Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So now that I'm finally a member of the Ric owner club, I have a question that maybe the forum can help me out with: what to do with my other bass?

Normally, this would not be an interesting question, but here's why I'm asking -- it's a Rickenfaker. It's never been passed off as the real thing (the TRC says Ibanez, after all, though it's in a similar font), and it actually sounds pretty good, but it's still a copy. It dates to September 1977, so it'd been around a while before I got it.

This was given to me as my first bass some 15 years ago, long before I knew anything about basses. I didn't pick it because it was a Ric copy, but because it sounded better than the $80 cheapie that was my other option.

I'm tempted to keep it for situations where I'm not sure I want to bring the Ric. And at the very least, it's a different finish (MapleGlo -- or more accurately MapleHo) than my AutumnGlo Ric. I would refer to them as blonde and brunette, but my wife is blonde and prefers not to be associated with the faker. (Plus then I'd have to get a FG redhead to complete the set.)

What's the ethical thing to do here? Keep it as a backup for my real Ric? Find a young bassist and give it away for free? Bring it onstage and smash the hell out of it? Suggestions are appreciated.

"what do you do with a witch?" "Burn Her!!!"

Well, I can hardly build a bridge out of her.

Jake, bringing it on stage and smashing it would be fine, just acknowledge the audience that it's not a real Rick, because if someone like me was in the audience and saw you smash a real Rick, they would be horribly upset with you!!

If you've got 15 years of good service out of her, then a graceful retirement is a good plan, and as you say keep her for situations where at present you may not be comfortable taking your new real Ric.

Fake or not, no instrument deserves to end it days being smashed to pieces.

At some point you may (or already do) have, kids, and they may want to learn to play Bass, starting out on one of your precious Ric's would not be prudent but would be a good use for this one.

When my son wanted to learn bass I bought him an old Peavy to learn on as there was no way I was letting him near one of my Rics as a beginner.

If I knew what I know now I would have never sold my first bass. I would have liked to still have it even though it was just a squier katana.

My personal rule is to never sell an instrument, so I say "Keep it."

If you want to sell it you'll have to do it quietly and off the internet.

What a wide range of responses! I was curious to see what Ric fanatics thought should be done with a faker -- I know that selling them is generally difficult as well as frowned upon, but the topic of already-owned fakers doesn't seem to come up too often. I'm enjoying hearing all of the different perspectives, and the fact that it was my first bass does add a little heft to the decision.

Jim, great point about the kid -- I have one on the way in < 2 months, so I'll get him started on the faker as soon as he can sit up on his own. He can throw up on that one if he wants to (I'm pretty sure I have).

It might also be a good instrument to test out some of the do-it-yourself urges I get from time to time.

If you had a faker guitar you could bandsaw the two & make your own version of the Mike Rutherford doubleneck!


Seriously, letting the new addition to the family start playing is probably wisest, and it probably has some sentimental value.
There's really no sense in destroying a working instrument, and lots of kids would love to have something decent to start on.

I would keep my first guitar forever no matter what it was. That's just me

I say keep it. Bruce Foxton from The Jam started off with an Ibanez 'Rickenfaker'...

"If you had a faker guitar you could bandsaw the two & make your own version of the Mike Rutherford doubleneck!"

I support this one wholeheartedly.

My first bass was a plywood POS. I still have it (the body, anyway) but it's in the attic of my mom's garage.
I seem to have lost the hardware during a move.
No great loss.

Oooh -- doubleneck. I am in the process of learning guitar.

They're heavy, but the wow factor is pretty high when you take 'em out for gigs!
And it's gotta be cheaper than buying one!