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Rickenbacker Clone?

#121
FWIW, as someone who had a 1981 4003 and a 1978 Univox Stereo Bass at the same time, they were both really great basses. I'd say just keep looking for both a real Ric and a good 70s MIJ copy, and whichever one comes up first at a good deal, snag it. You can always resell.

As for regretting having a copy, I see no reason for regret. I had a copy, got a Ric, liked the Ric a little better, sold the copy. No problems here!
 
#122
afzoomie67 said:
So, I know the whole "John Hall is strict" ****, but I really want a Ric clone (and not a morphed Fender, if any of you know of my old post). I'm looking for something that has the look down, and can be upgraded with Ric pickups, pickguard, and hardware. I'm after the tone AND sound..
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John Hall cannot stop you from making a Copy of Rickenbacker basses. There is no law on the books for that. But if you start to sell it then he will enforce his trademark.

I am planning someday to build a 5 string Rickenbacker 4001/4003/4004 styled bass. Since Rickenbacker seems to lack the will and or the technical expertise to build 5 string basses I will have to build my own. I have contacted several people who can make me the wood parts needed.

If you do a Rick copy you have to first decide neck through or bolt on. I am considering bolt on. It is very easy to get a Ric body made with a standard neck pocket. Then you can get a neck with a paddle shaped headstock. Then you have to decide on pickups and the bridge and electronics etc ...
 
#123
Ric5 said:
John Hall cannot stop you from making a Copy of Rickenbacker basses. There is no law on the books for that. But if you start to sell it then he will enforce his trademark.

I am planning someday to build a 5 string Rickenbacker 4001/4003/4004 styled bass. Since Rickenbacker seems to lack the will and or the technical expertise to build 5 string basses I will have to build my own. I have contacted several people who can make me the wood parts needed.

If you do a Rick copy you have to first decide neck through or bolt on. I am considering bolt on. It is very easy to get a Ric body made with a standard neck pocket. Then you can get a neck with a paddle shaped headstock. Then you have to decide on pickups and the bridge and electronics etc ...
Click to expand...

I always liked the 4001's over the 03's. I like bolt on over neck through for some reason. Where could one get the body and neck?
 
#124
Both the 4001 and the 4003 have neck through construction.

As per the body, there are a lot of people with wood shops who can make a Rick shaped bodies and you can buy paddle shaped headstocks and cut the head to be a Rickenbacker shape.
 
#126
No bolt on necks on 4001s.

This pic shows pretty much how they are put together:

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You can see the neck itself is multiple pieces laminated together, with the body wings glued top and bottom. (I won't go as far as my coworker, also a bass player and a self proclaimed true "ric hater" who refers to all rickenbackers as plywood basses :rolleyes: )

The dark piece of wood in the center is a good way to tell a 4001 from a 4003, which doesn't have the dark skunk stripe.

Back in the 80's I know of at least one bass player that found out the hard way NOT to leave his 4001 in the trunk of his car in summer. The glue melted on his body wings and they came unset from the neck piece! :eek:



Rickenbacker did make bolt on neck basses though, for example here's the backside of a 3000 model:

5.jpg
 
#129
Rickenbacker protects many parts of their designs with trademarks ... not copyrights ... Making a 4001/4003 shaped body in their mind is like producing your own beer and putting a Budweiser or Coors label on it. Those labels are trademarks. The 4001/4003 body shape is protected by a trademark. They cannot stop you from owning one or making one, but they will stop anybody from selling them.

Pretty much any luthier or anybody who has a woodworking shop can make a body for you. They will want to stay under the radar of trademark enforcment.
 
#131
I have a friend in my local music shop who plays bass and he offered me a Japanese copy of a Rick. He told me something about Rick constructing in Japan for a while or something and they copied the same exact specs and of design of the 4000 series and they are going to make a shipment soon. Wether Rick constructed in Japan for a while is true or not,i dont know, but he sent me a photo of one and they look EXACTLY the same. The photos were from different angles and you couldn't tell the difference from the real thing. Don't know anything about the sound though. I've been playing an affinity p bass for a while and I need to upgrade. I was thinking of getting a highway one p but now I'm considering the Rick copy. I love p basses and I've heard a lot of bad things about ricks. Can anybody give me an opinion?
 
#138
I've seen plenty of copies over the years and played 2 actual rics(4001 and 4003) and to be honest, i loved the copies better(except for one out of the three i tried). they had better sound, feel, weight. The 4001 was a b*t*h to find but i liked it better than the 4003. But they both sounded thin, as if it wouldnt cut through the mix. They weighed nothing I have one @home, bought used for 400$, best investment ever. And it weighs maybe just a little less than my p-bass-es xd

So don't waste thousands if you won't even use it all the time.
 

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