Rickenbacker knockoffs?

Ranbat · January 25, 2011, 11:48:00 PM

Does anyone make one? I've seen the Schecter Stargazer and they are reminiscent of the Ric's, but is there a knockoff out there? My son wants a bass and has decided that the Rickenbacker looks way cool (Scott Pilgrim vs the World is why). I don't recall ever coming across a Ric knockoff, but if there is one, I figured somebody on here would know.

Hemisaurus · January 25, 2011, 11:56:10 PM

Are we talking bass or guitar? My first bass was a Hondo Ric knock-off, Univox made them too, and a Russian company, I think starting with a J made one called the D-bass, currently of course that kind pf knock off is illegal, so you'd be looking at the 80's.

Most recently I saw someone had http://wishbass.com Steve W. make them a Ric copy.

VOLVO))) · January 26, 2011, 12:24:33 AM

Greco:

Univox:

Ibanez did a REALLY good one:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shine-Rickenbacker-4001-Tribute-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ360336404404QQcategoryZ4713QQcmdZViewItem

^^^^ Can't buy a Rick copy in the US, but other companies do make them as "tributes."

Search around on ioffer.com, and all the chinese sites that sell those Gibson knockoffs. The 4001 is bound to be well-known enough, with Lemmy playing them and whatnot, for someone to do a copy.

VOLVO))) · January 26, 2011, 12:26:41 AM

The "J" company you're looking for is Jolana, Herbsz.

Ranbat · January 26, 2011, 12:31:26 AM

I'll have to check around. I figured there'd be some out there, I just couldn't think of any off the top of my head. I got a couple of months til his birthday. Thanks!

VOLVO))) · January 26, 2011, 12:57:04 AM

Straight up? For the prices you can get one of those Grecos, or the Ibanez... you can get a beater Rick 4001. In beater condition, I see Ricks go for 800-900 bucks, all day. The Univox is a good bass, but the fretwork is going to be fucking awful, and the wiring is going to be balls. Same with the Jolana. If anything, find a beater Rick. I can walk you through a semi-restore, or if you'd like, you can ship it to me and I'll do all the work for nominal fees. Keep on eye out for shitty frets, I'm not capable of full refrets yet.

Ranbat · January 26, 2011, 01:14:27 AM

I'll keep an eye out for a beater too. I'm gonna take him bass shoppin' this weekend and see if I can find a Ric for him to try out before I drop the cash. Actually a beater would be even better, then I wouldn't cringe every time he dinged it

VOLVO))) · January 26, 2011, 01:23:31 AM

http://www.dhgate.com/rickenbacker-4003-bass-fire-glo-super-clean/p-ff8080812bae9597012bc4a4f06e1f3a.html

IMPORTANT UPDATE, BUY THIS AND REPORT TO US THE QUALITY. Also, if you do go that route, have the seller remove the truss rod cover, and anything saying it's an actual rickenbacker, and have it shipped to you separately. If customs decides to search it, and it's got Rickenbacker all over it, they'll keep it and you won't get your bones back.

Hemisaurus · January 26, 2011, 09:39:39 AM

Yeah, that doesn't look atall dodgy

Thanks for Jolana, I wasn't near a proper computer so couldn't look it up.

I kind of dig the P pup on the pickguard and the J under the cover. That headstock don't look right though

The wishbass

El Zombre · January 26, 2011, 10:34:20 AM

Along with those other Japanese brands, I've also seen Rick bass copies under the Shaftesbury brand, sometimes spelled Shaftsbury on Ebay.

VOLVO))) · January 26, 2011, 01:33:42 PM

I dunno, Jake has bought a couple of those fake Gibsons, and he's been pleased with them. I might bite the bullet on the credit card, and see how bad or epic it really is.

http://www.dhgate.com/custom-rick-4-strings-bass-cherry-sunburst/p-ff8080812c622bd7012c64de32b746b6.html

hahaha

PICKUPS: KOREA HUMBUCKER

Hemisaurus · January 26, 2011, 03:27:45 PM

I've got a 4 string neck, I was thinking about having a buddy make me a Ric body for it, but I'd need to get some tuners for it, I have the 'big' Fender ones, but it uses the 'small' Gotoh ones. At least I know it wouldn't suffer neck dive. Pull the rest of the hardware of junkbass.

Another one of those projects for when I finish all the other projects I already have

VOLVO))) · January 26, 2011, 05:00:04 PM

the big fender tuners are a normal 10mm hole.

Discö Rice · January 27, 2011, 04:39:29 PM

If you're getting it for the looks, I guess I can understand getting the knockoff, but if it was sound you were going for, why not a Peavey T-40?

Ranbat · January 27, 2011, 07:01:50 PM

It's for my son, he's 12. And definitely would be getting the knock off for the looks. The reason he's set on a Ric is because Scott Pilgrim plays one in the movie. I was hoping for a fairly cheap knock off, but the Greco and Ibanez stuff is gonna bring a decent price. I'd totally go for a Hondo/Series 10 or something along that line and price range. Alot of his friends are starting to play instruments so he wants to play bass.

Discö Rice · January 27, 2011, 08:04:35 PM

Quote from: Ranbat on January 27, 2011, 07:01:50 PM
It's for my son, he's 12. And definitely would be getting the knock off for the looks. The reason he's set on a Ric is because Scott Pilgrim plays one in the movie. I was hoping for a fairly cheap knock off, but the Greco and Ibanez stuff is gonna bring a decent price. I'd totally go for a Hondo/Series 10 or something along that line and price range. Alot of his friends are starting to play instruments so he wants to play bass.

Applause +1

Yay! Good for him! ...and good luck with your hunt.

Hemisaurus · January 27, 2011, 08:41:21 PM

Not to complicate matters, but have you thought of getting him a shorter scale bass?

P basses are 34" an Ric's are 33.5" something like an SG bass or some of the Dano's are 30" or 29.75"

I used an SG style bass for punk, cause you can play it faster, same reason Mike Watt cites. Rickenbacker 3000's are short scale, but a different design from the more common 4001's. Shops that deal in funky used stuff generally have a better selection of weirdy basses and shorties.

Ranbat · January 27, 2011, 08:54:02 PM

His hands are huge. At 12 he's just over an inch shy of 6 ft. He does have some work to do on his dexterity though, so a shorter scale may be what he needs to get him playing.

Hemisaurus · January 27, 2011, 08:58:27 PM

Something in the water there?

Yeah he's already bigger than me, but short scales are nice for speed. If he can spread his fingers over the top 4 frets, on the lowest string he may be OK, it's more than I can do!

VOLVO))) · January 28, 2011, 01:33:32 AM

No, don't give him an easy starter. I did lessons for a while and the kids bitched about how hard it was to press down the strings on the acoustics we were using. I set all of them up with 13's, in standard. I told those kids they'll thank me one day. They all hated me, and their parents stopped letting me teach their kids lessons.

Moral of the story, start him out hard, so life is easier.

Ranbat · January 28, 2011, 07:19:40 AM

I agree with you to a certain point, I don't wanna discourage him though. i'm taking him bass shopping this weekend, i'll see what really seems to interest him.

Discö Rice · January 28, 2011, 11:24:48 AM

That's definitely the best way - let him pick out something that feels right (keeping affordability in mind, of course).

Honestly SunnO))), I believe the 13's on an acoustic thing is the fastest way to discourage a budding guitar player ever invented. Comfort is key to making someone interested in practicing, especially the young'uns.

Hemisaurus · January 28, 2011, 11:53:31 AM

I'm sorry, but I have to side with Disco Rice on this, so many players get disheartened by crappy budget instruments, or poorly setup instruments. Note I said crappy, there are lots of good budget instruments, and even some crappy ones can be setup to be fairly nice after all.

One thing that's nice is the fact that electronic tuners are so common, we no longer have to bother with tuning forks, pitch pipes and relative tuning, that also makes starting off much easier. Once you get further into it, relative tuning becomes easier, as we understand and hear harmonics and so on.

VOLVO))) · January 28, 2011, 02:04:58 PM

Those guitars play like a dream. I spent several hours setting all of those up to be easy players, and loud as fuck. When I play with other dudes, and their plugged in electric acoustics, they always ask me play softer. It had nothing to do with shitty setups, and I can bend the fuck out of those strings. Kids these days are just pussies. Also, those guitars were middle-of-the-road Taylors. They're loud, and brilliant sounding instruments with those strings. I set those up similar to how I set up my electrics. My tele has 13's in Eb, Jackson has 12's in E...

Metal and Beer · January 30, 2011, 09:55:37 PM

You've already plowed through the tough acres of learning and know the benefits of heavier guage strings...beginners don't have that insight.

Just my .02c