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i'm wondering if anyone has experience with this....

T

thegentile

Feb 8, 2012
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0
#1
i'm new to posting on the forum. i've been lurking for years and playing for even longer, but i came across this while on the internet and curious if anyone has ever dealt with this.

i found a fakenbacker doubleneck (guitar & bass) online at dhgate.com (Invalid Link Removed) and although i am very aware that it is not a reall rickenbacker, the pictures posted don't look half bad. it's certainly not very expensive.

my main concerns here are if anyone has ordered something through dhgate.com and most specifically through this chinese knockoff guitar store Bjxlyymusic. the main concern is if i will actually get something that resembles what i think i am buying, if i get anything at all.

i just want the quality to be ok, specifically with the body and necks. i would probably upgrade all of the hardware/electronics, but $620 for the necks and body would certainly be worth the price, in my opinion. and if the rest sounds fine, that makes it playable all that much more soon.

any help would be much appreciated.

apologies if i have inadvertently done something frowned upon in talkbass, like i said it's my first post.

thanks.
 
#3
hello thegentile

I am in the process of buying one of these double necks mentioned but off Trade Tang(not dh gate).

Always insist on seeing the pictures of the actual bass you are going to buy!!

I arranged to pay a deposit and to pay rest when company sends photos of finished doubleneck.

I ordered this bass in transparent purple because the doubleneck is being built as we speak and they allowed me to choose the colour. :hyper:

Should have more news and pics in 2 or so weeks.

Incidentally, I bought a blue 4003 copy some weeks ago. Apart for the need of a setup it is definitely good value thusfar. Reasonable quality of build, not a neck thru like the real thing but better sounding than most replicas.

reply if you want to see pics of my blue 4003

Wish you good luck
sincerely rick 4001s
 
#4
uh.... TradeTang is the greatest and DHgate sucks?

and your statement of " I'm waiting 2 weeks for the build"?
"ask for actual pictures" --ahhhahahaha --
you sound like someone riding along with the scam to suck yet another person into it :(

let the OP be the judge of that service also after reading THIS about tradetang -- same thing as dhgate:
you bought a 4003 copy?, cool show us please, and what if his unit is unplayable?.. then what? who do you send it back to? Who do you fight when your seller takes your money and disappears?
Invalid Link Removed
 
#7
hello amimbari

I don't know where you get off saying I'm a scammer and trying to rip off talkbass memebers!!! Get your facts right before flaming someone!!

I am simply reporting my experience with purchasing one of these instruments with someone who had some decent questions and concerns.

I have actually bought the instruments thegentile is inquirying about (have you??) and offering my experience. I am not affiliated with and do not support these companies in China.

I agree, let the OP be the judge, if he finds I was guilty of scamming, I will willingly and gladly leave this forum. Conversely, he should maybe look at your hostile conduct and consider taking action about your malicious accusations about me

Pictures as requested to come!
 
#8
here are the picks of my blue bass as promised

definitely not the same quality as a REAL RICKENBACKER 4003 but great value nonetheless

since I live in Australia I buy straight from the US to take advantage of the favorable exchange rate and buy quality items from the US to save money. I don't get a warranty when these items decide to quit working -> BIG DEAL it's just a chance you have to take sometimes

scammer my arse!

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#9
It's the same with all cases of these wholesale import operations. On occasion you get lucky. I have the same bass as above but in black and after a tuners and pup replacement, its easily as nice as any faker I've ever owned. That includes grecos, electras, ibanez, univox, and shine copies. Oh and I also own three real Ricks to boot! Are these sites in large trustworthy? Generally speaking, no. But on occasion you do get a decent deal
IMAG1217.gif
 
#10
Review of Chinese 4003 - You wanted one, you got it!!!!
3-1.jpg


Overall Impressions at first glance:

The blue bass I bought holds a striking resemblance to the 4003. Most noticeable is its decent weight and solid construction. The neck was straight but a setup is required because of significant fret buzz at the first fret. It is not wired in stereo.

Construction

The body is supposed to be mahogany, but is probably basswood or alder. The surface of body is actually contoured slightly near the upper horn, not a dead flat top as a real RIC.

Neck appears to be maple. Neck has splice below headstock, like most Chinese guitars. I did not check the truss rod. I will let the repairman deal with that. I cannot honestly say if one is present or if it functions correctly. The neck is straight without any twisting present. The fingerboard appears to be rosewood with :cheap looking" triangular markers, not as nice as real RIC ones. The fingerboard is also flat with no gloss lacquer over it.
The neck does not run through the body as the real thing but the glued in neck joint seems sound and does not negatively affect the tone of the instrument. Frets are not really big (but neither are those on a real RIC). Fret issues are as mentioned with first fret causing buzz. If this problem did not exist, action could be lowered to a very low level.

The bridge, although having an unusual system of screws to adjust height and angle of the bridge could be readily adjusted and the strings could be lowered to provide a reasonably low action. The bridge seems solid and time will tell if it is susceptible to bridge lift problems occurring on real RICs.

Pickguard is actually white/black/white layered and very thin. Not really nice. Strap buttons are basic generic types, not exactly like genuine.

Pickups are reasonable. Front pickup resembles "toaster pickup" but not a great replica. Rear pickup is not exact replica of RIC bridge pickup, but at least the cover is metal, not plastic like my 4001 was. The bridge pickup is located closer to the bridge than a real RIC. This may suit some players because the "sweet spot can be played on without removing the bridge PU cover.

The sound from the pickups is good. Good amounts of bass and treble present when both on. Neck PU has reasonable bass output and is clear. Bridge pickup is a little shrill on its own (probably because it located closer to the bridge than a real RIC).

Tone controls are just average really and not nearly as good as those on my 4001 (they are superb and streets above any passive bass I have tried). The knobs are vintage 4001s/1999 knockoff and are OK. All pots turn well, noiseless and have good taper. 3 position switch will need replacement as it sometimes does not switch correctly. Did not check wiring but expect cheap components.

The finish is excellent. Beautiful paint work, except at the rear neck joint (some paint runs/blobs). Binding to body and neck is of good quality and finish.

Feel

The feeling of the neck is slightly"chunkier" than that of my real 4001 but still comfortable.

Sound

The sound of this bass is good. It has a decent amount of bottom and top end and has a "clanky" Rickenbacker like sound. It is nowhere as versatile as my real 4001, it does not have the beautiful lows and mids of the genuine article.

This bass would suit players who require "clank" in their sound. The sound is RIC like but not not as rich or deep as the real thing. For the money spent, the finish, sound and value are really quite good. I am very happy with it thus far.

Let me know if your want a sound byte of this bass.

Time will tell how robust the construction of this bass really is

Thanks for reading this and I hope it answers the queries of those of you interested in getting one.:bassist:
 
#11
rick4001s said:
hello amimbari

I don't know where you get off saying I'm a scammer and trying to rip off talkbass memebers!!! Get your facts right before flaming someone!!

I am simply reporting my experience with purchasing one of these instruments with someone who had some decent questions and concerns.
Click to expand...
I said you were riding on the scam, not YOU were the scammer, don't twist the words around.

I also asked a legitimate question "and what if his unit is unplayable?.. then what? who do you send it back to? Who do you fight when your seller takes your money and disappears?"

regardless of how Ricish it may or may not sound, that is not why you bought it. you bought it because you took a chance and it IS very nice.

How I would have approached it would have been:

"Hey gang I know everybody talks smack on DHG and TT but check out what I got from a seller on TT, his screenname is xxxxxxxx, go check out his stuff for sale, for xxx dollars look what I got, check out these pics"

but you didn't.

you took a chance and you won and ended up with something your satisfied with, but what about the hundreds of others on those links for DHGate and TradeTang? Those unlucky people and probably thousands more also took a chance, and lost.
 
#13
Without a doubt, you may get lucky and get one that is what was pictured. Like was previously stated, there is a huge thread on Trade Tang and the like. Remember, if you have a problem, it is never easily solved. Dealing direct is a great idea in theory, but IMHO, the business ethic is much different. This is not like ordering from MF or GC. This is ordering from China 200 time zones away and it is not usually easy to get responses.. I did not say don't buy one, I said don't trust them. Big difference. If you buy, expect the wrong item. If the right item shows up, you score. If not, you will not be as disappointed as I was.
 
#14
clearly I am not the only one who found amimbari's initial response to my post sarcastic and offensive.

may I add amimbari I could give you a few pointers about submitting non offensive posts

and amimbari if I want your advice on how to post a reply to a fellow TBer's questions in future, I will ask for it

As I stated before, I buy a lot of music gear from the US and if it breaks down, I have no warranty. If you live overseas it doesn't matter whether you buy quality or junk - you just have to take a chance.

You people in the US are very lucky. Low gear prices, free shipping and warranties on your purchases. American made guitars generally sell for nearly 100% more than what they are sold in their country of origin. Hell, up to only a few weeks ago, I could not buy a real RIC in Australia because there were simply no RIC distributors. Prior to that new RIC's sell in Australia for $4000 AUD and up.

Excuse me if I have to shop for a cheaper alternative
 
#15
hello everyone

if any TB'ers want the name of the Chinese seller I bought this bass from, please PM me.

I did not include the sellers name here because I felt it improper as it may suggest bias towards him and the online organization he deals through. It is not right to openly advertise their business on this forum.

I do not want to push the sales of Chinese guitar knockoffs as it may damage sales of legitimate US guitar manufacturers and potential foster sales of counterfeit guitars being passed off as the genuine article.

What I want to do is be impartial and give evidence of my experience dealing with Chinese guitar sellers.

Sadly, there appears to people commenting about things they have little or no knowledge/experience in and basically doing little more than creating more confusion about the subject.

I encourage more TB'ers that have bought similar instruments to post reviews of there guitars and experiences so that people that are in a similar situation as myself in the future, can make a more informed decision about entering into buying instruments from China

thanks & respect
rick4001s
 
#18
May I remind you that these threads are all about the good and the bad, and all you think is that I came in here to discredit you and YOUR seller? You proved me wrong with your units, and I take it as a man and say "wonderful".

I'm not in here to fight, only to defend the thousands who have tried to get something good out of DHGate and Trade-Tang and who were ripped off. IF your units came from a seller from one of those 2 services then that just encourages more people to buy them, just like the 10's of thousands who take off their Squier sticker and replace it with a Fender and show the TB'ers daily.

I HIGHLY doubt that by you getting your seller a few sales to users here in the USA is going to ruin anything that is real from the USA or any other country that the Chinese are copying since no copyright laws apply over there and the only people it would piss off are the ones who would never buy anything like that because it is "against" their principles.

you found a source, you got what you ordered...end of story.
All I was trying to bring out is if your source was a TRADETANG or DHGATE seller to change MY mind. I honestly don't give a **** about anyone else.

SO, in conclusion, if your source IS a TT or DH seller, then yes you have changed my mind and any further posts AGAINST TT or DH will be squelched from now on, and I would tell people that you have purchased from "so and so" seller from TT or DH and look what nice units you received to allow them to see that not everyone on TT or DH is a ripoff..
 
#19
Hello friends.

Let me first say, yes I have been lucky with my purchases from China.

One important thing though, do not be silly enough buying from chinese sellers who either do not send you pictures of the actual instrument you are buying or are displaying photographs of genuine USA made guitars in their advertisements.

The purchase of the double neck is the only sale that really was problematic.

1. The seller changed names before the double neck was finished. This was particularly worrying because I was not notified of this. In short, I thought the company I bought from "folded" and took my money. Upon emailing them, they advised me of the change of name and good communication resumed (whew!)

2. When the doubleneck? was complete they realised the factory built me a 4 string bass in the colour I ordered and not a double neck. They sent pictures of the 4 string as proof of the error though. Subsequently, the build time was extended for another 7 days. I felt awkward at this stage and thought if I complained too much, they might rush the build and sent me a poorly built instrument.

3. Then they emailed asking for an extension. They apologized (as they did after each mishap). I agreed, but threatened to pull out of the deal if they could not meet the deadline. They emailed me 4 days later with the photos of my finished doubleneck.

So as you can see, it would appear the ordering of custom features to a chinese instrument, can cause hassles.

They also refunded me $50 USD off the price because the instrument did not have ebony fingerboards. I thought this was strange because none of the fakes have ebony fingerboards. I consider this a part refund for their errors along the way.

The double neck is reasonably well built at this stage. The neck of the bass end again is too straight and buzzes at the 1 - 3 frets. All three fackenbackers suffered this fate. The 12 string end is good, some dud machine heads (as the case with the prism PRS copy - the machines are absolutely whoaful!!!!) The twelve string chimes really nicely and the wider than RIC neck makes it easier to play.

I wish all TBer's the same luck I have had thusfar with our Chinese guitar makers. Email me if you have any questions. Cheers
 

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