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 Question - is this even real?
- Thread starter spoton
- Start date
Nope. It’s what’s referred to as a “chickenbacker”
Appreciate it. I am by no means a Ric guy, but it was a good price but didn't look right to even my untrained eye. Thank you!
Knowing that it is chinese it isn't. But for $700-800 if it was in any way real I thought it would be a good price.
I'm glad you asked us. Too many ******* rip-off artists out there operating at any number of levels.
Riis
Yeah, I always hit the marketplace and a few other things looking, wasn't prepared enough to just make an offer because I honestly haven't looked into them much at all and didn't look right hence having to post for a quick confirmation. Always appreciated and great to have confirmation as there is so much garbage out there.
LOL I saw that too last night and was thinking it was too good to be true!
Yeah, I'm kinda on my soapbox at the moment as I just ran across another "paid xxx dollar deposit on a custom build....two years later, no bass, no contact, no response".
BTW, report the seller if possible.
Riis
Well I did sell my ric a few years ago that my ex wife gave me for a Christmas gift for a wopping 700 cad to the sister of a guy I work3d with .... he convinced me to sell rather than smash a nice instrument and the smile it put on her face when I said the price for her dream bass was totaly worth it
You know it's not a real rick cause it's actually in a fun color.
That's enough info to know that it's fake. Real RIC instruments have the serial numbers engraved on the jack plates.
Plus, the pickguard, tuners, triangle inlays, bridge, and horseshoe pickup cover aren't right.
I have two real ones in "fun" colors (Ruby Red and Satin Autumnglo).
Shiny tuners, straight neck, clear finish...nope, definitely fake 
Chickenbacker Standard, average $3-400 on Aliexpress. A mediocre copy at best, but I actually like the bevel along the top edge. The only one I ever picked up was noticeably more comfortable to play than a genuine bound-body Ric. The fretwork was execrable, and it sounded nothing like a Ric, but…. I digress. Too many “tells” to list, but that flimsy metal bent piece over the pickup, and the body bevel, are instant give-aways.
Run away. Don't walk.
That said, real Rickenbackers often have such quality issues that they might not be much better. And yes, I own one.
That said, real Rickenbackers often have such quality issues that they might not be much better. And yes, I own one.
Going rate for Chickenbackers is about $200-300, I thought. I actually like the neck-thu Ibanez and Univox copies from the 1970s, and was particularly surprised by one of the bolt-on ones with the super fat 'baseball bat' necks. Really good sounding basses in their own way...
