Rickenbacker Question - is this even real?

[mikecd1]

That's a genuine "Fakenbacker" deluxe.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Sad when the 1970s Ric copies looked more real than these made in China pieces of .

 

[JamesGrant]

Weird headstock shape - cool, but not legit.

 

[bylar13]

No serial number, says the jack was replaced. Not an expert in these things, but it looks like it has parts from different years? Is this worth picking up, how much...?

Total fake.

 

[J Wilson]

It's real alright.

But it's not a real Rickenbacker.

 

[2112]

Yup fake for sure. But I don't hate it.

 

[BigJohnAZ]

Fake, but, I love the color.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Some of the 70's "Lawsuit" Ric clones were superb, as good or better, in some cases, than the genuine Rics of the same era, which is why Ric worked so hard to erase them. These days they are pretty hard to find, and command some high prices. Ric seems to have given up on policing the Chickenbackers off the internet, they pop up on Ebay all the time now. Moral/Legal considerations aside, Chickenbackers are best treated as platforms for a good bit of upgrading. From what I've seen of them in person, the hardware and electronics are crap, but the basic woodworking and paint work are on par with other low-end Asian manufacture basses, in other words not great, not terrible. They are cranked out in the thousands by a handful of Chinese factories using the same CNC files, but the fit and finish and overall quality can vary wildly from vendor to vendor, and they often pirate the same photos, sometimes of Genuine Rics, so what you see is NOT necessarily what you will get. It's a little less Wild West than it used to be... but not much. Anyone willing to sell you a blatant counterfeit is probably not too concerned about other forms of shady behavior, which should be obvious, but somehow isn't to a lot of people. One of the more comon scams is: they sell you what they HAVE, not what you ASKED for, and then if you complain, they offer you a partial refund, or return to China on YOUR dime. Buyer Beware.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

Chickenbackers rule the roost. Right, @Jeff Scott?

 

[woodyng2]

Fake, but, I love the color.

RIckenbacker had a nice transparent blue, and Blueburst for a while.

 

[Stewie]

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.

Thanks I learned a great new word today. I’m going to find times to use “execrable” whenever I can