Any guesses on this Craigslist Bass?

[MItch Z]

Just saw this on my local craigslist and was curious to what you all think about it. Looks to me like a well done DIY bass with Bartolinis, although it's hard to judge the string action from those pictures. I'd also be curious to know what those three switches do.

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[Dan B]

Woah, that's my Craigslist as well.

Doesn't look too bad honestly. Kinda has an Alembic vibe to it, though the bridge position kinda scares me (though that might be unwarranted). The neck looks very Rick-ish to the point I'm wondering if it's from an actual Rick.

It's interesting at least.

 

[Pentatonic]

Pretty cool.

 

[jaybones]

....Kinda has an Alembic vibe to it....

That was my thought exactly!

He does say it a Rickenbacher, but he must have totally stripped the body and refinished it. As for the switches, my guess would be wiring options. In and out of phase, but I don't believe Bartolini pickups can be coil tapped, so that eliminates the third switch.

 

[Dan B]

A Ric for $450? You can't even buy a stripped down Rick for that money, last time I checked.
No logo on the headstock but he's selling it as a Rickenbacker, not a Ric copy.

I was going to say the neck is from a Rickenbacker but it's a neck-through so unless there was a Rick that donated its neck and body to this instrument that rules that out. However the fretboard looks very similar to the ones on Ricks but there are no closeups of the neck in the pictures, nor is there a shot of what's inside the truss rod cover. If there are two truss rods, then it might be from a Rick.

I wouldn't look into him selling it as a Rickenbacker too much; as I see it it's akin to selling an LP shaped guitar as a Les Paul. I think he's using the name Rickenbacker as a general term for that sort of bass (because it does look like a Rick). Then again he says it's modified, so who knows.

 

[Pilgrim]

That is NOT claimed to be a Rickenbacher. The ad is titled "Rickenbaker."

As the OP noted, this is NOT actually a real Rick, but a clone of unknown origins.

It just might have a Rick neck (I doubt it) but it has been thoroughly bastardized. It's a $150 bass. The only things of value on it are the pickups (sell for $50 used) and the BA bridge which would also bring $50+ on Ebay.

 

[Bill Whitehurst]

Looks cool.
Could be a Rick under a new top
or not.
If I was local to it, I'd go check it out just for grins.