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Fake Rick beings adverstised as real
- Thread starter Puma
- Start date
The stamped jack plate serial number is a relatively easy thing to fake on a Ric.
This "green/grey burst" bass may indeed be genuine, but aside from the non-original color, there are a few minor things that catch my eye;
The bridge pickup plate has some awfully sharp corners.
The crushed pearl inlays look a little too milky.
The nut looks like a replacement.
We may have to ask our resident Ric expert to chime in here & offer his opinion on it. Are you out there PaulBoyer ?
In the meanwhile, compare the one in my first post to this '72 Ric, which I'm more confident is genuine...
1972 Rickenbacker 4001 Bass JETGLO w/crushed pearl inlays + CHECKERBOARD BINDING | eBay
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Someone call 911
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When I moved to the UK four years ago, I joined a few bass buy/sell sites on social media. I’m amazed at the number of fakes I see for sale here... “Rickenfaker” is a common expression. Also, a lot of parts basses with Fender decals.
That 4001 may well have been refinished, but it is genuine IMHO. I doubt that someone would go to the trouble of putting a genuine aluminium gap-tooth tailpiece or wavy Grover tuners on a faker (that's around USD 600 worth of parts or more). As for the sharp-edged pickup surround, Rickenbacker used such a part in the late 60s and very early '70s so it may be a left-over from the parts bin - this sort of thing is not unheard of with Rickenbackers from this period. As to the inlays, they changed from crushed pearl to a milky pearloid towards the end of the full width inlay period in early-mid '73. Finally, the "Rick-o-sound" stencil on the jackplate isn't that durable - it is rarely intact on a well-used bass of this era.
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i just cross referenced against paul’s book and the corners of the bridge pickup surround do look a bit sharper than the early squared off cornered examples.
Fake! Just kidding.....I had a 1968 burgundy that had the stamping so I assumed all did. In spite of its idiosyncrasies, I loved that bass and wish I had kept it.
It sure looks legitimate to me. Is it?
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Probably a silly question, but why are there so many 4001 Rics for sale from Japan. There's just a handful for sale in the US, but over 100 for sale "From Japan" (and then just the one from Thailand). No where else.
Did that many basses really make it over to collectors in Japan and now they're being liquidated? Or are most of them fakes being white-washed?
Did that many basses really make it over to collectors in Japan and now they're being liquidated? Or are most of them fakes being white-washed?
I'm going with fake. The metal bezel around the outside of the bridge pickup is square. I might have my model years mixed up, but I believe early 70's 4001 Rics still had the angled corners on the bridge side. It also has a toaster pickup in the neck position, which I believe had been replaced by the P/U with external pole pieces by then.
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Most likely it's real.
I posted it simply because there are a few things that looked iffy..
See my post above.
Yeah, it has some features that raise questions.
I don't know either way, I just threw it out there because I can't tell & wanted the opinions of others.
many of those listings are the same bass. 100 listings probably only represent 15-20 basses.
That ‘73 is real. I have a ‘73 and the edges and patina of the pickguard, the binding detail at the bridge, the jack plate all look spot on. I’d bet a dinner in it if anyone wants to go!
You've got me curious now. The only thing that looked weird to me was the sharp, square corners on the chrome bridge pickup mounting plate.
