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Ric copy

#61
Peacefrog35 said:
Wow...ok so it's perfectly legit to get this bass into the US. It's not a copy,,, just a China made Ric?
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I would say that it might be possible to get this bass in the US but I am sure it's not legit. Rickenbacker does not make any basses in China.

Peacefrog35 said:
It says made in U.S.A on the truss rod cover.
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And that would not be true. :)
 
#63
Peacefrog35 said:
:bassist:So it may be risky sending them $334 then huh? Hmmm... I really want one. :bassist: I can't afford a Rick...well not after all the Hofner stuff I've gotten in the last couple of months. haha.
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Somebody linked those in another thread. They are copies, but not very close at all. Kinda junky (hate to break it to ya). Stay on the look for a nice 70's MIJ copy.
 
#64
Quadzilla said:
Somebody linked those in another thread. They are copies, but not very close at all. Kinda junky (hate to break it to ya). Stay on the look for a nice 70's MIJ copy.
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I'm tempted to order one also...... I've been looking for a MIJ Copy for years ..... they dont come around too often and when they do they want big bux for them......
And yes I know its a crappy copy , but I'm not expecting Ric quality for $350.
 
#65
Quadzilla said:
And I have bought something else, a damn good clone at a fraction of the cost. I guess it boils down to that we agree to disagree on this one. I just like having the Ric "police" trying to shut down us from buying 30+ yr old copies. And if they won't build a lower priced version, then I'm cool with others doing it. Shame on them for not offering one. Give the consumers what they want!
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I've said it in another thread but I believe this isn't about Rickenbacker wanting to be "snooty" or snobby about this but rather a calculated move to insure they have demand in the future.

The same thing happened to Harley-Davidson in the 90s. They intentionally held back manufacturing so that the company wouldn't have to compete against themselves in several years time for all of the motorcycles (or in Rickenbacker's case... basses) on the used market.

This industry moves in cycles and Rickenbacker has been around long enough to know that. So, the move is to not produce umpteen million basses that their new basses would have to compete with in the near future.

Call it like you want, but to see what is at stake for the company and still call them names is a bit on the juvenile side.

It's a business move and has nothing to do against the customers.

The secondary outcome of this is that it increases demand and thus increases pricing.

Quadzilla, you never answered my question. Is your bass' body the same thickness as a 4001/3? It looks thicker.
 
#68
mr_goodbomb said:
TheShinning.jpg


Shhh. You wanna get sued?
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This post = win
 
#73
#74
I have no problem at all with knockoff copies. If you want a Ric, and you buy one, GREAT! If you want a copy of a Ric, wheather it's a very nice guitar, or a very low quality guitar, GREAT, buy one! What I do take issue with is, with people selling decals, and such, that will be put on an off brand product. That is clearly false representation, and it does potentially hurt a company. My biggest complaint is that it can flood the market with products that, in some instances, are meant to mislead a buyer,ect. I have a Ric 4003, and also a Fender Jazz bass now, and I could care less about who buys what, or for how much. I've been playing now for 49 years, and I've always bought "brand name" guitars, but that's just the way I started out; back in the 60's whan I started selecting my instruments; it was a much different ball game. The Japanese copies were so far inferior that there was no blurred line at all. Then came the 70's, and beyond, and companies like Ibanez,ect, started making some very nice guitars, and that changed things. Because most of my musical "heros" or whatever you want to call them; were playing, almost always, Fenders, Gibsons, Rics,ect.; I bought those instruments hoping to achieve their tone,ect. that they were getting. Again; it's only the re-badging of instruments that bothers me. I think the trademarks should only last for so many years anyway, and all 3 above mentioned guitar makers have had well over 50 years to get a leg up, and if they will make their axes with good quality, and fair pricing, they shouldn't have to be too concerned with knockoff companies. I say; to each their own.

No flaming allowed!!!
 
#75
Hiyas
ciubz I bet that is a fireglow one right lol. I know the shop.
Nothing wrong with these basses, they play well seem pretty solid, and sound close to an original. oh and it's longer than the original too. I would have thought any shop/dealer would be able to ship it to the US.
My take on the Ric thing is they keep supply low so the prices remain high. The downside is they could build a budget version with a different name like say Warwick, or Gibson/Fender in the far east and sell bucket loads. It wouldn't really hurt sales as many musos would want a "proper" one later anyway. As I say just my thoughts. Just for the record I own a few basses including my 70s Ric;)

peace E
 
#76
It isn't a huge financial problem for me to buy a Ric, but i don't want one, because i don't like how it feels in my hands and it's sound is not for me really. I borrowed a 4003 for a studio session once to try smth different in terms of sound, ended up recording everything my 73'p and my 62 CS relic Jazz.
On the other hand i like how the ric looks, so i would like to have something that looks like a ric and doesn't cost too much just to have fun with it from time to time, maybe use it for some photo sessions with the band or something, this why i'm looking for a nice copy.

I did a market research and came to realize that ric copies have better resale value than the original rics. A new ric is about 2k, and you can buy a nice one for 1.3k used. A decent ric copy is worth 500-700$ and it stayed like this for the past couple of years. I concluded that Rickenbacker overprices it's instruments(the market shows the real value, not the RRP) The price of a new us made ric shouldn't be higher than 1.3k in my opinion and they should release an overseas made version at half of that price. This way they will get rid of the problem with illegal copies and increase their US model sales due to the fact that people won't be afraid to loose their money.
 
#77
ciubz said:
I did a market research and came to realize that ric copies have better resale value than the original rics. A new ric is about 2k, and you can buy a nice one for 1.3k used. A decent ric copy is worth 500-700$ and it stayed like this for the past couple of years. I concluded that Rickenbacker overprices it's instruments
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5 minutes spent on Google and eBay is not "market research". Very few instruments not only hold their value but appretiate like Ricks do, wether you're a fan of them or not you can always find a buyer for a good price.

'Overpriced' is the most misused term on this forum. It's only overpriced if you can't afford it.

ciubz said:
The price of a new us made ric shouldn't be higher than 1.3k in my opinion and they should release an overseas made version at half of that price. This way they will get rid of the problem with illegal copies and increase their US model sales due to the fact that people won't be afraid to loose their money.
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Rickenbacker can't make enough to meet up with demand, as has been said many times in the past, so they arn't hurting for business. They have a no-comprimises policy. Ricks will never be made in China or anywhere else other than the United States. That arguement is just ridiculous. Gibson has plenty of made-in-china guitars like the Epiphone brand and copies for those models are 100 times more rampant than Rickenbacker copies will ever be.

I can't afford a Rick = "rick's are overpriced" "they should be worth like 800$ for the poor quality" "copies are far better than the original"
 

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