Waterstone Skelly is a Rick-ish bass and a great instrument. Not sure the company has any more for sale, as Rickenbacker went after them for that bass. There is one on sale here at TB for $200!!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Rickenbacker Clone?
- Thread starter afzoomie67
- Start date
One way to look at it is Rics are made in USA! Hard to buy USA nowadays, but I do when possible.
Don't care about the USA thing, I would if I were from the US though. But, if you want a Ric buy a Ric!
Regarding the Stargazer Invalid Link Removed
From the Schecter website...
Bridge: The MMHZ is a direct replacement for the original Music Man bass pickup. This pickup is passive (without internal pre-amp) and features a dual-coil design for low noise and plenty of output. Neck: The SJHZ pickup uses a stacked design with ceramic magnets and a laminated steel core for increased output and lower noise.
And as far as Ricky replacement p/u's, there are plenty of them out there. Pretty sure Seymour Duncan makes a set.
You could also get some Rickenbacker pickups, new or used (they're out there), and slap 'em in there. That's what I did with my Peavey.
Thats awsome!
Its true!
Years ago, I was into vintage Corvettes, man .. you wouldnt believe some of the things I saw guys arguing about ..
Here's my take on the "purist" crap that some like to throw out there: Yeah, I'm a Ric purist. I most definitely prefer the "real deal" to a cheap copy. If that is your definition of a "Purist" then so be it. Damn proud of it. However, does that mean that I give a hoot in hell if Joe Blow buys a copy? Absolutely not. You want to buy a copy? go for it! Hell, I'm in your corner. 
Every time I walk out on a stage with one of my Rics, I am proud as hell. Why? Because they are a company that I have bought from for years and years. They are a company that provides jobs to Americans that desperately need them. They are a company that has "stuck to their guns" with their products (regardless of what others said). They are a company that I can count on to be there the NEXT time I want to buy one. And, finally, the women LOVE the Rics!!!
Bottom line - go ahead and buy your copy. Just remember this....no matter how little you pay for your "clone", it will NEVER be a Ric. NEVER. No matter how many people you fool with the looks, YOU will always know that it is a FAKE. If you are OK with that - then good for you!! I wish you nothing but the very best!
Frankly, I am waiting for the Sadowsky knock offs to pop up and see how the "purists" feel about that and, God forbid, a fake Bergantino badge shows up on an Ampeg....it will, no doubt, be the end of the world as we know it....
Every time I walk out on a stage with one of my Rics, I am proud as hell. Why? Because they are a company that I have bought from for years and years. They are a company that provides jobs to Americans that desperately need them. They are a company that has "stuck to their guns" with their products (regardless of what others said). They are a company that I can count on to be there the NEXT time I want to buy one. And, finally, the women LOVE the Rics!!!
Bottom line - go ahead and buy your copy. Just remember this....no matter how little you pay for your "clone", it will NEVER be a Ric. NEVER. No matter how many people you fool with the looks, YOU will always know that it is a FAKE. If you are OK with that - then good for you!! I wish you nothing but the very best!
Frankly, I am waiting for the Sadowsky knock offs to pop up and see how the "purists" feel about that and, God forbid, a fake Bergantino badge shows up on an Ampeg....it will, no doubt, be the end of the world as we know it....
Here's my take on the "purist" crap that some like to throw out there: Yeah, I'm a Ric purist. I most definitely prefer the "real deal" to a cheap copy. If that is your definition of a "Purist" then so be it. Damn proud of it. However, does that mean that I give a hoot in hell if Joe Blow buys a copy? Absolutely not. You want to buy a copy? go for it! Hell, I'm in your corner.
Every time I walk out on a stage with one of my Rics, I am proud as hell. Why? Because they are a company that I have bought from for years and years. They are a company that provides jobs to Americans that desperately need them. They are a company that has "stuck to their guns" with their products (regardless of what others said). They are a company that I can count on to be there the NEXT time I want to buy one. And, finally, the women LOVE the Rics!!!
Bottom line - go ahead and buy your copy. Just remember this....no matter how little you pay for your "clone", it will NEVER be a Ric. NEVER. No matter how many people you fool with the looks, YOU will always know that it is a FAKE. If you are OK with that - then good for you!! I wish you nothing but the very best!
Frankly, I am waiting for the Sadowsky knock offs to pop up and see how the "purists" feel about that and, God forbid, a fake Bergantino badge shows up on an Ampeg....it will, no doubt, be the end of the world as we know it....
Amen.
I play all kinds of basses. Hofner Icons, Ricks, and Waterstones. I couldn't care less what anyone thinks about whether I play a "real" Rick or a "real" Hofner. I play for audiences not for nit pickity musicians. 
I play bass for audiences and listeners, not for other bass players.
I have never gotten anything--absolutely anything--but an overwhelmingly positive response about my Ric bass from either audience members or musicians I'm sharing a bill with; and in every single band I've been in they have praised the tone over and over, and many have outright told me they were so glad I didn't play it safe with a Fender instead. I'm thinking of a handful of projects here, one of which was a jazz combo I ran with for two very fun years. So if I'm a purist in any way for loving my Ric bass at least I'm being rewarded for it with something meaningful.
Now, other bass players? Most of them have only nice things to say as well but occasionally a TB member of sorts will say, "Yeah, your bass sounds so great, but I could never play it because it has binding," (or something else stereotypical of discussion forum chat that I couldn't care less about) to which I just shrug and say "I think it sounds great too!" Encounters like that make me laugh. The guys who do say things like that to me often seem like frustrated musicians as well; OTOH many times I have been very chummy with bassists who played very different instruments or styles than I because we were both musically fulfilled and weren't judging each other.
If you buy a Ric copy, I really don't care (not in the same way RIC would), but I will caution you that I have never played a good one to date. That is the experience I try to post in threads like these. I go out of my way to play copies I see at pawn shops in the area because for me it's like a fact-finding mission: are they any good? Some approach decent quality but all have near-unredeemable flaws in my book. Are there crappy authentic Rics too? Occasionally yes. But hunt out a good one--which the majority of them are, with the right TLC--and you've got a bass as rock solid as any other bass on the planet, I don't care if it was made by the greatest boutique shop in existence or what. I just can't say that about the copies. The ones I have played could not have gotten to that level even if you threw twice as much money as the cost of a real Ric at them. It's chasing your tail... you will be sorry.
I have never gotten anything--absolutely anything--but an overwhelmingly positive response about my Ric bass from either audience members or musicians I'm sharing a bill with; and in every single band I've been in they have praised the tone over and over, and many have outright told me they were so glad I didn't play it safe with a Fender instead. I'm thinking of a handful of projects here, one of which was a jazz combo I ran with for two very fun years. So if I'm a purist in any way for loving my Ric bass at least I'm being rewarded for it with something meaningful.
Now, other bass players? Most of them have only nice things to say as well but occasionally a TB member of sorts will say, "Yeah, your bass sounds so great, but I could never play it because it has binding," (or something else stereotypical of discussion forum chat that I couldn't care less about) to which I just shrug and say "I think it sounds great too!" Encounters like that make me laugh. The guys who do say things like that to me often seem like frustrated musicians as well; OTOH many times I have been very chummy with bassists who played very different instruments or styles than I because we were both musically fulfilled and weren't judging each other.
If you buy a Ric copy, I really don't care (not in the same way RIC would), but I will caution you that I have never played a good one to date. That is the experience I try to post in threads like these. I go out of my way to play copies I see at pawn shops in the area because for me it's like a fact-finding mission: are they any good? Some approach decent quality but all have near-unredeemable flaws in my book. Are there crappy authentic Rics too? Occasionally yes. But hunt out a good one--which the majority of them are, with the right TLC--and you've got a bass as rock solid as any other bass on the planet, I don't care if it was made by the greatest boutique shop in existence or what. I just can't say that about the copies. The ones I have played could not have gotten to that level even if you threw twice as much money as the cost of a real Ric at them. It's chasing your tail... you will be sorry.
If you want to buy a clone, buy a clone. Does it really matter what anyone on an online forum thinks about it? That said....
I want a Ric. I really do. In fact I almost bought one way back in 1978, but bought a Kramer 650-B instead. They were new then, novel, and quite frankly, I liked the way it played more than I liked the Ric. I still want a Ric though.
I don't have a problem with buying an Epiphone instead of a Gibson for example. They don't pretend to be anything other than what they are. I know what I am getting. For me, that's the problem with these Chinese rip-offs. Not only are they pretending, as it were, but it is theft in my mind and I hate a thief. I couldn't get on stage playing a fake; it would make me feel like a fake. THis is why I won't buy off eBay. I don't know what I am getting.
When I do buy one it will be a real Ric. It will be a Midnight Blue 4003. There's one right now on Guitar Center's Used gear website for $1499. Unfortunately, now is not a good time as that actually costs more than a semester's tuition at the community college for my daughter. So, in the meantime, I'll just keep saving and wait for another to come around.
I want a Ric. I really do. In fact I almost bought one way back in 1978, but bought a Kramer 650-B instead. They were new then, novel, and quite frankly, I liked the way it played more than I liked the Ric. I still want a Ric though.
I don't have a problem with buying an Epiphone instead of a Gibson for example. They don't pretend to be anything other than what they are. I know what I am getting. For me, that's the problem with these Chinese rip-offs. Not only are they pretending, as it were, but it is theft in my mind and I hate a thief. I couldn't get on stage playing a fake; it would make me feel like a fake. THis is why I won't buy off eBay. I don't know what I am getting.
When I do buy one it will be a real Ric. It will be a Midnight Blue 4003. There's one right now on Guitar Center's Used gear website for $1499. Unfortunately, now is not a good time as that actually costs more than a semester's tuition at the community college for my daughter. So, in the meantime, I'll just keep saving and wait for another to come around.
I don't think the Waterstone Skelly is a Rick clone. It is Rick-ish and has a 60s vibe to it, but it does not have a Rick TRC on it nor are they being sold on ebay as Rick basses. So, playing this bass is in no way, IMO, playing a lesser Rick bass, as some have implied about Rick clones. I do see the folly in playing a bass that is trying to pass itself off as a Rick bass, but is an inferior instrument. I have a Rick 4000 and a 4001C64S and they are amazing instruments. But I will gig the Skelly with no hesitation or worry about tone or reliability. My Waterstone basses are first rate instruments that I love showing off!
Entire post, spot on.
I think if you're the DIY type, builder/tech/luthier, and you like the challenge of taking something and trying to mod it into something else, buying a clone for that technical challenge might make sense.
Still, it is rather like chasing your tail, and for the majority of us, you may get something that looks like a Ric, kinda sorta maybe sounds like a Ric, but that's about it.
And I've heard clones that were modded to death. Close but no cigar.
No, they aren't illegal.
"As to counterfeits, if you buy them for personal use, almost everywhere in the world, its illegal to sell them but legal to buy them, said Susan Scafidi, a professor at the Fashion Law Institute at Fordham University and an academic director there.
Sorry I didn't read all the posts, but...
Just get a real one...
Not much point getting a fakenbacker & being disappointed...
I think I wanted a fake one way back when I had no idea what they cost & never saw one in a music store - they're still hard to come by (new anyway) in my local stores - but they're all over the internet...
Get the real thing & when you're disappointed with it, you can sell it for almost what you paid (maybe the same or more if you buy used)...
I've kept mine, bought brand new with some finish flaws, a weak sounding E string & a neck profile that's not super comfortable for me (it seems to work for others)... I just wanted one for so long & think everyone should have at least one in their stable...
I still think about getting a fake - but it would be to create a fRrickenstien of some sort - maybe a P/J combo of some active pups - something completely different from the real deal...
Just get a real one...
Not much point getting a fakenbacker & being disappointed...
I think I wanted a fake one way back when I had no idea what they cost & never saw one in a music store - they're still hard to come by (new anyway) in my local stores - but they're all over the internet...
Get the real thing & when you're disappointed with it, you can sell it for almost what you paid (maybe the same or more if you buy used)...
I've kept mine, bought brand new with some finish flaws, a weak sounding E string & a neck profile that's not super comfortable for me (it seems to work for others)... I just wanted one for so long & think everyone should have at least one in their stable...
I still think about getting a fake - but it would be to create a fRrickenstien of some sort - maybe a P/J combo of some active pups - something completely different from the real deal...
Considering the real Rics I've played and the nice lawsuit era clones I've played - that sounds like a positive not a negative.
Those lawsuit things from the seventies are coming close to the real deal. I've got a '73 Rick here, and I played an Ibanez copy from the same era, and it sure came DAMN close. A colleague of mine recently bought an Ibanez copy like I played once, and it looks like the real deal, and sounds like the real deal. It's a maple bass, neckthru, stereo-wiring (it's called Stere-O-Sound instead of Rick-O-Sound), same highgain pickups, bubinga fretboard, dual trussrods. The only way you can tell it's a Japanese knockoff is by looking at the route for the neckpickup wire (this one's smooth, a rick is drilled roughly) and the nuts for the trussrods underneath the TRC.
And about the "If you want a Rick, buy a real one/support USA". Not everyone can spend 2000$ (here in Europe, where dealers are very rare, prices can fetch EASILY 3000$) for a bass, and if those Japanese things are nearly as good as the real deal, for a fraction of the price, go for those!
And about the "If you want a Rick, buy a real one/support USA". Not everyone can spend 2000$ (here in Europe, where dealers are very rare, prices can fetch EASILY 3000$) for a bass, and if those Japanese things are nearly as good as the real deal, for a fraction of the price, go for those!
