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Is this a plexi Ric TRC, or a clever fake?


Dave Vader
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Hoping some of you lovely people can help me. I pulled this TRC off of a hondo Rickenfaker not so long ago, and I can't tell if it's one of those plexi ones that Ric used to sell back before they realised what was happening to them, or if some clever buggers knocked it up in a garage.
I can't bring myself to keep it on either of my fakers, as they are fake, and anyone with half a brain can spot that. But obviously, I don't want to sell it as a genuine RIC plexi if it isn't.

Here's a couple of scans of the front and back for you RIc experts to squint at...



And if you're still not sure, check out my flickr TRC album... (geeky much? Yep. I certainly am :rolleyes: )
[url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/50579126@N03/sets/72157624303698305/"]http://www.flickr.com/photos/50579126@N03/...57624303698305/[/url]

Thanks for any help you can give me, I don't want to have to go to Rickresource, they might burn me for my fakers.... and I can't afford a real Ric :)

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Looking at the pics, I'm 99.9% sure it's shonky. A 70s Rick plexi would be screened on the back, and would probably also have the model number of whatever instrument it was purloined from. The screwholes look countersunk & I've never noticed this on a real one - although I guess that could have been done later.

I'm not a huge Rick expert (most of what I know derives from what you don't find on Fakers!) so my small margin of doubt would be that maybe this is from an extremely early Rick (50s/60s) and the back-printed sticker pre-dates the screenprinted trcs I've seen. But I doubt it.

Rickresource is cool - just don't tell them it's off a Faker you own! :)

Jon.

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[quote name='Dave Vader' post='899697' date='Jul 20 2010, 08:28 AM']Thanks Jon, I may nervously wander over there and say it came out of a box of parts from a long-lost/dead uncle or something then.[/quote]
Or the ever popular "my mate bought this Faker - sorry, I meant my[i] former[/i] mate!" :)

J.

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[quote name='4000' post='900318' date='Jul 20 2010, 06:03 PM']I believe there were; some don't have it. The one in question looks fake to me, but I'm no expert on the 60s ones in particular. Someone on there will know.[/quote]
I've got a 68 (ish) 4001S and as far as I remember (it's been sitting in it's case for the last year or so) it doesn't have a model number and the 'Made in USA' is parallel to the Rick logo, rather than next to the nut. I've only had the TRC off once, but if I remember correctly it was painted on the back rather than a piece of paper like the OP's.

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[quote name='Musky' post='900456' date='Jul 20 2010, 08:45 PM']I've got a 68 (ish) 4001S and as far as I remember (it's been sitting in it's case for the last year or so) it doesn't have a model number and the 'Made in USA' is parallel to the Rick logo, rather than next to the nut. I've only had the TRC off once, but if I remember correctly it was painted on the back rather than a piece of paper like the OP's.[/quote]

Yep, all the plexi's I've ever seen (and I've seen a few) are painted.

You should get that '68 out. :) What's the action like?

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[quote name='4000' post='900572' date='Jul 20 2010, 10:40 PM']Yep, all the plexi's I've ever seen (and I've seen a few) are painted.[/quote]

That was what i would have expected, s'why I had to ask. I thought it might have been one of the mythical replacement plexis that rick used to sell, hence the lack of model number.

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[quote name='4000' post='900572' date='Jul 20 2010, 10:40 PM']Yep, all the plexi's I've ever seen (and I've seen a few) are painted.

You should get that '68 out. :) What's the action like?[/quote]

The action's very low, as are the frets. :rolleyes:

It's actually set up just as when I got it 27 years ago. I've never touched the the bridge height or truss rod and have always used Rotosounds, which the previous owner evidently used as well.

Considering early Ricks are supposed to have problems with the string tension of roundwounds, I'm quite impressed.

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[quote name='4000' post='901445' date='Jul 21 2010, 11:12 PM']If I hadn't just bought a very rare Ric I'd be trying to get that off you. :lol: In fact if I decide to let my new acquisition go, I might still be trying to get that off you! :rolleyes:[/quote]
:lol:

Unfortunately this is the bass that falls into my personal 'the one I'll never get rid of' category. :)

Edit: Just out of curiosity, you don't happen to know if 60's Ricks had lower profile frets than later models? As I said the frets are low on mine, very different to early eighties models I've had, and I suspect they were probably worked on at some point.

Edited by Musky
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