Quality fakenbacker on the bay

[thinneckrick]

Check this out . The guy really thinks he has a real one .item # 200125341639. One of the better fakers i must admit. But a faker just the same.

[rickcrazy]

I can't find it. But here's a fake bridge pickup being passed off as the genuine article on Ebay:

[rickaddict]

"Quality fakenbacker" is an oxymoron.

[chrisdski]

can you point out from the pictures what tips you off that this is not a real Ric? I know she says there are no serial numbers on the plate (tip 1), I am wondering if the headstock shape is correct?

[rickcrazy]

Okay. I just found it. It's a FAKE. Too bad the seller is clueless, or pretends to be.

[bassduke49]

Chris, biggest tipoff from these poor quality photos is the color of the fretboard. Real Rick fretboards (except for maple fretboards on some models, and the ebony fretboards on the 4002 and a few custom-made items) are made from Bubinga, a very reddish wood with large grain patterns. If this seller is genuinely innocent and uninformed, her/his inability to find serial numbers on the jackplate is another clue. That's not to say that a real RIC jackplate could never be found on a faker, but she/he says no numbers are visible. If there were clear shots of the tuners, they will probably resemble the closed-back Grovers of the '70s era, but without the name "Grover" on the covers. Also, the jack plate may say something like "stereo" instead of "Ric-O-Sound" -- there are a lot of other ways to tell, but in these poor quality photos, we can't see 'em.

[scala]

heres the link

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200125341639&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.co.uk%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D200125341639%26fvi%3D1

[rickcrazy]

The shape of both horns is wrong, as is the shape of the top body wing. And that "skunk" stripe is a tad too wide...

[bob_atherton]

Sergio, You're the man...!

[teeder]

Did 4003's have a skunk stripe?

[bassduke49]

No. The "skunk stripe" made from shedua, was a modification to help strengthen the neck, and started to appear in early 1972(?) and continued through the end of 4001 production. With the new truss system in the 4003, the strengthening strip was no longer needed. (This is my opinion, yet to be confirmed by anyone at RIC.)

[bassassin]

That's almost certainly a Matsumoku copy - might have originally been branded Aria or Univox, or a sundry other importer's brand. These were some of the more "authentic" looking Japcrap copies, with fake wavy Grovers & toaster pup.

There are lots of little clues that would give this away as a copy if you could see it properly - the dark rosewood board is the main one, others include binding around the end of the body, the pickguard follows the body contour more symmetrically than a real one would, if you could get a good look at the guard, you'd find little "index" dots by the controls - to name a few.

Personally I don't think the seller's a scammer - seems a bit naive, and likely paid a fair bit for this bass back in the 80s, under the impression that it was the real deal. Back then, these copies were so undesirable you couldn't give them away.

Jeff Thomas - credit where credit's due, these basses weren't cheap rubbish by any means - just not real Rickenbackers.

Jon.

[dale_fortune]

The inlays appear to be to white in color. The poured inlays from that era have a silverish gray tint to them. To bad she couldn't post better Digi Pix...

[rickaddict]

So...If this person doesn't know that she is selling a fake Rickenbacker, then why did she take her photos with a camera phone from across the room and then list the bass on EbayUK when she resides in the US?

[rickcrazy]

Good point...