone used to more modern eastern concoctions, and the frets are wide and chunky. The fingerboard is also finished with a heavy layer of cellulose-like clear stuff, so you win on smoothness but miss the sort of "grip" of open wood. The machines do not have a fantastic reputation, but those on our sample worked OK.

Slapping is an unrewarding experience with the Rick, and it suits traditional finger-style playing much better. Those with plectra will coax an even toppier racket from the already trebley machine. The string spacing on our sample was a little crowded toward the G, and the overall impression while playing was of slight awkwardness — which you would doubtless overcome in time.

Uncompromising has to be the final word, really. The sound is potentially wide and rewarding, but it's ultimately the price that damns this bass. This just is not over £750-worth of bass, and the price is quite honestly ridiculous. At £400 we would recommend it if you could get on with the individual feel and the racket. Otherwise it's back to the history books.

RICKENBACKER 4003 bass £769

CONTACT: Rickenbacker UK, (Contact Details). Review sample loaned by Chappells of Bond Street.