A bit of infringement going on?

[jingle_jangle]

Nothing wrong with a bit of education, Christopher...open up your mind a bit.

[bassassin]

Ric, Fender and Gibson designed the only basses that matter. everything else is a copy of those three

There was a fellow called Paul Tutmarc who might take issue with that, if he were still alive, having designed & marketed the first 4-string fretted bass guitar in 1933.



J.

Who?

Paul Tutmarc

Amongst other things he gave the world the first 4-string, solid body fretted electric bass guitar, in 1933. Unfortunately the product wasn't commercially successful, which is why Leo Fender's 1951 Precision Bass is usually regarded as the original electric bass guitar.

Jon.

[jps]

Nothing wrong with a bit of education, Christopher...open up your mind a bit.

"We don't need no education!" - Roger Waters

[marc61]

RE:Paul Tutmarc

Amongst other things he gave the world the first 4-string, solid body fretted electric bass guitar, in 1933. Unfortunately the product wasn't commercially successful, which is why Leo Fender's 1951 Precision Bass is usually regarded as the original electric bass guitar.

Jon.

Thanks for the enlightenment. I found this page written by his son to be pretty interesting

http://tutmarc.tripod.com/paultutmarc.html

[marc61]

Gotta tell you, my son and I were at GC today. He says looking at that bass bothers him because he keeps thinking it's a Ric for a second. Shame on them for not coming up with a more original design and color. They're actually OK basses but, they look like bad fakers.

[cheyenne]

Still a far cry from a Rick,, but I think this one trys a bit harder to "resemble" one.

edit: link didnt work,,,,let me try again...OK,, try this:

http://www.guitarworld.com/article/sche ... ctric_bass

[rickboy88]

I just got a new Musician's Friend catalog today, and was paging through the bass pages. I turned the page, and at the bottom saw what my brain initially (very briefly) thought was a fireglo Ric, but then it wasn't. I turned to the next page where the real thing was. My take is that this bass is getting as close to that "vintage air" (from the details) of a Rickenbacker bass as it can. The pickups are shifted more to the bridge, but the bridge/treble pickup now has a rectangular cover, emulating the Ric bass look at bit more. The upper horn is more Ric like now as compared to a couple of years ago. The "Crimson Ghost" finish is a pretty close knock off of a fireglo finish. You can see how they split the pick guard almost as if to say - "now this doesn't really look like that other "vintage air" bass with a "classic body shape." I also shouldn't leave out the white binding. The electronics are a different animal. The price is also much less than what a new Ric is going to run.

Stargazer - Crimson Ghost finish

[bassassin]

Well - it's now got a soapbar pickup at the bridge & a J-type an the neck, and a couple of random-looking bits of plastic stuck on the body, but otherwise it's unchanged. The body shape is identical to the earlier version, as is the headstock. Agreed those particular colour choices do bellow "Rick" on first glance, but there's still no infringing going on.

I doubt anyone would suggest for a moment that they're not trying to get a Rickenbacker feel or vibe going from the look, even the old version. But it's copying nothing but the style, in the loosest sense.

I still like the old black & maple one.

Jon.

[coolhandjjl]

.....Amongst other things he gave the world the first 4-string, solid body fretted electric bass guitar, in 1933. Unfortunately the product wasn't commercially successful, which is why Leo Fender's 1951 Precision Bass is usually regarded as the original electric bass guitar.....

History is rarely what most people think. Quite recently, Marconi was stripped of the title of being the first to send radio waves across the ocean, and it was appropriately given to Tesla. Alexander Graham Bell ripped off his great invention by seeing first it on a patent application submitted by someone else. The list could go on and on.

[superdick2112]

If I were in the market for a Schecter there appear to be some much nicer basses in their lineup than this one...

You got that right. For the money, Schecters under the $1k price point are as good or better as anything comparably priced, but the real cherrys come from their custom shop.
I have ordered custom basses from Schecter, Fender and B.C. Rich, just to name a few, and I have never seen another builder equal the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail that Schecter puts into their hand made instruments - mirror polished frets, flawless finishes, and a virtually unlimited set of options. Point of fact, Schecter does not even have an "options" list, and they pride themselves on not saying "no" when it comes to custom shop options. I imagine that companies like Alembic and Warwick would have similar quality, but I have never ordered or played any of their cs basses.

As for the Stargazer, it looks like a poorly executed Rickenfaker to me, and imho, this represents Schecter's Achilles heel - they don't have any truly distinctive bass designs of their own.

[superdick2112]

I have ordered custom basses from Schecter, Fender and B.C. Rich, just to name a few, and I have never seen another builder equal the level of craftsmanship and attention to detail that Schecter puts into their hand made instruments.....

I should clarify - I have never seen another custom shop with Schecter's quality. Rickenbacker is second to none when it comes to quality, and I only wish that they took custom orders.