Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi all, wonderful resource you have here, I have a little question for you vintage experts. I found this TRC in a box of bits I got from a friend on the cheap, I can't tell if it's a genuine Ric TRC or a clever fake.
Can you help at all? I know nothing about Rickenbacker TRC history, though I heard that back in the day you actually could buy the plexi ones seperately, I think this might be one of those. Here are some scans for you...




Thanks for any help you can give me, I was thinking of selling it, but wouldn't want to mislead anybody into buying a fake.

It reminds me of my former 480 TRC, but it had the model number on it:

Welcome, Dave.

The TRC does not look right to me, too smoothed off at the edges, the Made In USA looks too large in font size, the backing looks very rippled, all leading me to think it is a fake.

I don't know if it will help or not but I overlaid the image ontop of the previous headstock image, and while the size and font are an identical match the screw holes don't line up.

Here are two other TRCs for comparison, the MG is March '73, the FG is July '73.

Can you post photos of the TRC at an angle so we can see the edges better?

How's those?

The "Made in USA" is too big...the 'screened ones have tiny print for that and the model number (if it's on there).

The "Rickenbacker" logo itself have some incongruities to it compared to what I see on plexi TRCs. Unfortunately, we have learned on the forum not to point out specifics due to forgeries; if we do spell out the issues then the forgerers just get better at making fake TRCs!

jps wrote:The "Rickenbacker" logo itself have some incongruities to it compared to what I see on plexi TRCs. Unfortunately, we have learned on the forum not to point out specifics due to forgeries; if we do spell out the issues then the forgerers just get better at making fake TRCs!

Exactly Jeff. I agree btw the way, it has all the hallmarks (no pun intended) of not being a legitimate TRC.

Thanks for your help guys, I don't want to know specifics (I'm not a forger) I just didn't want to mislead anybody as to it's provenance. Thanks for all your help, I was pretty sure it was fake, but didn't want to dismiss it without checking. Will chuck it out with the other rubbish.
Thanks again.

Dave Vader wrote:Thanks for your help guys, I don't want to know specifics (I'm not a forger) I just didn't want to mislead anybody as to it's provenance. Thanks for all your help, I was pretty sure it was fake, but didn't want to dismiss it without checking. Will chuck it out with the other rubbish.
Thanks again.

I'd hang onto it. Not to discount any of the expertise here but two weeks from now a "blah blah blah model has a weird truss rod cover" thread could pop up, there's no real reason not to keep it. Yea it could very well be fake but it's not going to do any harm just sitting there.

Spike- wrote:

Dave Vader wrote:Thanks for your help guys, I don't want to know specifics (I'm not a forger) I just didn't want to mislead anybody as to it's provenance. Thanks for all your help, I was pretty sure it was fake, but didn't want to dismiss it without checking. Will chuck it out with the other rubbish.
Thanks again.

I'd hang onto it. Not to discount any of the expertise here but two weeks from now a "blah blah blah model has a weird truss rod cover" thread could pop up, there's no real reason not to keep it. Yea it could very well be fake but it's not going to do any harm just sitting there.

If it's truly a fake, I would still hang on to it as long as you keep it for yourself. But I'd destroy it before ever considering to pass it along to someone else, as it could eventually get into the hands of someone that would take advantage of others.

Totally bogus, hombre.

...no doubt about it.