Saw my first Faker at GC

apollo11 · Post by **apollo11** » Wed May 25, 2005 4:18 am

I saw my first fake Rickenbacker at Guitar Center last week. It was a maple with binding and bolt-on neck, and was labeled as a copy; the price was $299. From a distance it looked okay, but up close it was easy for me to detect the fact that it was fake. The pickups and pickup cover were really garbage, and floppy to the touch. The knobs and buttons were cheap, too. In size, the neck felt close to a 4003, but fit and finish, including the triangle inlays, did not have the precision that a real Ric has. Unplugged, the tone didn't ring true like a Ric does; it sounded and felt cheap. Needless to say, I didn't plug it in. The TRC had what appeared to be a clear piece of plexiglass with a photocopy of the Ric TRC glued underneath---Oh, how I wanted to say I was a Ric Forum member, and demand that the sale be stopped, and the fake TRC be destroyed!

Mr Hall, we need a Ric badge we can flash when we come across these items outside of ebay!

edski · Post by **edski** » Wed May 25, 2005 4:56 am

I have a feeling Mr. Hall might be interested in knowing the city that this GC is located in...

apollo11 · Post by **apollo11** » Wed May 25, 2005 6:07 am

I never thought of that, Ed. It was the GC located at:
1092 Niagara Falls Blvd.
Tonawanda, NY 14150
716-833-8200

edski · Post by **edski** » Wed May 25, 2005 6:23 am

Well, considering the flap recently between RIC and GC, the fact A GC store has an obvious faker on the floor that (as I understand your initial post) tries to pawn itself off as the real thing...well seems like it's not a good thing.

Be different (at least to me) if it was just a faker that didn't try masquerade as the real thing (i.e. the TRC said "Fernandes" or "Ibanez")...

incubus2432 · Post by **incubus2432** » Wed May 25, 2005 6:31 am

He did say that they had it marked as a copy so while they should have removed the TRC they are not trying to pass it off as real. It probably doesn't matter though....

rob · Post by **rob** » Wed May 25, 2005 7:01 am

Andrew, I was recently there at that one. I didn't see it. Perhaps it sold?

edski · Post by **edski** » Wed May 25, 2005 7:16 am

Missed that part, Brian...

But it still reeks. What would stop someone who bought it from GC to try and peddle it for what it is not?

Oh, well. We all know the GC sux. Just more evidence...

gareth · Post by **gareth** » Wed May 25, 2005 8:03 am

Well, if you want to see a faker in a guitar Center, just go to the one in San Jose. I like the way it's categorized as a "Lawsuit Rickenbacker".

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38080&item=7325622473&rd=1

I love this. They're asking more for it than I paid for a real one in 1979. The temptation to shill bid this with a fake id is almost overwhelming.

edski · Post by **edski** » Wed May 25, 2005 11:06 am

many like it have satasfied professionals and touring musicians for decades

Yeah right...but what exactly is "satasfied"?

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Wed May 25, 2005 11:10 am

"many like it have satasfied professionals and touring musicians for decades".

Yeah...name one!

rob · Post by **rob** » Wed May 25, 2005 11:16 am

48 hour inspection.

Is that how long GC takes to inspect it really close to determine it's a faker?

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Wed May 25, 2005 6:21 pm

It's toast. Singed by the Ric Police...

twangs · Post by **twangs** » Wed May 25, 2005 6:22 pm

I saw a Rickenfaker last month at the GC in Boston - across from BU. It was on the floor and was going for something like $450. It was a copy of a 320. I saw the card with the price, and I got all hot and bothered, but as I got closer it as an obvious fake - bolt on neck etc. The only thing that was real was the TRC.

It was being sold as a real Ric - not a copy. Someone not in the know might have been suckered in. Yuck