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NBD - Chickenbacker 4005

ClassicJazz

ClassicJazz

Bottom Feeders Unite!!
Supporting Member
Sep 19, 2005
4,765
9,833
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Delray Beach, Florida
#1
Meet my new Chickenbacker 4005 fresh off the orient express! I can truly say with all honesty, what a hunk of crap! Luckily didn’t pay allot for it. Well from a distance it looks good. But up close not the greatest paint job. Some runs in a couple of places. The tuners are horrible. But this is the kicker, the bridge pickup is not wide enough. So the G string is not even over the pickup magnets (see pic) and if you solo that pickup, forget about using the G string! lol. On the good side, the fretwork is actually not too bad. They were filthy so gave them a good cleaning. Put on some Rotosound flats and it doesn’t sound too bad for an old school tone. Considering a real Rickenbacker 4005 costs $5-6k or more, this will do! Actually it doesn’t play too bad. Lol

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#4
I played a Fakenbacker at a guitar show years ago and was pleasantly surprised at the quality.
It was on par with Squire's CV, and the Ibby's I've tried.

I believe the quality depends on which Chinese vendor you get it from.
But how would you know?

I did my own investigation and it appears that this guy did a 100% markup
because the ones I saw that actually looked decent were around $300ish,
and he was selling them for $600.

I thought the two I played were worth it because of the quality,
plus you could try before you buy.

I passed though because I'm not a big Ric fan, especially at Ric prices,
but $600 had me leaning for a minute.

Congrats on your NBD!!!...057912
 
#5
ClassicJazz said:
Meet my new Chickenbacker 4005 fresh off the orient express! I can truly say with all honesty, what a hunk of crap! Luckily didn’t pay allot for it. Well from a distance it looks good. But up close not the greatest paint job. Some runs in a couple of places. The tuners are horrible. But this is the kicker, the bridge pickup is not wide enough. So the G string is not even over the pickup magnets (see pic) and if you solo that pickup, forget about using the G string! lol. On the good side, the fretwork is actually not too bad. They were filthy so gave them a good cleaning. Put on some Rotosound flats and it doesn’t sound too bad for an old school tone. Considering a real Rickenbacker 4005 costs $5-6k or more, this will do! Actually it doesn’t play too bad. Lol

View attachment 5336776 View attachment 5336777 View attachment 5336778
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That narrow pickup at the price you paid? That's nothing compared to a 6K US handmade Spector with a similar flaw (pickups too wide), of which I can't believe both in stock left the shop that way...completely inexcusable:

Spector USA NS-5 5-string Bass Guitar - Black Stain, Sweetwater Exclusive
 
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#7
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#10
Holy "varying string break angles at the nut" Batman! I can't tell if it's just my eyes but it seems like closer to the headstock the G string is a bit precariously near the edge. Outside that I will say I've always though the fake ric's "R" on the trapeze was adorable looking. In a "you tried" kinda way. Either way, if it plays it plays, well done happy NBD
 
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#11
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#13
Rick's have narrow spacing typically. I wonder if this pickup would be ok with an appropriately spaced bridge.

How's the neck/fretwork feel? Does it play alright? I'm not in the market at all, just curious. Edit: my bad, you basically answered this.

I really love the color. And the inlays look pretty good to me too.
 
#16
New pickups won't fix the horrible misalignment. It just looks like the bridge pickup isn't centered under the strings properly and might not be wide enough.

Even with the garbage pickup alignment, I'm still kind of interested in one of these.
songwriter21 said:
Look how the D barely gets near the center of the poles, and the G is not even close. For over 6K (tax and shipping), you think they would've chosen the correct size for pickups. ‍:rollno:
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The only thing that really matters is that the outermost strings are not outside the pole pieces. There is also this thing in photography called parallaxing, where the curvature of the lens throws off the perspective compared to what the naked eye sees. If the sound was negatively impacted, they would not be selling the bass for that price.
 
#19
nice beaterbass, cant beat the prices, minus the QC, Some sellers have good return policy if ya dont like it. never bought a bass but I've bought a few necks, and they are perfect out of box imo..congrats, you found a lemon lol..but with proper setup a few mods gtg.
 
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#20
I have a Aliexpress Purple One, the pick ups are Rickenbacker 4005 pickups (they cost more than the bass). The neck needed fret work to get it playable. I worry when I buy a set neck bass from them, it's a gamble but real 4005's are hard to find and they are selling for more than I'm willing to pay for a bass.
IMG_5820 Purple Basses.JPG
 
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