sirmontofgue Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Guys, Wonder if you knowledgable people can help with some more info/history on early Shaftesbury Rickenbacker copies? Let me start with a romantic tale...when I was a slip of a lad and learning to play drums, I also fancied learning bass and a mate of mine offered to sell me his Shaftesbury 4001 copy for £50. As this was about 1977 it was an awful lot of money, but I asked him if he'd do installments, but he wanted the money now and I watched him sell the beautiful red guitar to another friend who subsequently got bored and...GAVE IT AWAY...to someone else....arrrrrggghhhh! Having played it and in later years played the real thing, I really couldn't remember much difference & I hankered after one for many years. Now for the happy ending...I recently bought one, including the original case, for £300 and boy is it money well spent as it plays like a dream and as a real Ricky is about 5x as much I consider it a bargain! However, how do you age these things as the guy I bought it off reckons its a 1978? Anymore info/thoughts on these wonderful guitars would be most appreciated. Ta...a very happy ending geezer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 [quote name='sirmontofgue' post='635706' date='Oct 24 2009, 10:49 PM']Wonder if you knowledgable people can help with some more info/history on early Shaftesbury Rickenbacker copies?[/quote] Bassassin will probably be along in a minute to shine light on the matter. While you're waiting, here's the Rickenfaker thread to pass the time. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=270"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=270[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 Shaftesbury was the import brand used by the Rose Morris music shop on Shaftesbury avenue. Sticks in the mind because I deal with people working for lloydstsb on that road most days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 [quote name='skankdelvar' post='635724' date='Oct 24 2009, 11:05 PM']Bassassin will probably be along in a minute to shine light on the matter. While you're waiting, here's the Rickenfaker thread to pass the time. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=270"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=270[/url][/quote] Hi! Mr P. Redictable here... What the very knowledgeable Mr Foxen says, and the OP's own observations about the bass he owns, covers pretty much everything that's currently known about Shafties. Good-quality 1970s Japanese copies, imported by Rose-Morris, who also had the budget Avon brand. The main visual differences between these & real Ricks are the tuners and the somewhat more garish finish. They also have a single truss rod as opposed to the 2 in a Rick neck, and are of course a lot cheaper! Beyond saying "mid-70s ish" they're quite hard to age due to the lack of serial number. 1978 is probably the latest it's likely to be, as most Japanese manufacturers were turning towards original designs by the end of the decade. £300 isn't at all bad for a good through-neck vintage copy these days. Looking forward to seeing some pics. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirmontofgue Posted October 25, 2009 Author Share Posted October 25, 2009 Thanks guys so far. I've attached some pics have you any further info? Ta [attachment=35128:P1020638.jpg][attachment=35129:P1020639.jpg][attachment=35130:P1020640.jpg][attach ment=35131:P1020641.jpg][attachment=35132:P1020643.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zbigniew Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Oh man, that's a lovely looking bass guitar - (needs envy emoticon) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Any helpful mods want to merge this thread with [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=64691"]this one[/url]? J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absolutpepper Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 So most importantly how do they sound in comparison to an actual rick. I've got a 4003 from 2008 and its the best sounding (and loudest) instrument ive ever owned (or played, or heard...you get the idea). Do the shsftesburys really cut it in this dept? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 [quote name='absolutpepper' post='639822' date='Oct 29 2009, 10:31 AM']So most importantly how do they sound in comparison to an actual rick. I've got a 4003 from 2008 and its the best sounding (and loudest) instrument ive ever owned (or played, or heard...you get the idea). Do the shsftesburys really cut it in this dept?[/quote] On the whole I'd have to say - despite being a Jap copy geek - no. That's speaking generally, I've never played a Shaftesbury, but the pickups & electrics used in Jap fakers are often generic, the same parts appearing on copies from different factories. They don't have the character of a real Rick, in my experience, there's some of the "clankiness" (which probably derives from the way the bridge pup's mounted) but they're more generic-sounding. It's worth mentioning that since Japanese Rick copies are mostly derived from early/mid70s 4001 design, they usually feature the bridge pickup cap, which cuts a lot of low-end. Doing the [url="http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/Rick%20maint.htm#cmod"]capacitor bypass mod[/url] does help wake 'em up a bit. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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