phil_the_bassist Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I'm looking to buy a vintage (70's) Ric and due to the stupid prices in the UK and the current exchange rate to the US, i'm looking to get one imported from the states. Are there any ways of telling the difference between a Rickenbacker and a Rickenbugger visually (aka in the photos posted by the seller) or any significant questions I can ask to make sure I'm not stung? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 (edited) You could do worse than start with [url="http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/Fakericks.htm"]http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/Fakericks.htm[/url] I think the absolute decider would be a photo of the routing beneath the pickguard. Genuine ricks just used to drill a series of holes between the control cavity and the neck pickup - no Rickenfaker was ever as shoddily routed! Edit: Oh - and checkout the basses section under Articles at [url="http://rickresource.com/main/"]http://rickresource.com/main/[/url] Edited June 24, 2008 by Musky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_the_bassist Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 [quote name='Musky' post='225757' date='Jun 24 2008, 11:28 AM']You could do worse than start with [url="http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/Fakericks.htm"]http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/Fakericks.htm[/url] I think the absolute decider would be a photo of the routing beneath the pickguard. Genuine ricks just used to drill a series of holes between the control cavity and the neck pickup - no Rickenfaker was ever as shoddily routed! Edit: Oh - and checkout the basses section under Articles at [url="http://rickresource.com/main/"]http://rickresource.com/main/[/url][/quote] lol! brilliant! Thanks for that, there's gonna be a lot of disassembled ric bodies littering the US soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Joey's Bassnotes is an excellent resource for checking the differences - but there are a few general rules you can apply to most copies. The orangey fretboard wood seen on Real ricks - I've never seen a copy with anything like this, usually it's conventional rosewood, which looks even darker than normal when lacquered. Copy inlays always look wrong - basically because they're cut from pearloid sheet, rather than being the poured liquid resin used on real ones. This means they look more shiny & pearly. Neck pickup positioning on copies is almost always the shorter 1/2 inch, because the copy designs date from the early 70s, when this was standard on Rickenbackers. Ricks started having the wider spacing from the mid 70s, so it's common on vintage Ricks. The exception for copies is the late 70s Fujigen Gakki basses - you'll see these branded as Ibanez & Greco - this model was redesigned to be more accurate in the mid 70s, so is closer to its contemporary Rick - it has the wider spacing, but still has numerous other tell-tale peculiarities that give it away. Unlike some of the Chinese knockoffs you get these days, none of the vintage Japanese copy-era basses & guitars were designed to be counterfeits - they were all sold with their makers/distributors' brands, and if you do enough research that you know what the "real things" are like, you can spot any copy a mile off. The grey areas occur when you get a copy instrument with genuine parts & vice-versa - and on 35+ year-old basses, this is unsurprisingly common. I'd recommend running anything you're not sure of past the BC Massive - someone will know - also, sign up to RickResource, they're a very friendly, helpful & informative bunch over there, and also - it's a damn good place to start looking for a good vintage Rick - they've got most of them! Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legoheads Posted June 25, 2008 Share Posted June 25, 2008 Last time I went to the US I bought a mint 1989 4003 Ric Bass from a guitar shop, Daddy's Junky Music in Manchester NH. After a bit of haggling I got the bass for $1400 (£700) instead of the $1600 it was up for. After getting home I decided that owning 2 Ric basses was an extravagance I couldn't afford and so I sold it on ebay for £1150, a profit of some £450 which more than payed for my airline ticket... Around 12 months ago you could get a new 4003 for $1400 but demand and subsequent shortage has pushed the new price up to $2200. There are a lot of people over here buying from US ebay which also pushes prices up and then you may well get stung for import duty. Get on a plane and take a holiday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_the_bassist Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 [quote name='The Legoheads' post='226961' date='Jun 25 2008, 10:13 PM']Last time I went to the US I bought a mint 1989 4003 Ric Bass from a guitar shop, Daddy's Junky Music in Manchester NH. After a bit of haggling I got the bass for $1400 (£700) instead of the $1600 it was up for. After getting home I decided that owning 2 Ric basses was an extravagance I couldn't afford and so I sold it on ebay for £1150, a profit of some £450 which more than payed for my airline ticket... Around 12 months ago you could get a new 4003 for $1400 but demand and subsequent shortage has pushed the new price up to $2200. There are a lot of people over here buying from US ebay which also pushes prices up and then you may well get stung for import duty. Get on a plane and take a holiday... [/quote] Hell yes! that was my plan...infact, I've got a clear credit card and a weeks vacation starting on the 3rd july so I might just do it! My one MAHOOOSIVE worry is getting the bass back in one piece and not smashed-to-funk by the baggage throwers...how do you get around this'un? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Legoheads Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 (edited) [quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='227154' date='Jun 26 2008, 10:20 AM']Hell yes! that was my plan...infact, I've got a clear credit card and a weeks vacation starting on the 3rd july so I might just do it! My one MAHOOOSIVE worry is getting the bass back in one piece and not smashed-to-funk by the baggage throwers...how do you get around this'un?[/quote] I took it as carry-on... although it exceeds the standard carry on size a lot of airlines will permit you to carry your precious instrument on to the plane and stow it in one of the crew lockers or a wardrobe rather than the overhead (as it won't fit). Just be nice and smile a lot and those stewards can be really helpful... You'll need to ask at check-in but it's best to say, "I normally just carry this on... is that okay...?". At worst you can do what they do with prams, where to keep hold of it until you get to the aircraft and then it's taken downstairs and placed in the hold by someone who gets paid a little more, thus bypassing the luggage monkeys... Best of luck mate... I hired a big gay Harley for a few days when I was out there... and found myself a new girlfriend... everyone's a winner On a tangent... Just watching the Editors at Galstonbury on TV... a 4003 and a 620... both in Jetglo... dribble... Edited June 27, 2008 by The Legoheads Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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