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What happened to Rickenbacker?

#42
knumbskull said:
Bass Gallery in the UK have used ones pretty regularly:

Search: 17 results found for "Rickenbacker"

They ship internationally. Prices are bit cheap but you can deduct VAT if you’re outside the UK.
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What are these things at these ridic prices??
Screenshot 2023-06-30 101817.png
 
#47
I recently had the opportunity to buy a mint cond V63. I could have bought it for $2500 from the original owner. I played it and it just didn't do anything for me. I wanted to like that bass SOOOO much but it just didn't talk to me at all. I should have and could have bought it anyways because it was such a super deal, but I let it go to the next person.
 
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#48
@hill76

>Thomann has plenty listed but all showing as "available in a few months". Maybe, like Mesa Boogie, getting them outside of the US has become a problem since recent health events.

Except for a lefty walnut & a couple of 4003s/5s all of the EU online "usual suspects" appear to have the same post covid Ric backlogs.


@CheckBass

With Thomann you can pre order and be charged when *they* ship it to you. Be prepared for a long wait. They have staff that speak English and French you can contact online to find out more and expected delivery times. Avoids the non EU customs/tax issues and you have a very easy return if there are issues.

If you are excluding the used market, there are new in stock models at Rickysounds in the UK (and probably elsewhere in the UK). Just be prepared (as with a purchase in the US) for the customs & taxes on top when sending/transporting it to France. Some countries in the EU have become meticulously [or perhaps maliciously] strict post Brexit. At least it is a doable trip to try before you buy. I'm pretty sure at Rickysounds for EU purchases you can have the UK VAT deducted to avoid double taxation, talk to them if those asking prices are exceptable to you.

If you can find a source in Ireland that would be easier.

There used to be a *used* Rickenbacker shop in Germany with an online presence and some reasonable deals, where you also had the possibility of returns. Searched & can't find them now, they may have disappeared during covid as well? Private used asking prices in the EU at the moment are often close to and sometimes even higher than new.

-Henry

PS
> The official Rickenbacker website is not encouraging either. It looks old/dead.

LOL, yes and always has & outdated, even when it was new.
 
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#50
Wood and Wire said:
I think the general consensus seems to be that Wildwood are the people to speak to, if you want a great Ric, at a great price (I believe they still ship internationally).

I'm seeing probably the most Ric's I've seen in stores, since the 90's second hand market.

Admittedly, most of the brand new Ric's I'm seeing here in the U.K. bricks & mortar stores, are the limited edition 4005XC, but there are 4003 & 4003S models around.
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Echoing what others have already said: Wildwood is the truth. Those guys were so great to work with. Bruce worked with me a lot, and actually ended up installing a treble bezel I had sent to them from an outside source before he shipped my RIC to me. Great bunch of guys over there, cannot recommend them enough. Plus, they seem to have a pretty steady supply of RIC's in stock.
 
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#52
HHudson said:
@hill76
There used to be a *used* Rickenbacker shop in Germany with an online presence and some reasonable deals, where you also had the possibility of returns. Searched & can't find them now, they may have disappeared during covid as well? Private used asking prices in the EU at the moment are often close to and sometimes even higher than new.
Click to expand...

Guessing that might be Peter Boer (aka Rickenbackerfarm/Peterbuilt Basses) in Holland who had many used Rics and was also a dealer for new ones as well. Sadly, he died last year - nice guy and much too young In Memoriam - Peter Boer - deBassist.nl

There is a really clean '93 Fireglo 4003 at Vintage Guitar Oldenberg. It's not cheap but I've had good experiences with them and found them to be reasonable and fair. Just seems heavy to me at 4.5 kg but I'm not a Ric guy so maybe that's ok... The owner is a bass player (and speaks excellent English).
4003 [Item #5302] [Build 1993] | A-1257
 
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#54
Dynacord said:
Guessing that might be Peter Boer (aka Rickenbackerfarm/Peterbuilt Basses) in Holland who had many used Rics and was also a dealer for new ones as well. Sadly, he died last year - nice guy and much too young In Memoriam - Peter Boer - deBassist.nl

There is a really clean '93 Fireglo 4003 at Vintage Guitar Oldenberg. It's not cheap but I've had good experiences with them and found them to be reasonable and fair. Just seems heavy to me at 4.5 kg but I'm not a Ric guy so maybe that's ok... The owner is a bass player (and speaks excellent English).
4003 [Item #5302] [Build 1993] | A-1257
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Sad to hear.

I bought a used E2 12 string from the shop I am referring to and it was as described & am very happy with it (except the "exploding" R-tail piece 10+ years later, which was not any fault of the seller, but a special known Ric "feature", it now wears a non Ric tail piece after seeing what convolutions/costs Rickenbacker expected for the US only exchange). I know many of the Dutch shops have shipping points across the boarder in Germany to keep shipping prices down, so it is quite possible.
 
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#56
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#57
CheckBass said:
I have been considering buying a Rickenbacker for some time but it is next to impossible to find anything in Europe.
I would not mind travelling to the USA to get one there but a quick online search led to nothing.

The official Rickenbacker website is not encouraging either. It looks old/dead.

What happened to Rickenbacker?
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Nothing - they're still very much around, doing their thing, with their typical two year production backlog.

Notably, their quality really picked it up a notch around 2020.
 
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#59
micguy said:
Rickenbacker has decided, long ago, to not chase the demand they might have, but to stick at a certain production level, and raise prices to what the market will bear. The gives the company a very stable income, and the workers have very secure jobs. If your goal is to make the most money possible, they are leaving some on the table, but if you have a passion for your product, and care about your workforce, it's a very smart strategy. It means their customers have to wait, though.
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Yes .. and they have pulled the string a little too much lately in my opinion but this is only my opinion ..
 
#60
sleddogn said:
I reached out couple weeks ago to Bruce, and i believe he quoted me 1849 for a fire-glo 4003s...
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If by calling you can lower the price .. on the website is 2100 USD more or less .. better to buy from Thomann in Europe because of the added VAT and customs duties on any direct import from the US; however the waiting time is very long and there’s no guaranteed about it nor about the price stability
 
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