Want to come up with a big fat nothing? Try to Google "Top Guitars Company" and find anything other than spammy results. I'd consider getting a Ric copy and altering it to suit me as this wouldn't hurt the resale value like it would on a real Ric, but I don't want to throw my money into a Phillipines black hole if the guitar is total garbage when it arrives...
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Ric copy
- Thread starter DeeDeeEntwistle
- Start date
Want to come up with a big fat nothing? Try to Google "Top Guitars Company" and find anything other than spammy results. I'd consider getting a Ric copy and altering it to suit me as this wouldn't hurt the resale value like it would on a real Ric, but I don't want to throw my money into a Phillipines black hole if the guitar is total garbage when it arrives...
Did anybody ever make a 4005 copy. I read somewhere in Bill Wyman's list of basses that he played one at one time. I'd sure like to have one and I'll never have $10.000 to spend on a bass.
That's got to be one of the ugliest collections of Ric-wannabees that I've ever laid eyes on. And sporting the Rickenbacker - Made in USA logo ...pathetic.
Rather than calling them cheap, I'd call them $400+...wasted.
How can they get away with selling these? It's bad enough them copying the bass design itself but to stick a Ric truss rod cover on as well!!!! 
Looks like they have set necks as opposed to a through neck like on the Rockinbetters. Why can they never get the fingerboards right and do a lacquered finish? Ibanez used to and that was 35 years ago!
Treble pickup is in the wrong position and it has an innacurate bridge but for £276 Left Hand including shipping it's a pretty good deal reagardless of how it sounds! That can be corrected afterwards.
The fact that Rickenbacker has stopped making left hand models has lost me their loyalty and respect anyway and as such would have no qualms at all in buying one.
Looks like they have set necks as opposed to a through neck like on the Rockinbetters. Why can they never get the fingerboards right and do a lacquered finish? Ibanez used to and that was 35 years ago!
Treble pickup is in the wrong position and it has an innacurate bridge but for £276 Left Hand including shipping it's a pretty good deal reagardless of how it sounds! That can be corrected afterwards.
The fact that Rickenbacker has stopped making left hand models has lost me their loyalty and respect anyway and as such would have no qualms at all in buying one.
Gotta agree that Ric has done nothing to endear themselves to anyone who wants something other than a run-of-the-mill 4003/4001.
Considering some of the basses they have produced in the past, limiting themselves to 1 model: no lh, no fl, no 5'er...and NO4005!!
I gotta admit: they could be more accomodating to their fan base. And probably rustle up some add'l profit in the process...
Gotta agree that Ric has done nothing to endear themselves to anyone who wants something other than a run-of-the-mill 4003/4001.
Considering some of the basses they have produced in the past, limiting themselves to 1 model: no lh, no fl, no 5'er...and NO4005!!
I gotta admit: they could be more accomodating to their fan base. And probably rustle up some add'l profit in the process...
They do what they do, and they don't care what you think about it. However, there's more than the 4003- and no one ever seems to talk about the "modern" Ric bass, the 4004. My 4004Cii is the best bass of ANY brand I've ever had the pleasure to play.
Had a closer look and it looks like they do have a thru neck, albeit wider than normal (I think).
These seem to be pretty heavy, but it says they have mahogany bodies???
If they do have the thru neck then they seem pretty much the same as the Rockinbetters, however the Rockinbetters are £200 more expensive. Don't know why the difference in price if they are identical basses?
These seem to be pretty heavy, but it says they have mahogany bodies???
If they do have the thru neck then they seem pretty much the same as the Rockinbetters, however the Rockinbetters are £200 more expensive. Don't know why the difference in price if they are identical basses?
Had a few E-Mail exchanges with them about their 'Ric' 4003's in relation to the difference between the real one and theirs, most notaby the incorrect bridge pickup position. (How close theirs is to the bridge I think it would be quite difficult to play behind the pickup cover).
They will do 'custom' jobs for a minimum order quantity of 3 basses. They would also be able to do a left hand model with a proper left hand neck as opposed to a right hand one on a left hand bass but again this is all down to a minimum order of 3.
It needs someone to go ahead and buy one of these and report on the forum with a detailed review. I would like to but am a bit wary about sending money to this unknown company in the Phillipines. Also I don't know if I would be liable to pay import duties on the bass once it arrived here in the UK?
They will do 'custom' jobs for a minimum order quantity of 3 basses. They would also be able to do a left hand model with a proper left hand neck as opposed to a right hand one on a left hand bass but again this is all down to a minimum order of 3.
It needs someone to go ahead and buy one of these and report on the forum with a detailed review. I would like to but am a bit wary about sending money to this unknown company in the Phillipines. Also I don't know if I would be liable to pay import duties on the bass once it arrived here in the UK?
...and as long as Rickenbacker continues to sell an instrument for every one they produce, without huge discounting, or desiring to expand their operation, or their profit, they can continue to do what they do, I guess. But, in this world, if 1 guy won't sell you what you want to buy, another one will. And Ric leaves themselves open to counterfeiters providing a product that they themselves won't. And having a market for that product...instantly: a market created by Ric's own glorious history, & real needs of the market (such as lh models). I can see Ric wanting to adhere to their MIA policy, and not outsource, so as to compromise the quality & desirability of their product. Actually I applaud them for that. But to limit their models the way they have, well IMO they are putting all of their eggs in a very small basket...
Yes I totally agree with what you're saying.
I would buy a brand new left hand 4003 from them tomorrow if they made one, as it stands I am having to look elsewhere for sub-standard alternatives, so they have in effect lost a customer (not that they would care anyway).
They should not object to other companies offering what they can not or won't provide. If people want to buy a genuine Rik they will buy one, even if there are identical copies out there, it's a bit like the illegal copying of CD's - if someone is really into the artist and wants the album they will buy the cd, someone who borrows an original and makes a copy for themselves would almost certainly never have bought the original so the record company hasn't really 'lost' a sale.
I'm a bit disappointed that with all the near perfect Fender P and J basses out there, since the likes of Greco and Kasuga no-one makes a bang-on Rik 4003 copy. Even the Rockinbetter RG4003 is incorrect with its toaster pickup and weird treble pickup cover and bezel. Not to mention the absurd bridge!
I would buy a brand new left hand 4003 from them tomorrow if they made one, as it stands I am having to look elsewhere for sub-standard alternatives, so they have in effect lost a customer (not that they would care anyway).
They should not object to other companies offering what they can not or won't provide. If people want to buy a genuine Rik they will buy one, even if there are identical copies out there, it's a bit like the illegal copying of CD's - if someone is really into the artist and wants the album they will buy the cd, someone who borrows an original and makes a copy for themselves would almost certainly never have bought the original so the record company hasn't really 'lost' a sale.
I'm a bit disappointed that with all the near perfect Fender P and J basses out there, since the likes of Greco and Kasuga no-one makes a bang-on Rik 4003 copy. Even the Rockinbetter RG4003 is incorrect with its toaster pickup and weird treble pickup cover and bezel. Not to mention the absurd bridge!
